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Taxes in US

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katelee83

Registered Users (C)
I could not find any thread discussing the income taxes in the US.

For e.g. $50,000 income how much of that will be taxed? Also I heard about a payroll tax that has to be paid on top of that.

Anyone, please share some info on this with examples.

Thanks!
 
Roughly, the income tax for $50,000 income in the U.S is 15%. But, that would be only the Gross tax. The rest will depends on your family size, dependencies, assets, investments, etc. It is not an easy thing to determine your exact tax because everything has to be put into calculation.

Besides income tax to the Goverment, there is also Medicare, Social Security, pension that need to be paid and set aside from your income. These money will still belong to you but it can only be used when you needed or when the time is right.

So, every time you get paid, you Gross income will be deducted by government income tax, medicare, social security, pension, etc. Then, in April of each year, you need to adjust that by filing your tax to the government how much extra you owe them, and how much the government need to pay back to you (tax return).

The tax system in the U.S is pretty complex. Most average Americans have a hard time filing their own tax because of the complex regulations. I recommend check online, and search on "income tax."
 
Gerindo said:
The tax system in the U.S is pretty complex. Most average Americans have a hard time filing their own tax because of the complex regulations. I recommend check online, and search on "income tax."
Click to expand...


I know, I always get a little freaked out when I hear my American friends obsess over every tiny receipt they have to keep for their tax reports. It's just so much easier where I live. Plus, there is always help free of charge available in filing it. But since the system is so easy, mostly anyone can do it by themselves from home in a matter of hours. Definitely not one of the things I am looking forward to if I ever get to moving to the US. ;)
 
Hi,
I guess my question is how do you start the first year? does IRS notify you of something or do you have to do it on your own?
 
kamye1 said:
Hi,
I guess my question is how do you start the first year? does IRS notify you of something or do you have to do it on your own?
Click to expand...

IRS won't notify about your taxes unless you owe them money or they found something wrong about your tax record. Usually 2-3 months before the tax filing deadline, they will send you this thick booklet on the tax guidelines, regulations, and the 1040 tax form to help you on filing tax. They won't tell you how much your taxes or deductibles will be.

On your first year paying taxes, you'll file in your taxes to the IRS by yourself or pay someone (an tax expert) to do it for you. It is your own responsibility to file your taxes accurately and on time. The national deadline to file taxes is in April (2nd week usually). Failure to file on time or inaccurate filing might caused you to be fined by the government or don't get your tax return accurately.
 
kamye1 said:
Hi,
I guess my question is how do you start the first year? does IRS notify you of something or do you have to do it on your own?
Click to expand...

If you have a SSN, you should receive a thick booklet from IRS with all the instructions, forms, charts, and so on. Your employer will provide you with additional forms, such as W-2 and/or any other forms. Once you have all the paperwork, you can do everything yourself, then send it to IRS my mail or online, or use other's help. There is a free help in most of the community centres, libraries, and so on, and there are services for a small fee, both online and as a walk in. I have been using TurboTax for the last few years, and it worked for me.
 
E59th said:
I know, I always get a little freaked out when I hear my American friends obsess over every tiny receipt they have to keep for their tax reports. It's just so much easier where I live. Plus, there is always help free of charge available in filing it. But since the system is so easy, mostly anyone can do it by themselves from home in a matter of hours. Definitely not one of the things I am looking forward to if I ever get to moving to the US. ;)
Click to expand...

It is really depends on your own situation. Filing tax could be easy or hard. It took me about 15 minutes to finish filing my tax because I don't have any investments, assets that can be taxed and I'm also single without any dependents.

For most people with families and plenty of assets/investments, taxes could be a nightmare. Separating between deductible spending and non-deductible could take forever. These people usually just get a professional help to make sure they don't make any mistake on the filing. Mistake in filing tax could hurt you greatly, especially when the IRS starting to collect the money themselves. :rolleyes:
 
masematn said:
. I have been using TurboTax for the last few years, and it worked for me.
Click to expand...

I have been using the free H&R Block online service for the last couple of years. It's very easy to use and they sent my taxes directly to the IRS through e-file once I'm done. :)
 
Gerindo said:
I have been using the free H&R Block online service for the last couple of years. It's very easy to use and they sent my taxes directly to the IRS through e-file once I'm done. :)
Click to expand...

Gerindo, you forgot to mention that outside the federal taxes, there are also state taxes (in some states) as well as local/county/city taxes that also need to be submitted by tax day April 15th.
 
thank you all for your responses, it's very helpful. I needed to know if the first year, they send you all forms to your address or if you have to get them or download them yourself. It's a good thing if IRS send a booklet to you with everything, it helps a lot.
I heard about free help too, turbotax sounds good. My boyfriend uses profesional help because as Gerindo said he has lots of assets and is self employed so it complicates things.
I just hope my first declaration will go smooth.
Another question, i just got my immigrant visa and will fly back to the States by the end of october. What happens if i don't work during november and december 2008? Do i still have to file taxes next april, saying that i didn't work and earned 0?
 
kamye1 said:
thank you all for your responses, it's very helpful. I needed to know if the first year, they send you all forms to your address or if you have to get them or download them yourself. It's a good thing if IRS send a booklet to you with everything, it helps a lot.
I heard about free help too, turbotax sounds good. My boyfriend uses profesional help because as Gerindo said he has lots of assets and is self employed so it complicates things.
I just hope my first declaration will go smooth.
Another question, i just got my immigrant visa and will fly back to the States by the end of october. What happens if i don't work during november and december 2008? Do i still have to file taxes next april, saying that i didn't work and earned 0?
Click to expand...

Start from here.
http://www.irs.gov/businesses/small/international/article/0,,id=96314,00.html

I think you probably need professional help for the first year because you have paid tax abroad and you MAY or MAY NOT need to pay tax to the US based on the tax treaty with your country.
 
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no i didn't pay tax abroad in 2008. I was a F1 student in the US and i didn't work so i have literally nothing to declare this year. That's why i was wondering.
 
Gerindo said:
Roughly, the income tax for $50,000 income in the U.S is 15%. But, that would be only the Gross tax. The rest will depends on your family size, dependencies, assets, investments, etc. It is not an easy thing to determine your exact tax because everything has to be put into calculation.

Besides income tax to the Goverment, there is also Medicare, Social Security, pension that need to be paid and set aside from your income. These money will still belong to you but it can only be used when you needed or when the time is right.

So, every time you get paid, you Gross income will be deducted by government income tax, medicare, social security, pension, etc. Then, in April of each year, you need to adjust that by filing your tax to the government how much extra you owe them, and how much the government need to pay back to you (tax return).

The tax system in the U.S is pretty complex. Most average Americans have a hard time filing their own tax because of the complex regulations. I recommend check online, and search on "income tax."
Click to expand...

am single and i pay roughly 30%(fedral and state) in income tax. i don't know where u heard about 15%. i wished it was that low
 
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