Paying Taxes in America
Taxes are compulsory contributions done by the American citizens and residents to federal, state and local governments. This money is used by the government to provide services to the people living in America. Taxes are collected by Internal Revenue Service (IRS) which is a department in the United States Treasury.
Most of the services provided by the federal government using the taxes you pay are taking care of the security of the country, preventing diseases through research, insuring the money in the banks, maintenance or roads and proving help to the victims of natural calamity.
Types of taxes in USA
There are different types of taxes namely income tax, sales tax, property tax, payroll taxes, custom duties on import goods and estate and gift tax. General and important taxes are as follows:
Income Tax
The money you get from wages and self employment is called “Taxable Income”. A certain amount of this money is withheld from your paycheck. The amount of tax you pay depends on how much you earn. The rate of income tax depends on how much an individual earns. In America, people earning money and meeting certain criteria should file a tax return and pay taxes they own.
Each tax year is from January 1st to December 31st. The last day to file your income tax return is April 15th.
Social Security taxes provide benefits and services to retired workers, disabled workers, deceased workers and their families.
Medicare Taxes pay for the services required by the people over the age of 65 years. To enjoy these Social Security benefits and Medicare benefits a person needs to work for about 10 years
Sales Tax
Sales taxes are local and state taxes which are added to the amount while buying items. This tax depends on the cost of the item. These taxes provide services to the police, firemen and maintenance of roads.
Property Tax
Tax to be paid for your property like house and land. This Tax provide support to government schools and other services.
Income Tax in USA
If you are working in a company, then your employer will deduct certain amount of income tax from your paycheck. The deducted money will be submitted to the concerned government departments in frequent intervals of time. The W-2 form is sent to you by your employer and reports all your wages and deductions.
W-2 Form
Form W-2, Wage and Tax Statement, is used in the United States income tax system. It is a document on which an employer reports the wages for a specific employee for the tax year.
W-4 Form
A form that is used by the United States Internal Revenue Service to help your employer determine certain amount of your wages to be withheld so that this withheld money can go to the government.
The W-4 form is used by the employee to report to the employer the number of allowances to be used in calculating the employee's payroll deductions. Information such as marital status and number of dependents can be provided by the employee to indicate the number of withholdings the employer should use when calculating federal payroll tax deductions.
Income Tax Brackets in USA 2011:
The rates you are supposed to pay on the money you earn is as shown:
| Tax Rate |
Single |
Married Filing Jointly |
Married Filing Separately |
Head of Household |
| 10% |
$0-$8,500 |
$0-$17,000 |
$0-$8,500 |
$0-$12,150 |
| 15% |
$8,501-$34,500 |
$17,001-$69,000 |
$8,501-$34,500 |
$12,151-$46,250 |
| 25% |
$34,501-83,600 |
$69,001-$139,350 |
$34,501-$69,675 |
$46,251-$119,400 |
| 28% |
$83,601-$174,400 |
$139,351-$212,300 |
$69,676-$106,150 |
$119,401-$193,350 |
| 33% |
$174,401-$379,150 |
$212,301-$379,150 |
$106,151-$189,575 |
$193,351-$379,150 |
| 38% |
>$379,151 |
>$379,151 |
>189,576 |
>$379,151 |
Internal Revenue Service
It is the revenue service of the United States federal government. The agency is a bureau of the Department of the Treasury, and is under the immediate direction of the Commissioner of Internal Revenue. The IRS is responsible for collecting taxes and the interpretation and enforcement of the Internal Revenue Code.
You can refer to the official website: Internal Revenue Service to get more information and to get instructions for different forms.
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Living & Education in USA
