what should I know about taxes and junk? 16, first job

[NuclearFusi0n]

so i'm applying for this casheiring (sp) job at a sandwich joint and if i get said job what should i know about taxes and whatnot? i'm going to be about 15 hours a week at $7.20/hour.

 

[SaltBoy]

Taxes are:

- A contribution for the support of a government required of persons, groups, or businesses within the domain of that government.
- A fee or dues levied on the members of an organization to meet its expenses.
- A burdensome or excessive demand; a strain.

 

[NuclearFusi0n]

Originally posted by: SaltBoy
Taxes are:

- A contribution for the support of a government required of persons, groups, or businesses within the domain of that government.
- A fee or dues levied on the members of an organization to meet its expenses.
- A burdensome or excessive demand; a strain.

thank you very much

what i really want to know is how much do i have to pay and what do i do/what do i "file" come april 15 next year.

 

[nord1899]

Expect to lose about 30% in taxes from your paycheck. But chances are you will get a majority of it back when you file for taxes next year. This assumes you take the normal deductions.

 

[Mean MrMustard]

You should know about your junk by now...

 

[SaltBoy]

Originally posted by: NuclearFusi0n

Originally posted by: SaltBoy
Taxes are:

- A contribution for the support of a government required of persons, groups, or businesses within the domain of that government.
- A fee or dues levied on the members of an organization to meet its expenses.
- A burdensome or excessive demand; a strain.

thank you very much

what i really want to know is how much do i have to pay and what do i do/what do i "file" come april 15 next year.

Sorry, I couldn't help myself... 😉

You shouldn't have to worry much about taxes with the little income you're making. Sure, your employer will take out some money from your paycheck, but your return (which could be a 1040EZ return, "EZ" meaning "EASY") will give practically all of it back. With 15 hours a week at 7.20 an hour, you should make only about $5000 a year. Not a big deal.

 

[desy]

Taxes are
1 necessary in a society
2 unfortunately disproportionate
3 sometimes not efficiently allocated

Don't worry about it, it will all become clearer once you get your tax receipt from your employer.

 

[NuclearFusi0n]

bump for more info?

 

[NutBucket]

And, as I recall, if you're below a certain level, like $2k, no taxes on your income as long as you don't have capital gains. Me, I've been paying taxes for years already.

<-- Only 20

 

[Toasthead]

taxes suck!

 

[dugweb]

Originally posted by: NutBucket
And, as I recall, if you're below a certain level, like $2k, no taxes on your income as long as you don't have capital gains. Me, I've been paying taxes for years already.

<-- Only 20

hmm, ive been paying taxes since the first time i bought something... beat that!

 

[Maetryx]

First, there are several items that come out of your paycheck.

1) Federal income taxes: this is the one most people are refering to when they say taxes
2) State/local income taxes: most states and some cities have their own income taxes (not Alaska 🙂 )
3) FICA: social security, which is a federal retirement program. Everyone pays this and it is not subject to income tax returns. Your employer matches this payment (he pays the same amount in as you do). If you're self-employed, you pay twice as much (your part and your "employer's" part).
4) Medicare: a federal government health insurance plan for the poor. Also not subject to income tax returns.
5) Unemployment: a payment into the unemployment system so that if you get laid off, you can draw a portion of your previous wages while you look for another job.

The federal government lets you estimate how much it should take out of your paycheck, so that at the end of the year you don't find yourself with a huge federal income tax bill and no easy way to pay it. Quite often, the estimate is high, and so when you do your income tax return paperwork you find that the federal government owes you money back. Since the overpayment is an interest-free loan to the government, I never get interested in overpaying by a huge amount just to get my own money back later and be tricked into being happy.

As a young person, I think you need to learn this lesson: it is your money that is being taken. Never forget that. The government does not "own" the tax dollars. Giving you a tax break is not a government program that needs to be funded. The double-speak on this issue is monumental, with politicians asking "How are we going to fund this tax break?"

It is your money. They don't own it. We own them. We own our dollars and we as a country pay the wages of these politicians. Be very clear on it, because it's easy to just go with the flow and learn the current tax system as inherent.

 

[Booster]

It is your money. They don't own it. We own them.

Yeah, I wish. 'My money'. The older I become, the more I understand that in fact it's them who own me, not me. And 'my money' is a joke and an illusion (at least for me).

 

[bunker]

When you are hired they will give you a W4 form to fill out where you claim your dependants. The less dependants, the more they take out. Before I was married I always put a 1 in there because they took less out of my check (not much less) and I still ended up getting a refund.

 

[NuclearFusi0n]

Originally posted by: bunker
When you are hired they will give you a W4 form to fill out where you claim your dependants. The less dependants, the more they take out. Before I was married I always put a 1 in there because they took less out of my check (not much less) and I still ended up getting a refund.

do they check? my parents still claim me as a dependant, does that matter?

 

[sciencetoy]

Legally it doesn't matter what number of dependants you put down. Practically, it make a difference in the amount that is taken out, so you want to match what you will owe.

Your employer will probably know what to put there, so that you get the least taken out, since you won't owe anything at the end of the year - unless you get another high paying job, of course.

 

Originally posted by: NuclearFusi0n

Originally posted by: bunker
When you are hired they will give you a W4 form to fill out where you claim your dependants. The less dependants, the more they take out. Before I was married I always put a 1 in there because they took less out of my check (not much less) and I still ended up getting a refund.

do they check? my parents still claim me as a dependant, does that matter?

He might mean exemptions. DO NOT commit tax fraud by claiming dependents if you do not have any.

 

[bunker]

Originally posted by: jumpr

Originally posted by: NuclearFusi0n

Originally posted by: bunker
When you are hired they will give you a W4 form to fill out where you claim your dependants. The less dependants, the more they take out. Before I was married I always put a 1 in there because they took less out of my check (not much less) and I still ended up getting a refund.

do they check? my parents still claim me as a dependant, does that matter?

He might mean exemptions. DO NOT commit tax fraud by claiming dependents if you do not have any.

This is the form you will have to fill out. When I was young working my first few jobs I always claimed 2 so that I'd get less taken out of my check and I still ended up with a refund.

 

[tarheelmm]

If you are a full time student and working part time and make, I think, under $6500 for the year, you get it all back

If none of the above exists, expect to pay!

 

[psianime]

(ahem, I know how old you are NuclearFusi0n).

As for taxes, if you make under a certain amount per year, the government will refund you most of your money back because you are making below the poverty level. You won't see that money until next year. You can file your taxes on Jan. 2 (1st is normally a holiday) so that you can get your greedy paws on it faster. There is no need to wait until April 15th like most people. You can file your taxes online or use a tax program like turbo tax (you will need the latest version for next year) to make it easy on you.

I'm not sure but maybe you can claim your earnings for educational purposes. That might help to get you most of your money back.

One more thing. If you get federal aid from the government, you HAVE TO CLAIM it as extra income in your FAFSA or else you might run the risk of falsifying information which is grounds for the retraction of that beatiful money in the form of grants. The government will deduct your grants and loans from whatever you make. If you get no aid, then get a job by all means.

Be careful.

-psianime