Daniel
How exact do taxes work, and how do you do them?
I'm asking this because as I will grow up it'll be something I'll have to do so and want to know more about it and how it actually works. #taxes
4 answers
Jessie Saparata, CPA
Jessie’s Answer
Tax is a set of rules US IRS published, for individual and company to pay. I personally love it, because there are unlimited job opportunities. I would take a intro tax class in college then see if it is the right career path for you.
Hongyun (Heley) Bai, CPA
Hongyun (Heley)’s Answer
You will get multiply forms after the year-end stating difference kinds of income or other information required to disclose IRS. You would need to use these forms, as well as some other information, to prepare for your tax return. The good news is that nowadays, with turbo tax and other tax software, they could get the forms directly from your bank or your payroll services and generate the return for you, which is a lot easier.
Blake Flota, CPA
Blake’s Answer
Google is actually a great resource. I'm a tax accountant, yet I find myself searching tax related questions on google all of the time. Millions of Americans don't know much about how taxes work, so chances are if you have a question, someone else has posted a similar question. I recommend searching questions on YouTube as well.
Tax prep websites like www.hrblock.com and www.turbotax.com are good places to start. If you only have income from one or two jobs, those websites will usually help you do your return for free! They are also designed to ask you simple questions about your life in the last year and most people are able to prepare their tax return in under an hour.
If you have any more specific tax questions, I would be happy to answer them below.
Stefano Tavella
Stefano’s Answer
You will get a job and your employer will begin withholding a portion of your pay for (1) Federal Tax, (2) Social Security Tax and (3) Medicare tax [State Tax is also withheld but there is no state tax in Nevada]. At the end of the year, your employer will issue you a Form W-2 that will identify the total amount of pay given to you as well as the taxes you paid.
Based on the amount of wages reported on this form, you will fall into a certain tax bracket identifying the amount of tax that you are expected to pay (for Federal). The US has a gradual tax system. So, the more you make = the more you pay.
The IRS provides forms online as well as programs that assist you in inputting this information in order to calculate your tax liability in addition to instructions on how to interpret every line on the tax form.
A lot more goes into this but hope this gives you an idea.