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Tax forms
Forms like W2 and 1040 help summarize your income and tax payments, while W4 and I9 deal with your current job's tax withholdings and your eligibility to work. Understanding these is crucial, it ensures you pay the right amount of tax and avoid any potential issues with the IRS.
Tax forms
You've just learned about different types of taxes, like sales tax, property tax, and income tax. One thing we all have in common is the responsibility to pay taxes on any income we receive, whether it's from a job or even interest from a savings account.
In this article, we'll walk you through the key tax forms you'll come across throughout the year. Unfortunately, there isn't a direct logical explanation behind the naming of these tax forms, as IRS simply used whatever letters and numbers were available at the time the forms were created. But, we can help create some fun associations to help remember them.
A journey through the world of taxes typically begins with your first job, so let's start there.
Congratulations on your new job! Introducing the W4 and I9 forms
With your new job comes some paperwork, including two very important forms: the W4 and the I9.
W4
The W4 form helps your employer figure out how much income tax to take out of your paycheck. You'll answer a few personal questions like your marital status and if you have any kids.
No worries, though, you can update your W4 form anytime something in your life changes during the year and your employer will adjust how much taxes they are withholding.
I9
Now, the I9 form is all about making sure you're legally able to work in the United States. To fill it out, you'll need a proper ID like a driver's license or passport.
Not a job, but a side gig? Meet the W9
If you are working a side gig or working as a freelancer—or if you're starting a new job as an independent contractor—you might need to complete a W9 form. This form gives your taxpayer identification number (or Social Security number) to the person paying you, so they can report your income to the IRS.
January: Say Hello to the W2 and 1099 forms
W2 form
In January, your employer will send you a very helpful form called the W2. It tells you all about the money you made and the taxes pulled from your paycheck during the previous year. Make sure to keep it safe, as you'll definitely need it when you file your taxes!
1099 form
If you received any money from any other source, you will receive a 1099 form. This can be from your side job, contract work, or even from your bank for any interest you earned in your account.
January and February: Paying for college or a house? Here come 1098 forms
If you have any educational expenses or you're a homeowner, there's a useful form called the 1098. This form has the details on mortgage interest or college expenses and will arrive during January and February. 1098 form is very helpful because it can help lower your taxes.
April and the 1040 form: The finale of tax season
As they say, all things must come to an end, especially when it comes to taxes. The grand finale for wrapping up taxes is usually on April
Lots of people get their taxes out of the way even before the April deadline, but it's definitely the last call to get them done.
Check your understanding
Want to join the conversation?
Does a 1099 form cover gifts, birthday/anniversary presents, or gift cards (or an equivalent to a gift card)?(3 votes)
No. Unless you are a former president of the United States, who received 5 million dollars from his father to get him started, birthday and anniversary presents rarely reach the amount that would affect your taxes.(10 votes)
I've heard that if you mess up on your taxes you could go to jail. Is it easy to mess up on Taxes? and if you do mess up, DO you get sent to jail?(2 votes)
Hm, perhaps you're thinking about tax evasion. The goal of discipline is to help people learn and grow from their mistakes, not punish them for it.
If someone purposely decides to evade taxes, they can be charged and sent to jail. If they don't know how to fill out their tax forms, they can be directed to various resources to help them.(5 votes)
"needss" is in the first question: "(B) Your bank needss your new address."(3 votes)- Report this error to https://support.khanacademy.org/hc/en-us/requests/new and perhaps something can be done.(2 votes)
what happens if you don't pay taxes?(2 votes)- I'm assuming that you mean income taxes, but let's imagine that you mean ANY taxes.
If you don't pay your annual property tax, the local government could seize your house and sell it, leaving you with whatever was gained only AFTER that local government deducted what you owe.
If you don't pay your vehicle registration tax, eventually your car will be identified by a license plate scanner, and you'll be stopped and cited by the police.
If you don't pay your Federal Income Taxes, you still owe them, plus penalties plus interest on the unpaid taxes and any unpaid fines.
When you stay at a hotel, the hotel company collects taxes on your room stay, and passes that on to the government.
When you purchase gasoline, the dealer collects taxes for roads, and passes those on to the government.
When you buy a load of manure to fertilize your garden, the store collects the sales tax, and passes it on to the government.
So, like it or not, you already pay some taxes, and you are legally required to pay the rest of them.(2 votes)
- Um, is it just me that noticed the first sentence of the W4 explanation repeat its self or am I just tripping?(2 votes)
If you have a job at 16 do you have to pay taxes or only when you are 18 do you have to pay taxes?(1 vote)- If you have a legal job and are paid legally, taxes will be deducted from your pay at the rate as if you earned that much each pay period for the full year. If, at the end of the year, you haven't earned enough to owe a tax, what has been held back will be refunded to you.(1 vote)
If you legally have to pay taxes if you have a legal job then lets say your in a country where kids are forced to work and get money because the adults can't and have disabilitys and they don't have that insurance.Then after they get enough money from the kids work to move to new york then do you still have a legal permits to sell the stuff and have to pay taxes if earned enough money.Because to this day street venders don't have permits and people have been waiting years for them but the government is to stubborn and pocketing the money so he can't give permits to people who deserve them .(1 vote)- How about rephrasing that, then posting it in a lesson other this one on Tax forms?
May I suggest something like what follows?
Premise: Legally employed persons are required by law to pay taxes in the nations where they are legally employed.
Questions:
1) In nations where forced child labor is legal (because of family situations such as disability and lack of insurance), when the combined child income rises to the level where New Yorkers must pay taxes, are those children required to pay tax when arriving in New York for what they earned in the country where forced child labor was legal?
2) What about street vendors in New York? If they are foreigners from nations where forced child labor is legal, do those underage vendors have to pay taxes on what they earn, in particular if their street vendor business is done without holding legal street vendor permits?
3) It is my belief that a stubborn person in the government is pocketing money from someone else in exchange for approving permits for these unlicensed street vendors from countries where forced child labor is permitted. Who should be paying tax on those various sources of income in the State and City of New York?(1 vote)