Help!! Should I pay my Local Income Taxes?

4

485GCCase

Registered Users (C)
I have paid my taxes for 2 yrs in this country from Pittsburgh and first time when I paid local income taxes I was told by tax office that I should ask my company to withhold my L.I. taxes quarterly and on mentioning that to my company it said I am not liable to pay the Local taxes since I am on H1 visa. So, I tried for refund and got it back. Next year I was told again at the tax office that H1 visa holders don't pay local Income taxes. Now, I have seen so many H1 visa people paying local taxes!!!!

What should I do??? I hope it won't affect my I485 processing . My RD is feb 22, 02.

Please advice guys, Thanks.
 
Have you guys paid local taxes?

could you tell me what you guys have done? Have you paid the local taxes?
 
Its city taxes!

Its called here as Monroeville income taxes. So, I guess that makes it city. I have paid Federal and state taxes regularly.
 
In the states I have lived so far viz., TX, NC and VA, I have paid only vehicle-value tax only as far as local county/city is concerned.

Every other tax component has been taken care of by W-2.

I'll be keen to know, if something else exists too to make pay for more taxes.
 
someone told me.

someone told me to just pay $1000 now to be on the safe side. God only knows what I should do now.
 
Local Wage Tax

I've paid local wage taxes to the township for the past five years and I'm on H1 also. It's not being withheld by my employer. The township office (EIT Collector Office) sends me a reminder at the end of every quarter to pay up 1% of my gross wages. At the end of the year, they ask me to file a return, just like I do for the federal and state taxes. I'm not sure if H1 visa holders are exempted from paying this tax or if paying/non-payment has any effect on GC 485 processing. You should probably contact the township office or a tax consultant or your attorney.

nkaveti
 
Local Tax

I have worked in CT and CA. My feeling is you need to pay both Federal and State tax unless you live in state like TX where u dont pay state tax. Otherwise you need to follow the Tax regulation in the state where you work. All people who has SSN/Work in the US should and must pay taxes. I read it somewhere in the IRS rules. I have been paying taxes for the past couple of years that includes both Federal and State tax.

My One cent worth thought.
 
Wage Tax

What you are referring to is known as the wage Tax; In Pittsburgh it varies from Town to Town. For Eg; in Scott Township it is 1%( or .75 ??) of the Gross Salary and in Upper St Clair it is 1.25% of the Gross. ( Check with the Tax Auth for the correctness of the figures)
This Tax has to be paid at the Township Office where you Live; As far as I know it is Mandatory. (You must have been receiving the Reminders every quarter)
I think you can pay the lumpsum of the balance but you will have to pay with interest charges.
Check with your Tax Office and also confirm this with your attorney;
I have been paying this every year on my H1 Period .
Let us know what your findings are.
 
Depends

Up until a year and a half ago , people who worked in NYC had to pay NYC taxes. That was then eliminated.

I guess your best bet would be to contact a tax advisor or your township tax collector's office to get the correct information.

Irrespective of whether you are on a H1 visa or a GC holder or a citizen, all taxes must be paid based on the location you work at.

Just my 2 cents!
 
i am from pittsburgh. i had not filed my local tax return for the first year(1999) that i was here because at that time i was employed by a desi company (which did not deduct the taxes from my paycheck). Earlier this year I received a notice from the IRS and ended up paying the local taxes( for the year 1999) plus a fine.
My current employer now deducts the taxes and i file a local tax return each year. i was unaware of the fact that H1 holders could be exempt from local taxes. i feel it is safer to pay the local tax and have peace of mind.
 
Loca Tax for Visa Holders

I have been preparing the tax returns for foreign nationals.
As far as I know only the city of Pittsburgh has a separate policy for people working on Visa. And I do not think any other localities in PA have separate policy, which means you have to pay the local taxes. PA has so many local tax authorities and the tax systems are very complicated. I am sure a lot of people make some kind of mistakes. Therefore, I do not think you should worry about what you have done (just respond to a notice if they ever send you), but you should check which locality you need to pay the tax and tell your company to start to withhold the local tax from your paycheck.

PS Sorry, but I do not know if it will affect your immigration application.:)
 
I talked to tax officer

She said people on H1 visa don't need to pay Local taxes. Only after applying I485 the local taxes should be paid. Yesterday I got to know about so many people not paying local taxes.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top