Am I required to file Income Taxes?

 Not everyone is required to file taxes. If an individual's income does not exceed the standard deduction amount plus one exemption and he/she is not a dependant to another taxpayer, he/she may be exempt from the requirement to file income taxes.

 A person may not be required to file income taxes for 2012 tax year if their income is less than $9750. 

A dependant of another taxpayer is required to file taxes for 2012 if the dependant's  income is more than $5950.


Tax Charm blog is not legal or professional advice.

You are reading Tax Charm blog at your own free will and you are taking the information provided at your own risk.

I am the legal copy righter of this blog, you may not use, reprint or publish information from this blog without my permission.


 

Money today, not tomorrow. Offsetting Payroll Tax Hike.

Paychecks are smaller for most Americans in 2013. The smaller paychecks result from the
expiring of payroll tax holiday. In 2010, we received a break from the government, social security taxes were reduced from 6.2% to 4.2%.  The tax break expired at end of 2012.  Our two year break is up, social security taxes are back up to 6.2%.

One way you can counter the payroll tax hike is to  increase your exemptions on your W-4. I don't know about you, but I would much rather have my money now than later. The present time value of money idea tells us future dollars are not worth as much as dollars today.  Let's say you need gas for your car to get to work this week and you are flat broke, having $50 next week is not going to help you .If you can't get to work this week, you may face termination. I bet anyone much rather have the $50 today , and not next Thursday. By the next Thursday, your employer may have already given you the peace sign! 

Decrease your paycheck tax witholding on your W-4, to have  more money this year, instead of next year. In the current state of the economy, even an  extra $50 in a bi-weekly paycheck can make a great difference. Food is expensive, gas is expensive and everything is going up. Stop giving the government an interest free loan.


Brought to you by Tax Charm.Tax Charm blog is not legal or professional advice.

You are reading Tax Charm blog at your own free will and you are taking the information provided at your own risk.

I am the legal copy righter of this blog, you may not use, reprint or publish information from this blog without my permission.