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Posts Tagged ‘forms’

Iraq Workers Form Unions Despite Violence, Obstacles

Online Taxes: Three Ways to Stay Out of Trouble

The Internet can simplify doing your taxes — but can’t replace good judgment. Here’s a look at your main online tax software choices and key issues to keep in mind, from import gotchas to professional consults.

Question: How do I enter a 1099-misc form as foreign income?

My husband works overseas and was given a 1099-misc. Its completely foreign income. I’m using turbotax and can’t find the foreign income option for a 1099-misc. HELP!

Answer: If your husband is a US Person, then he treats this like any other self-employment income and it goes on schedule C.

If he’s eligible to exclude any of the income (but not the SE tax), he fills in form 2555.

PS are you sure he was a true contractor? Several companies are misclassifying employees as contractors to avoid paying their share of the fica/mc taxes. See form 8919 and SS-8.

Review: Intuit TurboTax and H&R Block At Home tax software

There are still some of the same differences between the two major desktop tax preparation programs, Intuit TurboTax and H&R Block At Home (formerly TaxCut. But TurboTax has improved.

Question: Where do I find the EXACT 1099 1st Qtr. estimated taxes forms online for small new start business Jan. 07?

I need to pay my 1st quarter estimated taxes. I just started a small business 1/1/7 with me as the only employee. I went to www.irs.gov and can’t seem to find what I need to download to get this started. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you

Answer: You’re looking for the wrong form. Go back to the IRS website. Click on Forms and Publications. Click on Forms. Scroll down to the 2007 version of Form 1040ES. Download it. That’s the form you need, not a Form 1099.

Health Dept. Director Troubled Over New Bill

Dr. Harry Tweel says a new bill designed to allow public to appeal local health regulations is a ‘terrible mistake’.

Newsom Highlights Tax Relief and Job Creation for SF Business

Question: What is the purpose of determining allowances on W4 Tax Forms?

Answer: Excellent question!

Imagine a time long ago where once per year the tax man would stop by and ask how much you made the previous year and then say “give me 25%”. Oftentimes, you spend all you made and didn’t have the 25% sitting around. The tax collector would often under collect the taxes by a large amount. So, the government got smart and said, “Why don’t we collect taxes with every paycheck instead of waiting until the end of the year?”

Now, if you have a flat tax, this is easy. If your tax rate was 25% and there were no credits, deductions, or adjustments, the IRS would simply take 25% of your gross pay. In fact, they do this currently with social security (6.2%) and Medicare (1.45%).

But, we don’t have a flat tax. Our tax structure is quite complicated. We enter all our income minus all our adjustments, deductions, exemptions (dependents) to get to our final taxable income which is taxed at a tiered rate from 10% to 35%. How much should your employer withhold and give to the IRS on your behalf every paycheck? 5%? 10%? 30%? Let’s say you and a coworker both earn $50,000 per year, but he has a wife and 3 kids. Maybe his federal tax is only 5% of his earnings whereas you, single and no kids, has a federal tax of 15%. If your employer withholds 10% from each, your coworker will get a large refund and you will end up owing. He may want more in each paycheck and a smaller refund. You may want less in each paycheck and not owe anything at the end of the year.

Withholding allowances give you, the taxpayer, that control. They allow you to throttle the amount your employer withholds from each paycheck and gives to the IRS. There are limitations. If you choose an allowance that is too large, you may end up owing more than the IRS feels you should and they will charge you with penalties. On the other hand, if you choose a real small allowance, you will end up getting a much larger refund, but each paycheck may be not have enough post-tax money.

By the way, congratulations for calling them “withholding allowances” and not “dependents” or “exemptions”. Most people don’t know the difference.

Letters: School trips

I was dismayed but not surprised by your article “School trips suffer due to lack of teacher cover” (3 March ). The difficulties of covering for teachers out on school trips should not deter schools from running them, nor should the current irrational approach to risk. Contrary to media coverage, the risks associated with school trips are in fact small. Too often unconsidered are the enriching …

Basic Explanation of W-4 tax Form : Summary of W-4 Tax Form