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sex swing from IKEA posted:Deduction question: When you get married doesn't determine filling MFS vs MFJ. The best thing is to run the return both ways and see what gives the best result. Tax items that make a difference would be where the tax brackets change, and credits you would qualify for as MFJ that aren't allowed for MFS, and ACA subsidies, off the top of my head. There are probably others depending on your specific situations. Some people also choose to file MFS if they are on income-based student loan repayment plans and eliminating the spouse's income makes a big difference in the payment amount (and the amount saved on loan payments is greater than the extra tax paid because they filled MFS).
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Dec 18, 2016 17:21
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SurgicalOntologist posted:Married, filing jointly, last year we had $43k AGI and overpaid through withholdings by $2.5k. That stuff hasn't changed much. You won't get an underpayment penalty if the amount you owe with your return is less than $1,000, or as long as your withholdings + estimated payments are at least the lesser of 1) your taxes owed last year or 2) 90% of the tax you owe this year. Your state probably has similar rules with a different absolute $ amount. At this point, changing your withholdings at work will not make enough difference on the amount withheld for 2016, but if you expect to have the same thing happen in future years, changing your withholding could prevent you from needing to make estimated payments.
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Dec 18, 2016 17:30
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Thanks. Doesn't the timing matter though? Or can one just pay enough estimated taxes in Q4 every year to avoid the penalty?
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Dec 18, 2016 17:51
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SurgicalOntologist posted:Thanks. Doesn't the timing matter though? Or can one just pay enough estimated taxes in Q4 every year to avoid the penalty? It can. You're generally expected to make equal payment of estimated tax, and underpayment penalties can be assessed for each payment individually. When you have uneven income, you can use an alternate method to calculate your estimated payments to avoid underpayment penalties. See Pub 505.
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Dec 19, 2016 03:59
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sex swing from IKEA posted:Deduction question: You are treated as married the whole year no matter when you get married, so being married in October makes no difference here. 90+% of the time you want to file jointly because MFS filing status blocks a lot of credits and/or you get the worst calculated rates for certain things. You can always double check that of course but it usually holds true unless both spouses are paid very high salaries that are about even. Withholding-wise I think you're fine at first guess, not sure I'd swap since you both have jobs that pay about the same and so should stay in the same bracket. Can always adjust after the first year if you withhold too much of course.
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Dec 19, 2016 22:47
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MFS and MFJ is a year to year thing and you don't get life 'locked in' to doing one or the other year to year? Probably a dumb question. Got married this year and my wife qualifies for PSLF and if we MFJ our payments would increase astronomically. If we MFJ I think we would spend an extra $6000 in loan payments per year, and I doubt our tax return would match that. No kids, we rent, no educational credits...
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Dec 26, 2016 01:56
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The Slack Lagoon posted:MFS and MFJ is a year to year thing and you don't get life 'locked in' to doing one or the other year to year? Probably a dumb question. Yes, every year you are married you choose between filling jointly or separately. What you did the prior year has no affect on your choice the next.
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Dec 26, 2016 03:19
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If I found a mistake on a prior years taxes that benefits me, could there be any sort of penalty added for filing an amended return that could cancel out or exceed the tax return, assuming no other mistakes were made?
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Dec 26, 2016 05:46
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baquerd posted:If I found a mistake on a prior years taxes that benefits me, could there be any sort of penalty added for filing an amended return that could cancel out or exceed the tax return, assuming no other mistakes were made? no, penalties only happen on taxes owed.
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Dec 26, 2016 21:27
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So, can anyone recommend some beginner tax resources for the scenario of "I started driving Uber and Lyft full-time as my sole source of income in June. I am a student at a public university. I am not American and have basically no experience paying American income tax." I know there's rules for deducting tuition -- does that apply to other school expenses too (student fees, books, anything else?) And then all the business expenses for running a car service are to some extent deductible -- is there a threshold for when you need to provide receipts (do you need to provide receipts??)? Are there common or easily-overlooked deductions? How does this work? I'm asking for a friend, so I don't really know that many specific details. If anyone has a good "1099s and You" type of article they like, or referrals to a Bay Area-based accountant that's affordable (is the OP still doing it? What's the ballpark price range for this scenario with 1099s and stuff? What kind of paperwork should be prepared beforehand?) that'd be really great. Edit: vv He told me he got work authorization in March so I don't thiiiink he's on a student visa? (And he also has an immigration attorney already, I just didn't mention it because Google says they aren't tax deductible.) Colin Mockery fucked around with this message at 08:47 on Jan 1, 2017 |
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Dec 31, 2016 21:29
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If you're on a F1 student visa, what you are doing is illegal, you should stop right now and talk to an immigration attorney before you get kicked out of the country.
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Jan 1, 2017 03:53
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Colin Mockery posted:So, can anyone recommend some beginner tax resources for the scenario of "I started driving Uber and Lyft full-time as my sole source of income in June. I am a student at a public university. I am not American and have basically no experience paying American income tax." If he's on his own for getting a handle on things, the IRS website itself isn't a bad starting point. They have numbered publications on particular topics, and they're good about cross referencing. Questions like "when do I need receipts for travel expenses" generally have an answer. The trick is figuring out where to dig without getting overwhelmed. (For that one, it's typically always, there's exception for non-lodging expenses below $75, and they won't be part of the return, he just needs them on file. For the car in particular, depending on what he drives, what his expenses are, and how much personal use he makes of the vehicle, he might or might not be better off using a standard mileage rate to calculate his deductible expenses rather than his actual expenses.) Try linking him to Publication 334 (Tax guide for small businesses), Publication 535 (Business expenses), Publication 463 (Travel expenses), or just the big overall guide for individuals, Publication 17. If things start to make sense, cool. If reading those makes his eyes start to cross, might be falling in the "you might consider hiring someone" category of the first post. Off the top of my head, some things that may catch someone new to the system off guard: he needs to look at whether he has to file a state tax return as well, and he needs to care about the 1040-ES quarterly withholding stuff mentioned in the OP. eviltastic fucked around with this message at 18:30 on Jan 3, 2017 |
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Jan 3, 2017 18:28
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I'm trying to get more efficient about tax exposure, properly calculate viability of IRA/Roth/backdoor, find how to be more tax efficient about investments, that sort of stuff. My financial situation is a little bit non-standard, making it hard to follow a lot of the online guides/recommendations. Initial thought was to speak with a financial planner (CFP), but the ones I spoke to were more focused on budgeting and investment portfolio allocation planning. I don't need help with that, so that didn't seem like a good fit. Now I'm thinking that a CPA, or some similar/equivalent tax adviser may be more what I'm looking for. The difficulty I'm having, is most tax advisers/CPAs that I can find online/near me are focusing heavily on tax preparation and filing. Would a CPA be what I'm looking for? Other than knowing that a CPA is on the AICPA website, is there a good way of picking a good one? I'll stay away from national chains and try to find local firms, but other than that it's hard to find reviews or recommendations. Lastly, the CPA firms that I can find around me have sometimes CPAs and sometimes "account managers"/"accounting staff". Do I need to ensure somehow that a CPA is working with me, or does it not matter as much since everyone in a firm should know everything?
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Jan 5, 2017 16:09
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Arkady posted:I'm trying to get more efficient about tax exposure, properly calculate viability of IRA/Roth/backdoor, find how to be more tax efficient about investments, that sort of stuff. My financial situation is a little bit non-standard, making it hard to follow a lot of the online guides/recommendations. You're going to want a CPA or CPA firm. If you have an investment adviser/insurance agent/banker/attorney, ask them for a reference - they'll have one. Call the CPA up, explain the situation, and go from there. Practical pointer - all the CPAs will be gearing up for tax season this time of year, and might not be as helpful/responsive as you would like, especially for a one-time consultation. If it's not horribly pressing, you might get better service calling in May/June. I know I wouldn't turn down a 1/2 hour job if I had nothing else to do, but I wouldn't really put in any late hours/weekend time on it at this point in the year if I had other things going.
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Jan 5, 2017 17:37
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Arkady posted:I'm trying to get more efficient about tax exposure, properly calculate viability of IRA/Roth/backdoor, find how to be more tax efficient about investments, that sort of stuff. My financial situation is a little bit non-standard, making it hard to follow a lot of the online guides/recommendations. Everyone in the firm wont know everything, but a best practice for firms (i consider it mandatory) is to have your work reviewed by someone more senior. This helps ensure mistakes are minimized.
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Jan 5, 2017 23:57
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The IRS at [url posted:https://www.irs.gov/affordable-care-act/individuals-and-families/questions-and-answers-on-the-premium-tax-credit[/url]] In practical terms, how difficult is it to demonstrate to the IRS that an employer hasn't allowed you to enroll in their plan even if you might be eligible? My sister is trying to find out if she's eligible for employer insurance because she's losing Medicaid coverage; if not, she's eligible for premium tax credits through the marketplace. The eligibility criteria are about what you'd expect, but there's an average hours component with a missing time period, which is kind of necessary for that calculation. Plan enrollment counselors directed her to HR, who in response to "am I eligible for our health insurance" literally answers "it's hard to tell" and after 3 emails finally says the average hours are calculated over 6 months. Well that's great, they don't have average hours anywhere accessible to employees, so that's hand jamming 6 months of weekly time sheets to get an average, and this woman still will not answer a "yes/no am I eligible". I don't think anyone can be that stupid, so it's starting to seem like a not-very-subtle "stop asking". HR has no open enrollment information, and because the benefit year doesn't begin until March, no summary of benefits and coverage available yet either. When she first asked, my sister made it really clear that she was trying to get this info for the Marketplace, not to join their plan, so it's not like this fast food joint has to worry about anything. The long-term answer is to get a new job, but in the short term she needs to get insurance. It looks like the Advanced Tax Credit Repayment Limits only apply if you qualified for the credit and had your income increase, not if you didn't truly qualify in the first place, right? Can you buy a plan through the marketplace and later opt for an advance credit if you determine you qualify, or change your election later?
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Jan 7, 2017 03:05
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Credit Karma Tax is up and running (for me at least)
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Jan 17, 2017 04:24
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EugeneJ posted:Credit Karma Tax is up and running (for me at least) When did you sign up? I'm still getting that I'm on the list, so it's likely a gradual rollout and maybe others can get a guage on how long we'll have to wait.
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Jan 17, 2017 04:29
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If my employer contributed to my 401k, would it show up anywhere on my W-2? I did not make any contributions, only my employer did.
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Jan 17, 2017 04:40
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balancedbias posted:When did you sign up? I'm still getting that I'm on the list, so it's likely a gradual rollout and maybe others can get a guage on how long we'll have to wait. I signed up December 10th
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Jan 17, 2017 05:23
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chupacabraTERROR posted:If my employer contributed to my 401k, would it show up anywhere on my W-2? I did not make any contributions, only my employer did. If it's a standard 401K it should show up in box 12 with a "D" code. If it's a different plan or some kind of employer specific plan, it may have a different code or only show up as a difference between your box 1 federally taxable wages or box 3 social security wages.
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Jan 17, 2017 16:05
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I signed up for credit karma tax on Dec 10th as well and haven't received a notice yet.
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Jan 17, 2017 20:25
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EugeneJ posted:Credit Karma Tax is up and running (for me at least) do you know if the free version includes 1040 (non-EZ) forms?
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Jan 17, 2017 20:33
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Ur Getting Fatter posted:do you know if the free version includes 1040 (non-EZ) forms? https://help.creditkarma.com/hc/en-us/articles/217378726 Supports 1040, 1040-V, 1040X, and "*While we don’t specifically support the 1040A and 1040EZ, you can easily use the 1040 form to file for free with us"
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Jan 17, 2017 20:38
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Can someone trip report this and how it compares to something like Turbo Tax?
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Jan 17, 2017 20:50
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Blinky2099 posted:https://help.creditkarma.com/hc/en-us/articles/217378726 Ah, thanks for the link. They don't doe FEIE unfortunately, and I don't feel confident enough to file that on my own separately. Guess I'll have to bite bullet and pay for TT again this year.
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Jan 17, 2017 20:53
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MadDogMike posted:If it's a standard 401K it should show up in box 12 with a "D" code. If it's a different plan or some kind of employer specific plan, it may have a different code or only show up as a difference between your box 1 federally taxable wages or box 3 social security wages. Hmm. My W-2 doesn't say anything in Box 12, but it doesn't look like the employer's contribution was included in my Box 1 or Box 3 wages either. It's basically nowhere on the W-2. I did some googling and found the W-2 instructions: https://www.irs.gov/instructions/iw2w3/ch01.html posted:The $2,000 nonelective contribution and the $3,000 nonelective profit-sharing employer contribution are not required to be reported on Form W-2, but may be reported in box 14. Maybe they did it right and just didn't put the amount anywhere? If that's the case, would I need to report the amount anywhere else on my return? I know that I don't owe any taxes on it, I'm just confused as to whether the W-2 is correct, and how to report this on my own taxes.
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Jan 17, 2017 21:09
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chupacabraTERROR posted:I know that I don't owe any taxes on it, I'm just confused as to whether the W-2 is correct, and how to report this on my own taxes. Profit sharing contributions/employer matches made by an employer are not reported on a W2, or any other form you will see. Only your paycheck deductions would show up in box 12.
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Jan 17, 2017 21:12
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Droo posted:Profit sharing contributions/employer matches made by an employer are not reported on a W2, or any other form you will see. Only your paycheck deductions would show up in box 12. Cool, thanks for the help dudes.
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Jan 17, 2017 21:13
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Nephzinho posted:Can someone trip report this and how it compares to something like Turbo Tax? As soon as I get my W2 I'll try it out
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Jan 17, 2017 21:51
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I'm a little confused about RSU withholding. Mine are currently set at sell-to-cover. The last time I was awarded RSUs, E-Trade withheld a very large amount; 45% of shares were sold for taxes, 55% were actually awarded to me. My marginal tax rate is quite high but not that high afaik. What should I be setting E-Trade to for my RSUs? I would rather not have them withhold a huge amount of money only to get much of it refunded in 2018. I ask becuase I'm going to end up getting ~$31k all at once this year. Apparently there is a list of different allowable settings based on my plan documents that my company allows for but I dug through the document and there's a section on tax but it doesn't explicitly list it needs to be one or two of those options.
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Jan 18, 2017 01:06
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Does a Roth IRA do anything for my taxes? I seem to remember that it always pops up on turbotax, but I'm not sure the reason. Edit: standard deduction, and my AGI is over the limit for the savers credit. nwin fucked around with this message at 01:27 on Jan 18, 2017 |
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Jan 18, 2017 01:14
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Turbotax does two things for Roth IRAs: they make sure you don't exceed your maximum contribution, and they keep track of your basis over the years. It doesn't have any effect on your refund.
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Jan 18, 2017 01:57
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I own a home, have a 401k, my wife was in grad school for just over half of last year, I pay for daycare for one of my kids, and my company started giving us grants of stock each year (mine is worth about $800) . Which Turbotax should I buy from Costco?
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Jan 18, 2017 04:21
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Blinky2099 posted:I'm a little confused about RSU withholding. Mine are currently set at sell-to-cover. The last time I was awarded RSUs, E-Trade withheld a very large amount; 45% of shares were sold for taxes, 55% were actually awarded to me. My marginal tax rate is quite high but not that high afaik. Would this be because its taxed as capital gains? This link seems to say otherwise though: https://www.bogleheads.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=173870 Fwiw at my last company they sold off 50% of mine.
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Jan 18, 2017 05:00
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scrammysaur posted:Would this be because its taxed as capital gains? This link seems to say otherwise though: https://www.bogleheads.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=173870 Fwiw at my last company they sold off 50% of mine. Now that I think about it, I did end up receiving some money back in the next paycheck so maybe it did properly adjust, but I'm still confused as to what E-Trade is actually withholding to. Does my company tell them how much my annual income is and then E-Trade just taxes to my marginal tax rate? I can always talk to E-Trade directly, I suppose. 50% seems super high unless you got something like 6 shares, 3 of which they sold for taxes, but then ended up giving you a bunch of money back in a paycheck to lower the actual withholding from 50% to like 38% or something Blinky2099 fucked around with this message at 05:08 on Jan 18, 2017 |
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Jan 18, 2017 05:05
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slap me silly posted:Turbotax does two things for Roth IRAs: they make sure you don't exceed your maximum contribution, and they keep track of your basis over the years. It doesn't have any effect on your refund. If your income is low enough, a Roth IRA contribution can generate a Saver's credit (Form 8880)
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Jan 18, 2017 14:29
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Someone spot check this and tell me if it sounds about right? State: Florida Status: Filing Single W2 data: Box 1: $25938.14 Box 2: $2481.97 Box 3: $20349.83 Box 4: $1608.16 Box 5: $25938.14 Box 6: $376.10 Box 7: $2888.31 Calculates to a basic refund of about $609? It looks right to me via turbotax and napkin math, but I'm doing this for my girlfriend and she insists her coworker who gets about the same pay grade is getting a refund of over $1,000. I assume the coworker just over-withheld, but I want to make sure I'm not missing anything also.
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Jan 18, 2017 18:04
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Deviant posted:Someone spot check this and tell me if it sounds about right? That looks right to me. To come up with a $400 difference in tax on $25k income, I think her friend would have to either have a kid, have gone to night school and be using the American Opportunity credit, or have withheld $400 more in box 2. Or the friend makes more money than your girlfriend thinks. Edit: or have like $40k in student loan debt. Droo fucked around with this message at 18:26 on Jan 18, 2017 |
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Jan 18, 2017 18:21
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Hello tax thread, Question 1: Can I claim a per-mile business use of vehicle deduction IN ADDITION to the standard deduction? Or do I have to choose between the two based on which is greater? In my case I think the standard deduction will be greater. Question 2: Can anyone recommend a tax software that is cheap/free that will let me input W2s as well as a couple 1099s, I think they're 1099-MISC? Most free options such as TurboTax will only let you input W2 income before they require that you upgrade to their paid suite. Thank you! Michael Scott fucked around with this message at 19:55 on Jan 20, 2017 |
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Jan 20, 2017 19:53
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