Tax tip for 1099 payment

Tax tip for 1099 payment

Tax tip for 1099 payment

 IRS considers any 1099 payment as taxable income, you are required to report your 1099 payment on your tax return. For example, if you earned less than $600 as an independent contractor, the payer does not have to send you a 1099-MISC, but you still have to report the amount as self-employment income. if you earned more than $ 600 as a contractor, it needs to be filed under 1099 Misc by end of the year.

Do not miss this Tax tip to plan W4 form effectively!

Do not miss this Tax tip to plan W4 form effectively!

Do not miss this Tax tip

to plan W4 form effectively!

 

Do not miss the Tax tip to plan W4 form effectively.The W4 form is an employee withholding allowance certificate, wherein employee acknowledges and allows to deduct the taxes based on the marital status and their number of dependents provided in the form by an employee and also contains basic information like Name, SSN, the address of an employee can be identified by the employer for their records. We recommend that the Taxpayer should complete a new W4 Form every time a major life event takes place such as Marriage, the Birth or adoption of a child or a Spouse getting or losing a Job. These things can have a direct effect on the amount of Tax you owe, so plan your W4 Form accordingly.

Though this might sound a bit odd, it is essential that find out whether or not you need to file taxes. If a tax payer has mentioned your name as dependent on their tax filing and you had a job which fetched you more than $6300 in a financial year, you will have to file for taxes. If you did not have a job yet managed to earn more than $1050 (could be money from investments, interests etc.) you will need to file your taxes. If you do not belong to either of the categories, you technically need not file taxes. But getting into that habit early on will help you for a smoother transition later on.

Get to it quickly

We all know that April 18th is the last day for filing your taxes. But why even wait for the last day? The earlier you file your taxes, the earlier you receive refunds, if any. Even if you do not finish it immediately, getting started with the process will ensure you are a step closer to it. Because the moment you start the process, you will come to know the different documents needed for the process. One might need to do a bit of research for a few sections. Starting early gives you that time freedom to do these things.

Owe Taxes? These Tips Can Help

Owe Taxes? These Tips Can Help

Owe Taxes? These Tips Can Help

Owe Taxes These can help . A few of us receive an intimation letter from the IRS stating that we owe them some money in the form of taxes. Sure enough, nobody likes to receive such emails. However, if you do here are some ways you can handle the situation without losing your sleep.

Do not delay

If you receive that envelope from IRS, do not be a skeptic and not open it at all. I have seen quite a few friends who just do not wish to open the envelope. There are chances that your tax filing might have a minor error that you need to fix. Whatever the reasons could be, do not forget to open and read the letter as soon as you receive it.

jniThe letters from IRS usually tend to be long and a bit difficult for some people to understand. While calling the IRS might not be the most efficient method, it surely is the easiest workaround. Speak with them to understand the need for the letter and clarify should you have any queries regarding it.

Verify if you owe money

It is of utmost importance that you keep your nerves calm and read through the letter properly. It will help you access if you really owe the IRS some money or not. There are a few instances when the IRS goofs up the returns and sends letters to your address. For an instance, they might calculate your wages twice or Form 1099-Misc twice, which directly impact the taxes that you owe. If in doubt, you can always seek professional help to iron out things.

Taxpayers rights

You are entitled to a few rights as a tax payer such as the right to privacy, take the help of professional services to represent you and only pay the amount that you owe to the government. You can ask a CPA or an attorney to represent you. You can also take help from the Taxpayer Associate Service. You must keep in mind that most of the people involved are merely doing their jobs. Thus, being kind and gentle might help you get through the process a bit faster and with fewer worries.

Don’t pay it off immediately

This advice comes at the backdrop of your financial condition and availability of funds. You need to judiciously pay off any money that you owe to the IRS. For an instance if you have $500 with you and you owe the IRS that much, paying it off immediately puts you at other risks. Ensure that you have all the basics covered such as food and shelter before paying off the IRS.

Pay only your bills

It is not uncommon for business entities and spouses to send the bill to other individuals. If you are stuck in one such situation, do not forget to explore your options. There are chances that you might not be liable to pay the taxes at all. An example of the same would be, if your spouse was part of a deal that you are not aware of, you need not pay taxes on those.

Determine the minimum payment

It might so happen that you do not have the entire amount to pay off the dues. In such cases, check for the minimum amount that you need to pay immediately and look for options to repay the remaining ones as soon as possible. The IRS lets you repay the amount in installments as well. Thus keep your options open and not just get a mental block because you received a letter from the IRS. watch mercedes
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Tax Saving Tips for Contractual and Project Based Employees

Tax Saving Tips for Contractual and Project Based Employees

Tax Saving Tips for Contractual

and Project Based Employees

 Tax Saving Tips,Being a contractual or project based employee has quite a few benefits when it comes to taxes. For an instance, you are eligible for a few tax deductions without even having to itemize the same. The following are some great ways of saving money on tax dollars if you a contract and/or project based employee.

Include Business Expenses

A lot of contract employees either shy away or are too skeptical when it comes to deducting business expenses from their returns.As a project based or contract employee, it is imperative that you keep a track of all your earnings throughout a year. If you can manage, having separate cards and accounts for business and personal usage would be ideal.

Any expenses that you pick up as part of your job, you can deduct the same. However, it must be required by your business or job profile and not any made up costs. A lot of contractual employees forget to do the same and end up paying more taxes than they should ideally pay.

For example, you can deduct mileage spent for work related travels or pay up internet bills if you use the connection only for work. The same also works for business related travels or meals.If you spend money on marketing research or coaching, you can deduct those as well.

Health Insurance

Getting a health insurance while you are a contract based or project based employee is a win-win situation for you. Firstly, you create a shield for yourself when it comes to medical expenses. Secondly, you can deduct the premium amounts from your net income; thus, reducing your tax liability. You can make use of health savings accounts as well to reduce your tax liability.

Be Organized

It might sound a bit silly, but trust us it is not. If you keep a track of all your earnings and expenses on a regular basis, it just irons out the tax filing process. A step as simple as keeping all tax related paperwork in a folder from the beginning of the year is helpful. It will ensure you do not lose hairs due to stress at year end while doing taxes. Also, reviewing the same on a regular basis will give provide you with better opportunities to save taxes as and when you can?

Retirement Plan

This is one of the easiest ways by which you can save money on taxes and yet secure a good future. Setting up a retirement fund allows you to save taxes. The money that you invest in such funds also grows tax free, provided you do not withdraw the same before the anticipated time. You can check if your employer provides with any such benefits, as they get to save taxes under the same pretext.

File On Time

This is another of those seemingly easy things to do, that a lot of us miss out on. Not filing the taxes on time is something that you must avoid at all costs. It just doesn’t make sense to pay taxes and fines for late filing on the top of it. Being organized from the beginning of the year would ensure an easier tax filing season.

Of course, there are emergencies and other work which need higher attention to be paid. If you anticipate any such things, it is better to go with an extension of tax filing. It will give you additional time to file your taxes.

Being aware of your tax liability helps you, as you know where you can save some of your hard earned money.

Big Savings on Tax for Newly Married Couples

Big Savings on Tax for Newly Married Couples

Big Savings on Tax for

Newly Married Couples

Big Savings on Tax for Newly Married Couples.Of the several advantages of being married to someone, the least expected one comes in the form of tax deductions. Post marriage, if you file your taxes jointly, you can cut down on tax liability by a decent enough margins. You can avoid certain types of penalties, largely dependent on your source of income. If you and your spouse are in different tax brackets, the one earning lower can help in bringing down the overall income and thus reduce the tax liability.

Tax Bracket Changes

A tax bracket essentially provides the highest amount of taxes that you would be liable to pay. As the tax bracket changes with different filing status, the tax rates applicable to you before marriage might change. Post marriage the source of income of both partners is taken into consideration. While it might bump up the bracket for one, it might bring down the tax bracket for the other one.

Enhanced deductions and exemptions

As your status for filing taxes changes from single to married filing jointly, there are several other advantages in the form of deductions and exemptions. Post marriage you and your spouse are eligible for two personal deductions, one each.

Married couples also enjoy the highest standard deductions in the entire tax regime. For an instance, in the year 2017 someone filing as a single taxpayer would have walked away with a $6,350 deduction. For the status married filing jointly the same deductions stood at $12,700.

Each child that you declare as dependent, provisions you for tax deductions and the amount stands at $4,050 per child.

Gifts and Real Estate

If you are not already aware of it, spouses can gift each other any number of gifts either in cash or even property. You can work this in your favor when it comes to property planning. So, the next time you are planning for something in the real estate, do not forget about this clause.

To itemize or to claim standard deduction

Every year one of the toughest decisions that one has to make during the tax season is whether to itemize or opt for standard deductions. But if you own a home and are married, it would add more value if you opted to itemize your deductions. Simply because the interest rate on your mortgage would result in higher deductible amount than what standard deduction would provide you.

W-4

When you file taxes as married filing jointly, you have access to higher exemptions and deductions, than what you would have paid if done separately. Thus, updating your W-4 Form with your employer to reflect these changes is advisable.

Charitable Deductions

We are all aware that there is an upper cap on charitable deductions on a yearly basis. However, married couples enjoy a higher limit when it comes to charitable deductions. This allows for higher deductions under charity which makes way for better tax saving.

Additions to IRA

According to the IRS, you or your spouse may contribute to your IRA funds even if one of you does not work. The benefits that married couples get due to filing jointly are dramatically different from the ones single taxpayers receive. This allows you to save a substantial amount of money as tax and put in money for your retirement at the same time.

If all of the above points were not good enough, you also get to save time while doing your taxes. As both of you must fill one tax return instead of two, you will end up saving time as well.

7 Reasons Why File your Tax Return EARLY?

7 Reasons Why File your Tax Return EARLY?

7 Reasons Why File your Tax Return EARLY?

 

1. The Earlier You File, the Earlier You Get Your Refund




  •  A good reason to file your taxes early you’ll get your money sooner.
  • According to the IRS, the average refund was more than $2,800 for 2016 and 2017 Tax Filers…so why miss on that earlier claim and why give you an interest free loan to IRS?
  • Every year taxpayers have too much tax withholds from their pay checks which means IRS is getting interest free loans from the tax payers. So it’s better to get your hard earned money back from IRS ASAP by filing your tax return early and put that money into your savings account, where it can start accruing interest for you rather than leaving it with IRS till the tax filing deadline.
  • Getting refund early might also help you to pay your outstanding bills, credit card bills and other debts.
  • The IRS begins accepting e-filed returns every year in the mid of January.

2. You’ll give yourself more Time to Pay or Plan for Payment

  • Filing early gives you an extra time to pay taxes you owe.
  • Let’s say if you prepare & file your taxes in the month of January and determine how much you owe, you will get almost 2 & half months time to arrange your payments to IRS.
  • It is not mandatory that you need to pay your taxes along with the tax return. You can file your tax return as soon as IRS opens the E-filing window and pay the amount you owe by the deadline (i.e., April 15th)

3. You can prevent yourself from Tax Fraud

  • The IRS estimates that millions of taxpayers were victims of Identity theft tied to tax returns every year.
  • Most tax returns frauds occur early in the tax season. If thieves file a return using your Social Security number before you do, the IRS will reject your return since their records shows the refund has already been paid.
  • If you are a victim of Identity theft, it’ll be on you to get things sorted out, which could not only delay your refund but also constitute a major headache. The IRS says it can take 120 to 180 days (or longer) to resolve tax-related identity theft cases.
  • So if you file your tax return early and gets on IRS records, it makes it harder for thieves to file a second one and grab your refund.

 

4. You’ll reduce Stress

  • Early filers eliminate tax deadline stress.
  • If you are up against the filing deadline, there is added stress of meeting the deadline. If you file early, you eliminate this stress.
  • There’s always peace of mind from filing early.
  • Once your return is filed early, give yourself a small reward for being so efficient and responsible. Then relax while everyone else stresses out about getting their taxes done on time.

 

5. Your Tax Preparer will have more time for you

  • By mid-March of the 2017 Tax Season (i.e. 2016 Tax Returns), nearly 78 million people had already filed their income taxes, that left the remaining 68 million people just one month to file theirs by the deadline.
  • Early filers have greater access to their tax preparer. As the tax deadline approaches, your tax preparer’s schedule tightens. It is best to get on their calendar early when they have more time to devote to you and your return.
  • Additionally, tax professionals often increase their fees as the tax deadline approaches. So waiting may also cost you more to have your return prepared.

 

6. Tax Returns Aid in Loan Documentation

  • You may need your tax return to buy a home.
  • Some lenders for mortgages may want to see a completed tax return as proof of income. Getting your tax return done early, whether you owe money or expect a refund, gives you a head start on the paperwork you will need for these processes and can reduce delays during the process.

 

7. File early to fund an IRA before Tax Deadline

  • If you file early and get a refund, you can use the same money to fund an Individual Retirement Account (IRA) before the April 15th deadline.
  • Let’s say if you are eligible to get a deduction for IRA in your Tax Return but don’t have funds for the contribution before April 15th, the smart way to is to file your tax return early to get the refund and use the same refund for IRA contribution which would help you to increase your tax savings.

 

To Summarize

Filing your taxes long before the April 15 deadline might not be your top priority, but there are many benefits to completing your return early. By filing early:

  • You avoid the last-minute stress,
  • Have time to plan for paying taxes you may owe,
  • You can get your refund faster and
  • Avoid fraud by filling out your tax forms sooner rather than later.

 

2017 FILING SEASON STATISTICS

IRS Cumulative Statistics comparing 04/22/2016 and 04/21/2017

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