Before taxes, investment assets such as bonds, equities, mutual funds, loans, and other investments generate income known as net investment income tax (NIIT). Whether net investment income consists of capital gains, dividends, or interest will affect the individual tax rate. Net Investment Income Tax (NIIT) Explained An IRS tax on certain people, estates, and trusts' net investment income is known as the net investment income tax or NIIT. More specifically, this applies if yo

A consumption tax is a tax on the purchase of a good or service. A consumption tax is charged when consumers spend money, while an income tax is assessed on earned money. Understanding A Consumption Tax A taxing system in which people are assessed according to how much they spend rather than how much they contribute to the economy is known as a consumption tax. Retail sales taxes, excise taxes, value-added taxes, use taxes, taxes on gross business earnings, and import tariffs

The main difference between W-2 and 1099 workers is that a W-2 is a payroll employee and 1099 is a non-payroll worker. The names “W-2 employee” and “1099 worker” come from their respective tax forms. The W-4, also known as the employee’s withholding allowance certificate, tells employers how much income tax to withhold from an employee’s pay. What You Need To Know About W-2s The W-2 form must be sent to every employee who works for your business at the beginning of the year.

Buying health insurance affects your taxes, as well as not buying it. Where you buy your health insurance can also make a big difference in its effect on your tax return. It's critical to understand how health insurance affects taxes so you can submit your taxes more efficiently. What Is Health Insurance Tax? The Affordable Care Act's purpose was to expand the number of people with health insurance in the United States. The act attempted to accomplish this in part by penalizi

The Internal Revenue Service announced about a month ago on May 20, 2022, that interest rates will be increasing for the calendar quarter beginning July 1, 2022, which is coming around the corner rather soon here, for overpayments and underpayments of quarterly taxes. IRS Reveals New Increased Interest Rates The new rates will be: 5% for overpayments 4% in the case of a corporation 2.5% for the portion of a corporate overpayment exceeding $10,000. 5% for underpayments. 7% for

Are you doing taxes for the first time? There are a couple of different types of payroll taxes such as income taxes, unemployment taxes, and FICA taxes. Social Security and Medicare taxes are the two types of taxes that fall under the umbrella of FICA taxes. We'll go over what FICA taxes are, how they're calculated, and who is liable and responsible for paying them in this article. Understanding FICA Tax and Who Pays? FICA, which stands for Federal Insurance Contributions Act

When you take a 401(k) distribution, you will have to pay taxes if you have a traditional 401(k). Ordinary income tax applies to the money in your 401(k). The amount you pay is determined by your tax rate, plus a 10% early withdrawal penalty if you're under the age of 59 1/2. This could push you into the top tax bracket of 37%. Try To Stay In A Lower Tax Bracket To reduce your tax burden, attempt to keep your taxable income at a lower tax rate when taking 401(k) withdrawals.

Identities can be stolen just about anywhere nowadays. Workplaces, nursing homes, local police stations, and hospitals are just some to name a few. Anyone with a social security number is at risk. The Identity Protected PIN (IP PIN) is a personal identification number issued by the IRS each year to ensure that you are the one filing your return and not a scammer attempting to swipe some refunds. How To Get An IP PIN Using the online Get An IP PIN tool on IRS.gov is the quicke

Tax evasion and tax avoidance are two distinct concepts with two very different consequences. While tax avoidance uses legal measures to reduce a taxpayer's liabilities, tax evasion requires the use of illegal methods to conceal income or information from the IRS. Tax Avoidance Tax avoidance is legal and it entails all available tax credits, deductions, and other adjustments to income that you are eligible for. Tax avoidance can help you lower your tax bill while increasing a

Everybody makes mistakes, even on tax returns. Filing an amended return isn't necessarily difficult but there are a couple of steps that you should be aware of before you begin the process. Form 1040-X, the Amended U.S. Individual Income Tax Return will be the main form that is used to file amended returns. Make sure the IRS has already processed your tax return before you update and file your amended return. That way, you can be sure the IRS won't mix up your original and am

The IRS wrapped up the 2022 annual list of the "Dirty Dozen" tax scams on Friday, June 10, 2022, with a warning to taxpayers to avoid being deceived into using bogus tax avoidance strategies. The IRS's publication of the Dirty Dozen is part of a larger effort to educate taxpayers. People should avoid being duped into engaging in well-worn oppressive agreements with excessive fees, as well as the other Dirty Dozen nefarious schemes. Concealing Assets in Offshore Accounts and I

Spear phishing is the eighth item on the IRS's "Dirty Dozen" scams warning list for 2022 and it is a severe problem since it may be adapted to attack and steal the computer system credentials of any small business with a client database, such as tax professionals' firms. Spear Phishing Scams Spear phishing is an email fraud that tries to acquire the software preparation credentials of a tax professional. In order to file fraudulent tax returns for refunds, these scammers aim

Identity thieves have continued to use suspicious communications for years to trick, surprise, or scare taxpayers into revealing personal and financial information to file false tax returns and among other schemes. Criminals are able to quickly file a fake tax return using a stolen SSN in hopes that the SSN hasn't shown up on another filed tax return. This remains easily one of the biggest threats to taxpayers and tax professionals who do not occasionally protect their SSN an

At the beginning of the week, the IRS released the 5th and 6th items from the annual list of the 'Dirty Dozen' tax scams to help bring awareness to taxpayers when filing their federal tax returns. The IRS continues to construct an annual list of tax scams for more than 20 years as a way to alert taxpayers and the tax community to be aware of the schemes and scams that scammers go out of their way to do. Being cautious and aware are taxpayers' best line of defense at the momen

Because most individual taxpayers face a lot of scams while they're filing their tax returns, the IRS compiled the twelve most prevalent tax scams in 2022 for taxpayers to avoid. These potentially dangerous arrangements can help taxpayers avoid running into unexpected trouble. Transactions using charitable remainder annuity trust (CRAT), Maltese pension arrangements, foreign captive insurance, and monetized installment sales are the first four nefarious schemes and scam entri

Filing taxes may be very overwhelming for new taxpayers, especially if they don't know if they're within the income threshold to be filing taxes or not. Are there tax refunds or tax credits waiting to be claimed? What Is The Minimum Income Threshold To File? It's very simple, if your income is below a specific threshold, you may not be required to file a tax return with the IRS. Here's how much money you need to make to file taxes in 2022 (for the tax year 2021). Age, filing

You can either claim the standard deduction or the itemized deduction, but there's no way you can do both. Itemized deductions are deductions that taxpayers can calculate on their own using the various deductions the IRS offers whereas the standard deduction is a set number the IRS publishes every year. When you compare the two methods, it'll make it easier for you to understand and choose which option provides you with the greatest tax benefit. Is Standard Deduction For Me?

Of course, nobody wants to come home from a long day and see a letter from the IRS saying there were errors and mistakes made on your tax return. Not only will it be a nuisance but you would have to go through this entire process again when it could've been avoided by accurately filling out the information on the first try. Claim The Child Tax Credit Properly The Child Tax Credit provides aid to families with qualifying children to get a tax break. This tax credit can be wort

If you didn't receive a third stimulus check or didn't receive the entire amount, you may be able to make up the difference by claiming the Recovery Rebate Credit also known as the COVID stimulus payment on your tax return for the 2021 tax year. What's The Recovery Rebate Credit? During the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, the federal government tried to stabilize the drastic economic changes by providing the economy with the Recovery Rebate Credit. The CARES Act passed b