Taxation Legal Terms and Definitions

Gross income Money, goods, services, and property a person receives that must be reported on a tax return. Includes unemployment compensation and certain scholarships. It does not include welfare benefits and nontaxable Social Security benefits. Excise tax A tax on the sale or use of specific products or transactions. Federal Insurance Contributions Act (FICA) Tax Provides benefits for retired workers and their dependents as well as for disabled workers and their dependents. Also known as the Social Security tax. Compulsory payroll tax An automatic tax collected from employers and employees to finance specific programs. Income taxes Taxes on income, both earned (salaries, wages, tips, commissions) and unearned (interest, dividends). Income taxes can be levied on both individuals (personal income taxes) and businesses (business and corporate income taxes). Installment Agreements To be eligible for an installment agreement, all returns that are due must first be filed. Installment agreements generally require equal monthly payments. The amount of an installment payment will be based on the amount owed and on the taxpayer’s ability to pay that amount within the time legally available for the IRS to collect. Self-Employment Tax The self-employment tax rate on net earnings remains the same for 2003. This rate, 15.3%, is a total of 12.4% for social security (old-age, survivors, and disability insur­ance) and 2.9% for Medicare (hospital insurance). Employee Works for an employer. Employers can control when, where, and how the employee performs the work. Partnership return If you need more time to file a partnership return, file Form 8736, Application for Automatic Extension of Time To File U.S. Return for a Partnership, REMIC, or for Certain Trusts, for an automatic 3-month extension. File Form 8736 by the regular due date of the partnership return. Form W-4, Employee's Withholding Allowance Certificate Completed by the employee and used by the employer to determine the amount of income tax to withhold.

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	Did You Know?
	Form 8308 is Report of a Sale or Exchange of Certain Partnership Interests Report the sale or exchange by a partner of all or part of a partnership interest where any money or other property received in exchange for the interest is attributable to unrealized receivables or inventory items.