Any Tax experts around?

Coqui

Piccolo Pete
Oct 14, 2004
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I'm adjusting my exemptions due to the birth of my child.

However after looking at all the stuff, we're talking about a huge number difference in the exemptions (used to be just one for me, now, it's going to be 6)

What my question is, is, "Is there anyway I can make sure I pick the right amount of exemptions so as to not owe any money next year?"

I don't know what information would be needed from you to answer that question, so just ask and I'll post (No I won't give you my SSN)

Thanks in advance.
 
I'm adjusting my exemptions due to the birth of my child.

However after looking at all the stuff, we're talking about a huge number difference in the exemptions (used to be just one for me, now, it's going to be 6)

What my question is, is, "Is there anyway I can make sure I pick the right amount of exemptions so as to not owe any money next year?"

I don't know what information would be needed from you to answer that question, so just ask and I'll post (No I won't give you my SSN)

Thanks in advance.
http://www.irs.gov/individuals/page/0,,id=14806,00.html
 
Well according to that, I can claim 9 and not have any issues.

What I do with that is go all the way to the end, it tells me what my total obligation for 2008 is going to be and then I have my paychecks adjusted accordingly. I don't even bother with exemptions or any of that, because depending on your payroll company, it's bound to get messed up.

Just take your total obligation for the year, divide by your pay periods and have that much taken out of each check... exemptions be damned!!!
 
What I do with that is go all the way to the end, it tells me what my total obligation for 2008 is going to be and then I have my paychecks adjusted accordingly. I don't even bother with exemptions or any of that, because depending on your payroll company, it's bound to get messed up.

Just take your total obligation for the year, divide by your pay periods and have that much taken out of each check... exemptions be damned!!!

I might end up doing it that way.
 
After the birth of my daughter I asked the CPA for our business what he recommended, and he said to not change it. Something like a child is only worth $3000 of tax credit. It's not as much as people think especially if both people work, which my wife does (from home).
 
After the birth of my daughter I asked the CPA for our business what he recommended, and he said to not change it. Something like a child is only worth $3000 of tax credit. It's not as much as people think especially if both people work, which my wife does (from home).

Well i'm the only one that works.....and I just finished my taxes for 2007. Due to the fact that I can almost pay for a car with the refund we're getting (federal only, not including state or local) I think I'm going to adjust it so as not to get that large of a refund again.
 
does anyone know the rules on what you ahve to do if you have your own business? isn't it something like you have to do the whole tax thing if you made a certain amount of money? and if you didn't make that, then it doesn't qualify for tax stuff?
 
does anyone know the rules on what you ahve to do if you have your own business? isn't it something like you have to do the whole tax thing if you made a certain amount of money? and if you didn't make that, then it doesn't qualify for tax stuff?

are you a registered business? Are you just "consulting" on the side? How do you receive payments...cash, checks written to you, checks written to a business name?

if you have a registered business, you should hire a tax accountant. You still have to report even if you don't earn enough to have to pay.
 
are you a registered business? Are you just "consulting" on the side? How do you receive payments...cash, checks written to you, checks written to a business name?

if you have a registered business, you should hire a tax accountant. You still have to report even if you don't earn enough to have to pay.

i am a consultant. i receive checks made out to me and cash. i also take credit card payments but those aren't to me, it's to the business.
 
If you have gone through the process and you are a registered business in GA, then you need to report that income as business revenues, separate from your personal income tax return. You would have to be paying yourself salary from your business banking account, and be doing all the other accounting as a normal business would do. You probably don't fall into this category.

If you are receiving money on the side as a consultant and the money is just to you or some pseudo made up, unregistered company you need to report that income on your personal taxes. You still should have been doing quarterly estimates to be correct about it, but if you earned less than 5,000 you can just do it at the end of the year and you might have to pay a small late fee.

When I consult, I usually have the client pay me via 1099. Then I report those earnings accordingly at year end. If I am being paid cash or checks that are not logged on 1099 or another tax form, I report that in "Other Income" at the year end.

If I expect to earn a boat load of extra money in some quarter, I do an estimated earnings form and pay accordingly at that point. Otherwise you are asking for an IRS audit.
 
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Uhhh, yeah. Doesnt everyone? :shifty:

They do if they don't want to get busted when the business paying them gets audited by the IRS. The company that was paying me cash out of miscellaneous funds and not 1099ing me got audited and it came out how they were paying me. The way they were paying me was not in itself wrong, but I got red flagged because of it. Luckily I reported that income, otherwise I would have been in a bit of trouble when the looked in on me.