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I used the free turbo tax thing online. It took me like half an hour because i have no property, children, and am a dependent. More complicated for you, but still super easy. They ask you all the questions and you just type in the answer while they look for deductions. I, of course, had none, but I'm sure it will help you.
http://turbotax.intuit.com/personal-taxes/online/free-edition.jsp
There's also the Turbo Tax Federal Edition which is free if you make less than 30K a year. There's some other free filling software but I can't attest to them personally.
March 10th. the updates to Turbo Tax to allow efiling will be available then.
Turbo Tax will be able to handle it March 10th
> Okay, so follow this. On the low end, federal taxes on $44,000 would be around 20%
I believe it's going to actually be less than 15%.
If you are single, you get a personal exemption of $3800 and a standard deduction of $5950. That leaves only $34250 of income that is taxable. The 15% marginal tax bracket goes up to $35350, which means you haven't even left the 15% bracket. (Numbers from here.)
Of course, that's just marginal taxes. The actual taxes owed are $4756 according to this calculator. That works out to under 11% of federal income tax.
And that assumes you have nothing else that reduces your income. Hopefully someone who is age 32 would have some contributions to a tax-deferred retirement plan (like an IRA or a 401(k)).
So, take max 11% federal income tax and add all the other taxes, and it hits maybe 20% total. The 15% in taxes is less wildly off then the number you're getting, which is nearly 30%.
The math doesn't actually work like that.
You're not taxed when you receive an option. You're taxed when you exercise the option, and it's treated as income (taxed at 35% or whatever): http://turbotax.intuit.com/tax-tools/tax-tips/Investments-and-Taxes/Non-Qualified-Stock-Options/INF12046.html
So if you get the option to buy 100 shares of stock for $1 a share, and you exercise it at a time when the stock is worth $45/share, you're taxed on 100 * ($45 - $1) in compensation just as if you had received cash.
If you then hold on to that stock and sell it at a price of $55 per share, you're taxed 15% on the 100 * ($55 - $45) capital gains.
The reason Warren Buffet pays so little tax is not because he receives tons of stock options, but because he makes most of his money through capital appreciation and dividends that are taxed at lower rates.
Your poor ass probably qualifies for Free Filing
Anyone earning 58K or less qualifies (AGI...so reality 70K or less with deductions)
Here's the Turbo Tax link, although they cut you off at like 32K AGI (like 40K in reality). Other services go to the 58K max
The more you know..
You didn't mention which country you were in so I'll assume US.
*I hate to sound mean but his wishes when it's just you and your sister don't mean much. Many times wishes after death are an easy way to organize assets and prevent fights but in this case I would give him the funeral you and your sister want to give and nothing more.
*Watch out for people trying to take you on this like "sealed caskets", "50 year warranty vaults" and the alike if you don't chose cremation. If you do chose cremation, know that you can ask for the ashes in a plain plastic or paper box. Buy an urn (or two for your sister) that you can truly appreciate.
*Make sure you get plenty of copies of the death certificate and start collecting information on things like bank accounts, mortgage lending info etc. Sometimes the easiest way to do this is to pull a credit report. You'll want to close all those accounts out and provide them the death certificate as proof.
*FILE HIS TAXES! Turbo Tax His estate will get any money back he deserved and the IRS can legally come back to you later to get that money if he owes so knowing what obligations you have will be important.
*Decided what you want to do with the house but I'd highly suggest you sell it unless you or your sister really want it. Don't hold on to it for emotional value.
*Decide what you want to do with the car. Find the title and make sure it's clear. Put it on your insurance as soon as possible and cancel his policy.
*speak with his account holders for the insurance policy and 401k/IRA. depending on the size of the accounts you might be better off hiring a lawyer to make sure they transfer correctly.
*I have a lot more advice but I think it's better for you to ask questions that I can respond to. Happy to do so publicly or privately.
Sorry for your loss.
"fees you receive for performing marriages, baptisms, funerals, etc." is separate from "wages, offerings". They are taxed on wages. Here's another source: "If you are a minister of a church, your earnings for the services you perform in your capacity as a minister are subject to self-employment tax." Also, Yahoo Answers thread.
I have yet to see you provide any support for your completely incorrect assertion.
Ministers are, however, allowed to opt out of paying into and, consequentially do not receive benefits from social security and medicare if they are "conscientiously opposed". I do not agree with giving special privileges like this, but this is very different from paying no taxes on wages at all.
play around with this and you can see that when filing jointly as a married couple does get you a benefit.
example 1: married, $80,000 and $10,000 wages = ~$9000 in taxes owed
example 2: separate: $10,000 gets ~$500 back, $80,000 owes ~$13,500
a saving of about $4000 a year just for being married.
playing around with it more myself it seems that even at a 250k & 10k disparity, it is still better to be married tax wise.
>Corporations get taxed on their operating income, which included salaraies and bonuses.
No, profits get taxed, not money used to operate the company. Salaries and bonuses are taxed for the employees receiving that money, not the company. Salaries and bonuses are tax-deductible expenses for the company.
EDIT: A citation from http://turbotax.intuit.com/tax-tools/tax-tips/Small-Business-Taxes/Taking-Business-Tax-Deductions/INF12043.html
"Compensation you pay employees is deductible, including salaries, awards, bonuses and fringe benefits..."
You can try Intuit's ItsDeductible, which lets you enter in the goods that you've donated, along with dates, donees, and quality. I've just started using it, so don't know if it's any good yet, but might be worth a try.
you can reduce your tax liability by itemizing gambling losses if you happen to keep track of your tickets that you didnot won!
This summary from turbo tax has a good summary of tax implications
>I'm also worried that if I leave the company too soon after purchasing their stock that I'll lose money. Is this something I'll possibly have to worry about?
Once the contribution period is over, you should own the stock, and you can sell the shares whenever - I may not exactly understand what your concern is
ESPP plans are almost always in your best interest to contribute as much as you can into - assuming you can sell your stocks immediately, it's a guaranteed ~17% (less income taxes) return
Check with your employer, but you may not have to pay taxes on STD.
This may make your take home pay equivalent to what it was before the accident.
It is assumed they don't make a profit and will reinvest their excess funds in community services and charitable work.
Their ministers and employees do pay income taxes.
It will be considered ordinary income because you held it under 1 year. Read more here
You might still be able to add assets from previous years. Grab a copy of TurboTax Home and Business and let it figure stuff out for you, or (as people are saying) consult an accountant.
Here's a great page outlining depreciation of business assets.
TurboTax Online Federal Free Edition. They make money by offering to e-file your state return. Many states offer free filing online. I used the pre-filled forms from TurboTax and W2's to file through my state's free e-filing site.
First off, you need to figure out if you have a state income tax, more states have one than not.
Here's the link to the free federal edition of TurboTax. For basics (Single file, few deductions), it's the best.
Your local public library may have a display with all the various forms and maybe some literature.
I'm not a tax attorney/ accountant this is not legal/financial advice.
woah woah woah, did you know there's a freeDOM edition as well? the IRS links to several free options if you make less than XXk/yr
No, but it's normally the biggest one. I'm not saying it's not possible to get over the standard deduction, but it becomes much more unlikely. If you are not self employed, & don't make a huge amount of money, even more so.
Edit: Check out this link from TurboTax: Only one in four taxpayers should itemize. http://turbotax.intuit.com/tax-tools/tax-tips/Tax-Deductions-and-Credits/Tax-Deduction-Wisdom---Should-You-Itemize-/INF12061.html This link does hurt my case because they mention some cases where non-homeowners should itemize, but these cases are rare.
Also, note that the online services do attempt an itemized return, and for me at least, it's not even close. Probably would be a big waste to pay someone a lot of money to confirm this.
>you can also count legitimate school expenses with tuition and fees, such as cost of books and supplies.
This is the most ambiguous part of the tax code. This is what I went off of. I added my books to the tuition, even the ones I payed for in cash (not through IU) and my laptop (freshman) as supplies. Do you think there is any problems with that?
Some of the online tax preparers will let you put in numbers and see your return (or taxes owed) without having to pay or even register in some cases.
I use TurboTax but there are lots of similar sites.
If you want to know how much you'll get back, you could pretend you're filing your 2011 taxes. It will be a pretty good estimate of what you'll get next year. And if you expect to get a refund, you can file as soon as you have your W-2 (often January or February), no need to wait until April to get your refund.
If you go to the TurboTax website, it allows you to do free filing for Federal taxes. You can find out exactly what you would pay.
Effective tax rate does not include Social Security and Medicare. Self employment tax is a way for self employed people to pay those taxes.
Oh and by the way, regular employees also pay these taxes but they do not count it as part of their effective tax rate.
Teenagers are usually classified as a dependent on someone else's tax return. As such, the threshold is lower on the amount they can earn before having to file a tax return. But if you make enough, you are required to file a tax return, even if you are a teenager who earns money babysitting.
See Do I need to file a tax return?
>For instance, children and teens who work must file a tax return only if they earn more than $5,800 a year.
Here's the free version of turbotax for those who make under 30k. Here's californi'a dept of revenue site to e-file (this is probably preferred).
EDIT: Don't do this per DasHuhn's replyIf it still shows that you owe money to the state talk with your parents about this. See if you can claim yourself on your taxes and then split the difference in the return with them. They would probably lose out on tuition payments, but I'm not 100% sure about that.
You can use the free version of TurboTax online. Though free is a bit of a misnomer, filling Federal returns is free but filling your State return is a little less than $30. It's pretty much idiot proof.
The standard deduction is the same. Realizable benefits are either from special secondary programs/forms (aka additional forms besides the 1040) or from this:
http://turbotax.intuit.com/tax-tools/tax-tips/Family/Getting-Married/INF12006.html
The fact that you are buying the stock for 15% under the fair market value is seen as extra income. It's known as a disqualified disposition. You will have to pay standard income taxes on the 15%.
Not just that.
Go to the tax calculator and put in a family of four with one wage-earner earning $40,000 a year.
They get $2112 in the form of a refund from the government after paying zero taxes.
Someone earning $8K gets $4456, assuming zero deductions.
Not sure about SS and Medicare, though.
You don't have to drink, do drugs, or get super fat, but if you do, your treatments for alcoholism, drug addiction, and obesity are all tax-deductible.
But if you are drugged and have sex with someone against your will (not rape, according to the bill), you don't deserve any breaks for the subsequent abortion. Seems fair.
He did not say he was unable to do his taxes using the software. He said he was unable to e-file his return. Turbo tax has nothing do with efiling--thats the IRS. Turbo tax has done everything they promised in that they allow you to efile. The fact that a user may be inelligible for efiling is not Turbo taxes fault. He'll just have to deal with the minor inconvenience of printing out the forms and mailing them in.
And as stated above, they are working on an update for the software. They are making a good faith effort to keep up to date with recent changes in the tax law, so I don't see that he is owed anything.
I did tech support for them, as well as used the program myself and would recommend them. You'll want to use Freedom edition, which may or may not cost you for doing your state return depending on where you live. With the info you've mentioned, you'll most likely get free federal.
Not particularly true, Free Edition works just fine for 1040EZ. The difference is that you get a cheaper state e-file if you use TaxFreedom ($15 vs $27 iirc). Also if you're in a state that qualifies, you can actually get free state e-filing if you use TaxFreedom.
The downside of TaxFreedom is there are more stringent guidelines to have access to it. If you're interested in checking it out, http://turbotax.intuit.com/taxfreedom/
> The IRS (if they audit you) want to go back and look at 3 years of taxes filed. No way in hell am I organized enough to keep those kind of records. But turbo tax has that information stored.
When you get audited, what the IRS wants to see are the original forms and documents sent by your banks, employers, etc, that you got the numbers from. They already have the same information that TurboTax does because that same information was submitted to them.
If you aren't keeping the original documents to back up the numbers you put on the TurboTax forms, you may be in for a bit of a surprise if you get audited and think TurboTax can help you...
*Edit: See http://turbotax.intuit.com/corp/auditdefense.jsp. It's your responsibility to provide the documentation to back up your claims, not theirs.
Free File delivered by Turbotax, actually free if income under 39K: http://freefile.intuit.com
"Start for Free but then we charge you if you need to do any Schedules" by Turbotax: http://turbotax.intuit.com
You need to delete your info and start from scratch at the other site. TurboTax treats these as separate entities and doesn't make it easy for you to slide over to the truly free edition.
> I was not aware that I needed to file in the beginning of my first quarter technically in business.
You actually don't need to in the first year of starting a new business. And after that, you only need to file quarterly if you think you will owe over $1000 at tax time- which I think after factoring in credits starts around the $15000 income range.
I don't think you have anything to worry about with your taxes on your pet sitting business, just report the money earned last year on your regular personal taxes with the schedule C form and you'll owe 15% of what you made for medicare and social security. you'll owe no federal income tax, maybe a tiny bit of state taxes. Your income will be low enough you can use free tax software, there is a free version of turbotax that will let you file the schedule C form. http://turbotax.intuit.com/taxfreedom/
Oh darn, my bad. And you do have a cap of $3000/year.
“If you have an overall net capital loss for the year, you can deduct up to $3,000 of that loss against other kinds of income, including your salary and interest income, for example. Any excess net capital loss can be carried over to subsequent years to be deducted against capital gains and against up to $3,000 of other kinds of income.”
http://turbotax.intuit.com/tax-tips/investments-and-taxes/capital-gains-and-losses/amp/L7GF1ouP8
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Different companies charge different amounts, and it depends on how complicated your taxes are (1040 vs 1040ez vs extra schedules to file).
Here's an overview of turbo tax's options: http://turbotax.intuit.com/personal-taxes/
If the options do expire in May, you lose the ability to purchase the stock at $28 and any of the potential gain that might go along with that. It might be worth double checking the expiration date though, most options don't expire for 10 years or more (so long as you are still with the company).
If the options do expire in May 2013, you should exercise your right to purchase before then. Depending on what type of option they are (ISO-Incentive Stock Options or NQSO-Non-Qualified Stock Options) there may not be a significant reason to come up with the $1,176 needed for purchase and hold on to them and you can just do a "cashless exercise". With this option, Fidelity will loan you the money to purchase the stock and immediately sell it to cover the loan and give you the net proceeds.
The TurboTax site has good detail on the tax consequences for both ISO and NQSO grants.
If you do plan on staying with the company for some time and really expect their stock value to increase, you may benefit from using some of the proceeds to purchase some of your other stock options. Personally, I don't think the tax benefit is worth doubling down on the stock, but your mileage may vary.
http://turbotax.intuit.com/tax-tools/tax-tips/General-Tax-Tips/10-Strange-But-Legitimate-Federal-Tax-Deductions/INF14190.html Here are deductions that are for very specific and small groups. Ron Paul passed a tax bill that specifically provides deductions for police and firemen, He also had a duty ended for luteum oxide, a oxide used in Laser Cryrstals. He also pushed a tax that that gave relief for transportation workers obtaining identity credentials. These are very specific and apply to select groups. that is what the wealthy get too.
>For a married couple with three children, the total exemption deduction for 2011 is $18,500
can i see the sources for that? not sure how that works out. ty
Found it . link
For a married couple with three children, the total exemption deduction for 2011 is $18,500 ($3,700 x 5). If the marginal income tax rate for this family is 25 percent, the five exemptions save $4,625 in taxes.
>However, under the current President this is what I have to deal with so arguing who will work better for the middle class has yet to be seen.
Do you think they're higher under Obama than before, or do you just want them lower?
As far as Federal taxes go, your total effective rate should be around 20% total, using an income tax calculator for the 80k and the 25% rate for bonuses (Assuming that extra 50k would be all bonuses)
The limit is set per donor, not for the total donations as a whole.
This thread covers a guy that got screwed over from the TurboTax Card. I would also note paying a monthly fee to use your own money is absurd. But yes, it appears the fee is waived if you have over $50 at the last day of the month. I think 'on hold' just means the card is done - it won't work until you reload it with money (optional).
I'll repost part of my comment, where apparently there's some issue.
From the FAQ:
>What if I am a legitimate TurboTax Card customer and my card has been put on hold?
>In a small number of cases, we regret that a hold on some cards may impact legitimate cardholders:
>Cards with zero balance. At this time, we are not removing holds on cards that have a zero balance. Cardholders with a zero balance and a hold on their card will not receive their 2011 federal tax refund loaded onto their card. Rather, the IRS will issue you a paper check, mailed to the physical address indicated in TurboTax which you should receive in 4-6 weeks.
If you make less than $31k you can get free federal and NC filing with TurboTax. If your return is straight-froward, TurboTax is darn easy and fast to use.
If your taxes aren't simple or you want to interact with someone in person, I used AVL Tax Pros this year (my first time not doing it myself) and they were super nice and knowledgeable and fast. I was satisfied.
It's still a murky mess to me. I found this article helpful, but I still don't claim to understand it all. http://turbotax.intuit.com/tax-tools/tax-tips/IRS-Tax-Return/Alternative-Minimum-Tax--Common-Questions/INF12072.html#whypay
Also: >Who is most at risk for the AMT? > >Taxpayers who have higher than average incomes, are married and have more than two children, own a home and live in a state with high incomes taxes, such as California, New York and Michigan.
We fit all the criteria except the 2+ child one.
Would you be able to pay off the balance within 120 days of filing? Looks like if you contact the IRS, you can have that much time without additional fees. Or if you need longer, you would have to pay between $43 and $102 for an installment payment plan.
I found this info just searching, I use TurboTax and it says they have an option at the payment screen for requesting an installment plan. http://turbotax.intuit.com/support/iq/Additional-Tax-Payments/Paying-Your-Income-Taxes-Through-an-Installment-Plan/HOW12014.html
More info from IRS.gov with a number to call and an app for applying online: http://www.irs.gov/individuals/article/0,,id=243335,00.html
Or... if you can get a 0% interest promo on a new credit card, it might be worth charging it: http://turbotax.intuit.com/support/iq/Print-and-File-Payment/Options-for-Paying-Your-Federal-Income-Tax/GEN12341.html >Yep, the IRS accepts the major credit cards: American Express, Discover, MasterCard, and VISA. If your card offers bonuses, you can earn points, miles, or money back. (Check your card issuer for terms, conditions or eligibility details.)
>Of course, convenience comes with a price tag – 2.49% of the total amount you owe for most cards.* This means that for every $1,000 in taxes you owe the IRS, you'll pay an extra $24.90 if you choose to pay by credit card.
>Your card will be charged when your return is accepted. The transaction is handled just like any other credit card charge; you can pay the full balance due or make monthly payments.
I use TurboTax and get it at an amazing discount due to having friends that work at Intuit. (disclaimer: I also used to work there) But I would still pay for it even if I didn't. You can usually get 25-35% off the price going through your bank or credit union or insurance company or employer. Off the top of my head, I know BofA, State Farm, USAA, etc all have affiliate discounts on TurboTax.
Get the lowest tier version that you need. If you make under $31k or are active military making under $57k, you can use TurboTax Freedom edition http://turbotax.intuit.com/taxfreedom/, which includes free state filing for many states. If you don't qualify for that, the next option is TurboTax Free, if you have very simple taxes. Then TurboTax Basic (but I'd just get TurboTax Deluxe if you're not doing Free).
Also, they made a change this year to make their "call a tax expert" service free so if you have an odd question/situation, you can call and talk to a CPA.
Another tip, if you have friends or family that also want to use TurboTax, go in together on one copy of the desktop software (instead of the online service). You can e-file up to 5 federal returns per license, but you can prepare and print an unlimited amount. Also, instead of e-filing your state taxes (costs extra), just print and mail instead for the cost of postage. You can usually purchase the desktop software through your bank/insurance affiliate site at a discount as well.
They're given all kinds of breaks and at the end of the day can expense their income down to nearly nothing, enjoying additional benefits that even the self-employed can't touch.
On the cars: If you trust your mother to do the right thing, you could keep your car and let your mother keep hers. Give your mother $600 a month for the payments on her car (I'm not completely sure whether you can donate $7200 a year to a parent without having to pay taxes, please find out! (EDIT: I think you can )). Later, when things are a bit better for your mother, she can pay you back (or actually, give you a gift of money). You could also make it an official loan, but then you'd need to pay a lawyer or someone like that to draft it and make it official. Maybe that's not what you'd want.
State taxes are going to depend on both where you reside and where you earn the income. For example, WA has no state income taxes, but if you are a WA state resident and you work in OR, you need to file OR state taxes for income you earn in the state. Federal will get you no matter where you live.
Disclaimer: I am not an accountant nor a tax adviser - this does not constitute tax advice. This is Reddit - consult a pro before acting on anything you read here.
If it considered to be a gift, Mr. Lopez will not be required to report the $50,000 as income.
Sources: http://www.cricpa.com/ArticleAnnualGiftGiving.aspx
http://turbotax.intuit.com/tax-tools/tax-tips/Tax-Planning-and-Checklists/The-Gift-Tax/INF12036.html
It looks like if you are single and under 65 you don't have to file a return unless you made over $9,350.
Source: link
For many people, that's the main deduction on taxes if you don't own a business. You get $3.6k per person as a deductible, so a person with two kids gets $7.2k more off than a childless couple. There is no limit to the number of deductibles claimed, and it's a freebie that has nothing to do with lifestyle
There are also other assorted taxes and services that would fall under your experiment in, school taxes and local taxes and let's say those pan out. But the plain fact is that people with children get more tax breaks, just like homeowners get more deductibles than renters. It's honestly just the way the tax code is structured to favor one group over the other. Kids are seen to cost money, so the gov't assumes you are spending money on books rather than hookers and blow, and lets you count it against taxable income.
I feel like this is a bit like trying to explain white privilege. It's not your fault for being white and you shouldn't feel guilty, but if you are saying most white folk don't get automatic breaks, you are overlooking some key facts about the world. That said, there's no reason to be throwing around offensive names.
You really have no idea what you're talking about.
Assuming $505 per week pre-tax, that makes $25,250 per year. Payroll (medicare/social security) taxes are 4.2%, and federal income tax on $25,250 is $1,533. That gives a total effective tax rate of 10%.
File taxes this year (by april 15) for free using this. http://turbotax.intuit.com/personal-taxes/online/free-edition.jsp
Claim NO income and tell your parents to sod off because they won't be claiming you as a dependent.
Fill this shit out and then go to your financial aid office when its been processed. http://www.fafsa.ed.gov/
??????
Profit
The reason I'm hesitant, is because I saw this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TurboTax#Controversy
But isn't it free the first time w/ a promotion code?
What is the difference here with the free edition and Deluxe (other than price)? Does this include state taxes?
I tried this out, and though it is really cool, the camera recognition seemed to mess up words (got all the numbers right however) I went all the way up to file (I think)
But decided the 14.99 wasn't worth the fact that I had to type or retype a few of it's errors. Did a little research and found this http://turbotax.intuit.com/taxfreedom/ same company and free for many states and many people in the lower pay scale.
Anyway it's a little more involved and ended up getting me a larger federal return (I hope) anyway hope this might save some of you all a few bucks and maybe make you a few more :)
>If it's really $100 this year...
It's not. Well, it's probably not.
If you pay the full price for the "Home and Business" version, federal and state filings, it'll set you back over $100.
But that's not most people. And, they tell you the price up front, so I don't know how one gets "RIPPED off".
It looks like that is a new code this year. I just logged into my turbotax account and checked and it shows as an option there. Maybe the site you picked hasn't updated theirs yet? Turbotax has a free edition if you can't figure anything else out.
Turbo Tax is easy. I am in the same boat as you in terms of things that I need to account and file for. If you are really worried you can hire someone somewhere like HR Block but that usually runs about $150. If you go the turbo tax route you will need the home and business edition. http://turbotax.intuit.com/personal-taxes/online/home-and-business.jsp runs about 75$ and you get a free efile with that (it submits everything electronically). This is the best option in my opinion.