income tax

Accounting Business Tax

Tax Due Dates for May 2012

May 10 Employers– Social Security, Medicare, and withheld income tax. File Form 941 for the first quarter of 2012. This due date applies only if you deposited the tax for the quarter in full and on time.Employees – who work for tips. If you received $20 or more in tips during April, report them to your employer. You can use Form 4070.
May 15 Employers– Nonpayroll withholding. If the monthly deposit rule applies, deposit the tax for payments in April.Employers – Social Security, Medicare, and withheld income tax. If the monthly deposit rule applies, deposit the tax for payments in April.
Business Tax

Six Facts about the Alternative Minimum Tax

The Alternative Minimum Tax attempts to ensure that anyone who benefits from certain tax advantages pays at least a minimum amount of tax. The AMT provides an alternative set of rules for calculating your income tax. In general, these rules should determine the minimum amount of tax that someone with your income should be required to pay. If your regular tax falls below this minimum, you have to make up the difference by paying alternative minimum tax.

Here are six facts you should know about the AMT and changes for tax year 2011.

  1. Tax laws provide tax benefits for certain kinds of income and allow special deductions and credits for certain expenses. These benefits can drastically reduce some taxpayers’ tax obligations. Congress created the AMT in 1969, targeting higher income taxpayers who could claim so many deductions they owed little or no income tax.
  2. Because the AMT is not indexed for inflation, a growing number of middle-income taxpayers are discovering they are subject to the AMT.
  3. You may have to pay the AMT if your taxable income for regular tax purposes plus any adjustments and preference items that apply to you are more than the AMT exemption amount.
  4. The AMT exemption amounts are set by law for each filing status.
  5. For tax year 2011, Congress raised the AMT exemption amounts to the following levels: $74,450 for a married couple filing a joint return and qualifying widows and widowers; $48,450 for singles and heads of household; $37,225 for a married person filing separately.
  6. The minimum AMT exemption amount for a child whose unearned income is taxed at the parents’ tax rate has increased to $6,800 for 2011.

If you need information about the AMT and your tax situation, please let us know.

Tax

Tax Due Dates for February 2012

February 10 Employers – Federal unemployment tax. File Form 940 for 2011. This due date applies only if you deposited the tax for the year in full and on time.Employers – Social Security, Medicare, and withheld income tax. File Form 941 for the fourth quarter of 2011. This due date applies only if you deposited the tax for the quarter in full and on time.

Small Employers – File Form 944 to report Social Security and Medicare taxes and withheld income tax for 2011. This due date applies only if you deposited the tax for the year in full and on time.

Farm Employers – File Form 943 to report Social Security and Medicare taxes and withheld income tax for 2011. This due date applies only if you deposited the tax for the year in full and on time.

Certain Small Employers – File Form 944 to report Social Security and Medicare taxes and withheld income tax for 2011. This tax due date applies only if you deposited the tax for the year in full and on time.

Employers – Nonpayroll taxes. File Form 945 to report income tax withheld for 2011 on all nonpayroll items. This due date applies only if you deposited the tax for the year in full and on time.

Employees – who work for tips. If you received $20 or more in tips during January, report them to your employer. You can use Form 4070.
February 15 Employers – Social Security, Medicare, and withheld income tax. If the monthly deposit rule applies, deposit the tax for payments in January.Employers – Nonpayroll withholding. If the monthly deposit rule applies, deposit the tax for payments in January.

Individuals – If you claimed exemption from income tax withholding last year on the Form W-4 you gave your employer, you must file a new Form W-4 by this date to continue your exemption for another year.
February 16 Employers – Begin withholding income tax from the pay of any employee who claimed exemption from withholding in 2011, but did not give you a new Form W-4 to continue the exemption this year.
February 28 Businesses – File information returns (Form 1099) for certain payments you made during 2011. There are different forms for different types of payments. Use a separate Form 1096 to summarize and transmit the forms for each type of payment. See the 2011 Instructions for Forms 1099, 1098, 5498, and W-2G for information on what payments are covered, how much the payment must be before a return is required, what form to use, and extensions of time to file.If you file Forms 1098, 1099, or W-2G electronically (not by magnetic media), your due date for filing them with the IRS will be extended to April 2. The due date for giving the recipient these forms is still January 31.

Payers of Gambling Winnings – File Form 1096, Annual Summary and transmittal of U.S. Information Returns, along with Copy A of all the Forms W-2G you issued for 2011. If you file Forms W-2G electronically (not by magnetic tape), your due date for filing them with the IRS will be extended to April 2. The due date for giving the recipient these forms remains January 31.
February 29 Employers – File Form W-3, Transmittal of Wage and Tax Statements, along with Copy A of all the Forms W-2 you issued for 2011.If you file Forms W-2 electronically (not by magnetic media), your due date for filing them with the SSA will be extended to April 2. The due date for giving the recipient these forms is still January 31.

Employers – with employees who work for tips. File Form 8027, Employer’s Annual Information Return of Tip Income and Allocated Tips. Use Form 8027-T, Transmittal of Employer’s Annual Information Return of Tip Income and Allocated Tips, to summarize and transmit Forms 8027 if you have more than one establishment. If you file Forms 8027 electronically (not by magnetic tape), your due date for filing them with the IRS will be extended to April 2.
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