TAXES – What You Can’t Avoid! Instructor Name Class Title

Two Things You Can’t Avoid: Death and Taxes!

Understanding Taxes and Tax Forms The first form you will work with is Form W-4 Personal Allowance Worksheet It is filled out each time you begin a new job and/or if your family status changes If you marry or have children, you will need to fill out a new W-4 This form tells your employer how much money to withhold from your paycheck to pay the government your taxes Withholding Taxes: the tax your employer takes out of your paycheck

W-4

Form W-4 Line A: you are a dependent as long as you are living with someone and they provide most of the money for your care—they claim you as a ‘dependent’ Line B: Line C: Enter “0” at all times unless you and your spouse do not earn much combined income or your spouse does not earn anything – this makes that person a dependent

Form W-4 Be sure to completely fill out lower part of the W-4: Line D: Does your salary provide for anyone else living in your household? Line E: See “head of household” conditions Line F: Child care that you are claiming Line G: If you have a low income and have to care for children Line H: Add up your numbers…you want this to be as close to 0 as possible Be sure to completely fill out lower part of the W-4: Print name SS# Full Address

Form W-4 Single, Married, Married, but withhold at higher Single rate – you are filing single so you will have more tax taken out of your paycheck #5 – total number from above #6 – Additional amount you want withheld – to make sure you pay enough #7 – Exempt – saying you don’t make enough for the government to withhold any money. DO NOT use this unless you are absolutely sure you qualify

Form W-4 #7 – Exempt – you don’t earn enough income for the government to withhold any money from your paycheck. DO NOT use this unless you are absolutely sure you qualify! You will have to pay a penalty of $500 if you earn more than you thought you would Sign & Date If you forget to sign, your tax filing is not valid!

During the Regular Year You do not need to keep track of your taxes-- that is what your employer does! You may want to double check your pay stub to make sure that your tax deductions are being calculated correctly

Form W-2 Wage and Tax Statement This is sent to you by your employer – completely filled out! Sent by January 31 Make sure everything is correct and then use it to file your tax information for the IRS!

Form W-2 2: Federal Income Tax Withheld: How much federal income tax your employer took out of your paychecks 4: Social Security Tax Withheld: how much social security tax your employer took out of your paychecks 6: Medicare Tax Withheld: how much Medicare tax your employer took out of your paychecks

Form W-2 Lines 15 – 20: information on state tax and local tax deducted from each paycheck You will need a W-2 from each job that you have held this year, even if you don’t work there anymore!

Form 1099-INT Interest Income This is sent to you by your bank or financial institution. It shows how much money you have made on interest on your investments You must pay taxes on your interest!

1099

Form 1099 A copy is also sent to the IRS, so they know what the amounts are – you can’t lie! The type of investment you have will determine whether you must pay taxes on the interest or dividends earned

Filing Your Taxes You must file you taxes by April 15 Ways to file: Penalties for filing late! You can file for time extension, if necessary Ways to file: Hire an Accountant: they do all the work and even send in the forms Inquire about fees charged if accountant files Fill out the forms yourself and send in E-File: electronically file your taxes Save money by filing your taxes yourself!

Tax Terms Voluntary Compliance: every citizen voluntarily files a tax return by April 15th Tax Evasion: not reporting income or paying your taxes Audit: IRS wants additional data or evidence about your return Correspondence Audit: done by mail Field Audit or Office Audit: meet with IRS agent in person Can give someone else power-of-attorney to take your place Can bring a tax expert for advise and support

Federal Income Tax (Single taxpayer for 2006 Taxes) Annual Earnings Tax + Tax Rate Over $0 – 7,550 $0 tax + 10% over 0 $7,550 – 30,650 $755 +15% over $7,550 $30,650 – 74,200 $4,220 +25% over 30,650 $74,200 – 154,800 $15,107.50 + 28% over 74,200 $154,800 – 336,550 $37,650.50 +33% over 154,800 $336,550 or more $97,653.00 + 35% over 336,550 Source: http://www.smbiz.com/sbrl001.html#pis06

Federal Income Tax How much would you owe in taxes if you earned ? ? ? $10,000 $ $80,000 $ $150,000 $

$10,000 10,000 – 7,550 = $2,450.00 2,450 * .15 = $ 367.50 755 + 367.50 = $1,122.50 What if the government used a steady rate of 15%? 10,000 * .15 = $1,500

$80,000 80,000 – 74,200 = $ 5,800.00 5,800 * .28 = $ 1,624.00 15,107.50 + 1,624 = $16,731.50 What if the government used a steady rate of 28%? 80,000 * .28 = $22,400

$150,000 150,000 – 74,200 = $75,800.00 75,800 * .28 = $21,224.00 15,107.5 + 21,224 = $36,331.50 What if the government used a steady rate of 28%? 150,000 * .28 = $42,000

Basic Tax Forms The following are common forms used by citizens to file their Federal taxes: Forms 1040, 1040A, 1040EZ Schedule A,B, or C Download current tax forms @ http://www.unclefed.com/IRS-Forms/2001/HTML/p52710.html

Form 1040 U.S. Individual Income Tax Return Use this form if you want to itemize deductions or if you are a business owner Use the Schedules with this document

Form 1040A Use this form if you have children, child care expenses, dependents

Form 1040EZ This is the easiest form to use! Use the “EZ” if you have limited dependents/exemptions – usually if it is just you or maybe a spouse

Tax Form Schedules Schedule A: Schedule B: Schedule C: Allows you to show where you spent your money and to get tax breaks on certain expenditures Schedule B: Shows interest and dividends for tax exemptions Schedule C: Used in businesses to show profit or loss If you own a business, you will want to fill one of these out!

Other Forms There are many other forms that you can use for other exemptions and deductions If you start having to use all of these forms, it is may be time to get some help! Know when it is too much for you to handle