Common MISCONCEPTIONS and MISCUES Pertaining to Individual Income Taxes
Your Initial Financial Plan:
-
Print Out The Eight Step Checklist to Keep Track of Your Progress
-
Step 1: Calculate Your Financial APGAR Score
-
Step 2: Put Together Your "Ow-Ow" (Net Worth) Statement
-
Step 3: Prepare Your Monthly Cash Flow Budget
-
Step 4: Set Your Savings and Debt Reduction Goals
-
Step 5: Project If You're Saving Enough for Retirement
-
Step 6: Work Through a Tax Projection (to Avoid Any Surprises Next April 15th)
-
Step 7: Review Your Life and Disability Insurance Needs
-
Step 8: Have an Attorney Draft Certain Essential Documents
Looking For a CPA, Lawyer or Financial Advisor who has worked with lots of other newlyweds and is familiar with the issues that affect you?
Are You a Do-It-Yourselfer?
Do-it-yourselfers can prepare and electronically file their 2002 income tax returns for only $24.95 at CCH's Complete Tax
Over
the years, our friends at mdtaxes.com have prepared income tax
returns for thousands of young professionals. Below, they have
prepared a list of some of the common
misconceptions and miscues
that they have come across over and over again.
M&M #1: Newlyweds who, upon returning to work after their honeymoon, immediately change their withholding to "Married - 2 allowances"
The issues:
-
Married couples comprised of two working spouses each earning a similar amount of money will owe MORE in taxes than if they had remained single. This is known as the marriage penalty.
- An
individual will have LESS taxes withheld by claiming to be married
since the withholding tables for married people assume that only one
spouse works. When both spouses work and have taxes withheld as if
they are married, that couple will generally owe quite a bit of taxes
at the end of the year.
- An individual will have LESS taxes withheld with each additional allowance that is claimed. Claiming 2 allowances may seem to make sense (1 for you and 1 for your spouse), but by claiming 2 allowances, you will only be increasing the amount of taxes owed at the end of the year.
Believe it or not, it's not uncommon for married couples who earn a total of $80,000 during the year to owed $4,000 in federal income taxes on April 15th!!
The solution:
If you and your spouse both work and earn a similar amount of money, and you don't own a home, you should each file a new Form W-4 with your employer claiming "Married but withhold at the higher single rate" with 1 allowance. You should also work through a tax projection during the year to make sure that enough taxes are being withheld. (Try our free on-line tax software.)
M&M #2: People who purchase a vacation home to get an additional tax deduction.
The issues:
-
Taxpayers can deduct mortgage interest paid on their principal residence and a second home. Boats and mobile homes count as a second home as long as they have sleeping, cooking and bathroom facilities. The only limitation is that mortgage interest can only be deducted on the first $1,000,000 borrowed to purchase and improve both homes.
- Real
estate taxes paid during the year can be deducted on all residences owned.
- If the vacation home is used more than 14 days by the taxpayers, and rented out the remainder of the year, rental losses generally can not be deducted.
The problem is that, if the vacation home is not used on a regular basis over a number of years, the after-tax cost of paying the mortgage and maintaining the property far exceeds the cost that would have been incurred to rent a similar property for the few weeks during the year that it might be used.
The solution:
If the vacation home is at a place that you would frequent on a regular basis even if you didn't own the home, such as a ski mountain, a lake, or the beach, then you might consider purchasing the home. Otherwise, even though you may save some taxes by owning a second home, you should probably forego purchasing one. Instead, take the money that would have been spent on the home's down payment and monthly mortgage and maintenance costs, pay for the vacations that you would like to go on, and wisely invest the rest.
M&M #3: Automobile salespeople who inform people that they will realize a substantially higher tax savings by leasing a car than by purchasing the same car.
The issues:
-
Individuals who drive their automobiles in connection with work are entitled to claim a deduction on their tax returns. Business miles include driving between work places and driving from your home to a temporary place of business. Commuting between your home and a regular place of business NEVER qualifies as deductible business miles.
- The
automobile deduction is based on the ratio of business miles driven
during the year divided by total miles driven during the year. The
higher that percentage, the greater the percentage of your automobile
expenses that can be written off. For most people, this percentage
turns out to be quite LOW.
- Individuals
who are self-employed will deduct their automobile expenses against
their gross self-employment income on the Schedule C. Individuals who
are compensated as employees will deduct their automobile expenses as
a miscellaneous itemized deduction on the Schedule A. As you may be
aware, miscellaneous itemized deductions are only deductible to the
extent that they exceed 2% of adjusted gross income.
- People who benefit the most by leasing are self-employed individuals who use their automobiles predominantly for business. Most other taxpayers end up only being eligible to deduct a small percentage of their automobile expenses (which include the cost of the lease, insurance, gas, repairs and maintenance, parking at your home, and other costs) and therefore, DO NOT REALIZE MUCH OF A TAX SAVINGS AT ALL.
The solution:
Before being sold on a leased automobile, you need to calculate the after-tax cost of leasing versus owning. If you drive very few business miles during the year, you will probably find that leasing ends up being significantly more expensive than owning. Unless you're self-employed and use the car predominantly for business, leasing makes sense for people who 1) have very little money for the down payment on a car and 2) intend on upgrading to a better car when the lease period ends. Otherwise, purchasing the automobile is generally a better all around financial decision.
M&M #4: Parents with only 1 child in day care who do not take advantage of the dependent care benefit offered by their employer.
The issues:
-
Parents who take advantage of the dependent care benefit offered as part of their employer's benefit package are allowed to pay the first $5,000 of child care expenses with pre-tax dollars. A person in the 28% tax bracket who is not over the social security max will save $1,782.50 in federal and social security taxes by paying for day care with pre-tax dollars. ($5,000 * [28% + 7.65%])
- Parents who do not take advantage of this benefit are entitled to claim a tax credit equal to 20% of the first $2,400 of child care expenses paid each year; a tax savings of only $480. (Parents with two or more children in day care are allowed to base their credit on the first $4,800 of expenses paid.)
The solution:
Find
out from your company's human resource department whether the
dependent care benefit is offered and how you should go about signing
up for this benefit. Keep
in mind, however, that parents taking advantage of this benefit must
report the name, address, and employer identification number of the
child care provider to the I.R.S. on a Form 2441 attached to their
federal Form 1040.
M&M #5: Taxpayers who sign up to participate in their employer's 401(k) plan or 403(b) plan at the end of the year and put away very little money prior to December 31st.
The issues:
-
If you're married and neither your nor your spouse is covered under an employer sponsored retirement plan during the year, you are each entitled to make a deductible contribution of $2,000 to an Individual Retirement Account (IRA).
- The IRA generally becomes non-deductible if as little as $1 is contributed to a 401(k) plan or 403(b) plan during the year.
An individual signed up for his employer's 403(b) plan during December and had $200 withheld from his salary and contributed to the plan. This individual is no longer entitled to make a DEDUCTIBLE IRA contribution of $2,000 for that tax year. This individual saved $56 in federal income taxes on the $200 contribution to the 403(b) plan, but lost out on the $560 tax savings in connection with a $2,000 IRA.
The solution:
Sign up to participate in your employer's 401(k) plan or 403(b) plan early in the year and try your best to contribute more than $2,000 during the year. If you have any money left over at the end of the year, you should try to contribute up to $2,000 to a Roth IRA; as long as you meet the income limitations. The combination of contributing to your employer's 401(k) or 403(b) plan and making an annual $2,000 contribution to a Roth IRA can't be beat!!
M&M #6: Individuals who buys stocks with retirement money and mutual funds with non-retirement money.
The issues:
-
Capital gains on stocks held for more than 12 months are taxed at a maximum rate of 15%. Capital gains are only taxed the year that the investments are sold. Unrealized appreciation is not taxed.
- Capital
losses on stocks held in non-retirement accounts can be used to
offset other capital gains earned during the year. If capital losses
exceed capital gains, an individual can deduct as much as $3,000 in
losses against all other income earned during the year. No deduction
is allowed for capital losses on stocks held in retirement accounts.
- Distributions
from retirement accounts are taxed at your marginal tax rate;
generally 25%, 28% or 35%. Distributions before reaching the age of
59 1/2 are usually subject to a 10% penalty for premature
distributions as well. The 20% capital gains rate does NOT apply to
retirement money, even if the retirement accounts only held stocks.
- Dividends from mutual funds are taxed partly as ordinary income and partly as capital gains, depending on how the income was earned within the fund. Most mutual funds pay out dividends every year. Sometimes, these dividends can be quite large.
The solution:
If your strategy is to buy and hold good stocks, you should purchase those stocks in your non-retirement accounts to take advantage of the 20% capital gains tax rate. Any mutual funds that you purchase, especially those that pay out a big dividend each year, should be held in your retirement accounts.
If your strategy is to purchase only mutual funds or only stocks, you should hold those investments that pay the smallest dividend within your non-retirement accounts and hold the dividend paying investments within your retirement accounts.
Individuals who continually turn over their portfolio and never own a stock for more than a few months will probably do better in the long run by buying and selling those stocks within their retirement accounts. These individuals need to remember, however, that losses realized on transactions within retirement accounts are not deductible.
Have You Checked Your Credit Report Lately?
A financial miscue is to not check your credit report periodically. Remember, good credit is like money in the bank. Without it, all of your financial dealings become a lot more difficult.
See your Personal Credit Report and Credit Score Online - Free