The White Falcon - 30.03.1990, Síða 4

Income tax tips assist in correct filin
Working Students May
Owe Taxes
Tax consequences for students working part-
time or summer jobs have become increas-
ingly more complex. Recent tax changes mean
students and parents or guardians may want to
carefully explore several factors prior to the
student accepting employment:
— Kow much will the student make at this
job during the year?
—Will the student have any other job by the
end of the year?
— Does the student have a savings account
or other investment that will earn interest or
dividends?
— Does the student have or expect to re-
ceive a scholarship that is partially or fully
taxable during the year?
— Can the student be claimed as a depend-
ent on someone else’s tax return?
These questions should be considered when
students fill our Form W-4, “Employee’s With-
holding Allowance Certificate,” to determine
how much, if any, tax should be withheld from
each paycheck.
A single student claimed as a dependent by
another person generally can earn up to $3,100
in wages, tips and taxable scholarship before
a federal income tax return must be filed. The
student must, however, have no unearned in-
come, such as interest or dividends. If the stu-
dent has unearned income, a return must be
filed when it exceeds $500. F
orm W-4 contains more information on this
topic. Copies are routinely available from most
employers or by calling the Internal Revenue
Service at (800) 424-3676.
Extension For
Overseas Travelers
If you are traveling abroad at tax time and
need more time to file your 1989 federal in-
come tax forms, you can ask for an extension.
Travelers generally can get a four-month ex-
tension by filing Internal Revenue Service
Form 4868, “Automatic Extension of Time to
File U.S. Individual Income Tax Return.”
Foim4868 may be filed by an U.S. taxpayer
and must be received by IRS on or before April
16,1990. An estimate of the tax due must be
paid with Form 4868.
Don’t confuse this extension with the auto-
matic two-month extension available to U.S.
citizens, resident aliens and on-duty military
personnel who reside outside the United States
or Puerto Rico on the due day of the return.
These taxpayers may attach a statement to
their tax return explaining how they qualify
for this two-month extension.
Interest rates must be paid on any tax due
from the return’s date until the date the tax is
paid.
Get IRS Publication 54, Tax Guide for U.S.
Citizens and Resident A liens Abroad, for more
tax facts. Forms and publications may be
obtained from U.S. embassies or consulates or
by writing to:
IRS Forms Distribution Center
P.O. Box 25866
Richmond, VA 23289
USA
Good Records Help
Now And Later
One of the best tax aids available to tax-
payers cannot be found in any store and is not
provided by the Internal Revenue Service. A
good record-keeping system is essential and is
not hard to get, say IRS officials.
The first rule to record keeping is to be con-
sistent. Taxpayers should establish a set place
to file information, be it a desk drawer, a file
cabinet or simply a box on a shelf. Separate
folders or envelopes should be labeled^
each tax topic, such as income, various
ized deduction expenses, costs of assets
tax credit and payment information. Any
canceled checks, bills, receipts or statements
relating to any category should be filed quickly
and correctly. Having tax records available
and organized helps taxpayers file their re-
turns early in the year. That saves the time and
aggravation of reconstructing the preceding
year’s events at the last minute. Good records
make tax and financial planning easier, and
they can help taxpayers answer any questions
the IRS may have regarding the return.
Armed Forces Uniforms
Active duty service members usually can-
not deduct the price of uniforms. However, if
local military rales prohibit wearing fatigues
outside normal duty hours, one may take a
deduction. Claim as a miscellaneous itemized
deduction the amount uniform purchases and
upkeep exceeds the clothing allowance. That
deduction is subject to the 2 percent adjusted
gross income limit.
Withholding That Fits
Employees should tailor their federal tax
withholding early in the year so they wind up
with little tax owed or to be refunded for
Generally, tax law requires employee^^^B
have enough tax withheld from their wagM^^F
make make quarterly estimated tax payments
sufficient to 90 percent of their total 1990 tax
bill. Employees who find they are having too
little or too much tax withheld should file
another W-4 withholding form with their em-
ployers.
Internal Revenue Service Publication 919,
Is My Withholding Correct for 1990?, offers
extra details. To order a free copy, call toll-
free (800) 424-3676, or mail in the order blank
in the tax return package.
Changes made to education benefits
Beginning Jan, 1, 1990, a number of 30 education benefits will be handled in one of will be issued about 10 days later. If the
servicepersons and veterans who are still four VA regional processing centers (Buffalo, student is in a vocational technical program
eligible for Chapter 34 V A educational as- Atlanta, Muskegee, or St. Louis) depending he or she must also have the school sign the
sistance benefits may be eligible to receive on where the student’s school is located. All form and certify any days of absence,
an educational allowance under the claims, correspondence, etc. involving Chap- Another change affecting servicepersons
Montgomery G.L Bill — Active Duty, or ter 30 benefits should go to one of those is that lump sum education benefit checks
Chapter 30 as it is commonly called. offices. will no longer be issued. Instead, only the
The Chapter 34 program ends on Dec. 31, Under the Chapter 30 program, monthly monthly benefit based on the pro rate cost of
1989, and no benefits are payable under that benefits will not be released by VA until a tuition and fees for the course will be issued
program for any training pursued after that student verification of continued enrollment each month. This means that serviceper-
date. There are no exceptions and no exten- form is completed and returned to VA each sons or veterans training at less than half-
sions available. However, if certain active month. If the student is enrolled in a standard time will no longer receive one check t<^
duty criteria are met, qualifying individuals college degree programhe or she simply checks cover the cost of tuition and fees for a scho^^B
may continue their education under the the appropriate blocks on the form to indicate term. Instead, they will receive a che^^B
Chapter 30 program. whether any change, such as a change in each month following each month of th^”
Those persons qualifying for Chapter 30 naming time, has occurred in his or her enroll- term,
benefits will find that several procedures ment status, and returns the form to the appro- For more information, contact Navy Cam-
will be different. All processing of Chapter priate VA regional processing office. A check pus or Air Force Education.
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