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McGraw-Hill/Irwin Copyright © 2012 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Chapter 07

Individual Income Tax Computation and Tax Credits

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Learning Objectives

1. Determine a taxpayer’s regular tax liability and identify tax issues associated with the process.

2. Compute a taxpayer’s alternative minimum tax liability and describe the tax characteristics of taxpayers most likely to owe the alternative minimum tax.

3. Calculate a taxpayer’s employment and self-employment taxes payable and explain tax considerations relating to whether a taxpayer is considered to be an employee or a self-employed independent contractor.

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Learning Objectives (cont’d)

4. Describe the different general types of tax credits, identify specific tax credits, and compute a taxpayer’s allowable child tax credit, child and dependent care credit, earned income credit, American opportunity credit, lifetime learning credit, and earned income credit.

5. Explain taxpayer filing and tax payment requirements and describe in general terms how to compute a taxpayer’s underpayment, late filing, and late payment penalties.

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Federal Income Tax Computation

Regular tax computation dependent upon: Filing status

Married filing jointly Qualifying widow or widower (also called Surviving

spouse) Married filing separately Head of household Single

Progressive tax rates Tax rate schedules Tax tables

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Tax brackets or marginal tax rates on ordinary income 10%, 15%, 25%, 28%, 33%, and 35%

Marriage penalty or benefit Who is likely to have penalty?

Both spouses receive income Who is likely to have benefit?

One spouse receives income

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Exceptions to ordinary tax rates Long-term capital gains (net capital gains)

Generally 15% but can be as high as 28% or as low as 0%

Two different tax rates on one gain is possible

Dividends Qualified dividends generally taxed at 15% but could

be taxed as low as 0%. Two different tax rates on one dividend is possible

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Alternative Minimum Tax

Items commonly added back to regular taxable income in computing AMT income Personal and dependency exemptions State income taxes Real property taxes Home-equity loan interest expense (if proceeds not

used to improve home) Miscellaneous itemized deductions in excess of 2%

floor

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Alternative Minimum Tax

AMT is a tax based on an alternative more inclusive tax base than regular taxable income. Meant to ensure that taxpayers are paying some

minimum level of tax.

Who is most likely to pay it and why? High state taxes Multiple children Capital gains

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Alternative Minimum Tax Why is it becoming so prevalent?

Exemption amount and phase-out threshold not indexed for inflation

Individual tax rates have been decreasing.

AMT rates 26% or 28% vs. individual ordinary rates 10%, 15%, 25%, 28%, 33%, 35%

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Employment and Self-Employment Taxes

FICA taxes consist of two components: Social Security tax – 12.4% (10.4% in 2011)

Wage base limited to $106,800 in 2011 Medicare tax – 2.9%

No wage base limitation

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Employment FICA Taxes

Employee Must pay FICA taxes on compensation from

employer (4.2 % Social Security tax rate; 1.45% Medicare tax rate)

Multiple employers during year Employer

Pays FICA tax on employee’s compensation (6.2% Social Security tax rate; 1.45% Medicare tax rate)

& withholds FICA tax from employee’s pay check

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Self-employed taxpayers Responsible for entire FICA tax (employee and

employer share) Steps to computing SE tax

Compute net Schedule C income (generally) and multiply by .9235

This equals net earnings from self-employment Determine Social Security tax 10.4% and

Medicare tax 2.9% $106,800 limit applies to Social Security portion

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If net earnings from self-employment < $400, no SE tax.

How does $106,800 Social Security earnings limit apply when have both wages and SE earnings in the same year?

Wages use up limit first– taxpayer favorable or unfavorable? Why?

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Employee vs. Independent Contractor Determining whether taxpayer is employee or

independent contractor Primary question: who has control over how, when,

where work is performed? Tax differences

Amount of FICA or SE taxes payable Deductibility of expenses

For AGI From AGI One-half of self-employment taxes

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Tax Credits

Reduce tax liability dollar for dollar Consist of three categories

Nonrefundable personal Refundable personal Business

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Nonrefundable Personal

Child tax credit $1,000 for each qualifying child under age 17 at end of year

Partially refundable in certain situations Phase-out amount not percentage

Child and Dependent care credit Dependent under age of 13 (or disabled dependent) Percentage of qualifying expenditures

Maximum qualifying expenditures: $3,000 one qualifying person, $6,000 two or more qualifying persons

Percentage depends on AGI (see Exhibit 7-9)

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American opportunity credit (formerly Hope scholarship credit) For first four years of post-secondary education For eligible expenses and institutions only Applied per student

Taxpayer, spouse, taxpayer’s dependents Amounts paid by dependents treated as paid by taxpayer

100% of first $2,000 of eligible expenses and 25% of next $2,000 (maximum credit is $2,500)

Phase-out based on AGI 40% of credit is refundable

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Lifetime learning credit Eligible expenses (tuition) for post-secondary

education Includes professional or graduate school Includes continuing education

Applied per taxpayer MFJ return is one taxpayer

20% of up to $10,000 of eligible expenses Phase-out based on AGI

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Education credits If deduct for AGI educational expenses for

someone, no education credit allowed for that person Could take American opportunity credit for one

dependent and for AGI deduction for another

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Refundable Personal

Earned income credit Negative income tax Must have earned income Must have at least one qualifying child or must be

at least 25 years old and less than 65 and not a dependent of another

See Exhibit 7-10

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Tax Credits

Business credits Promote certain behaviors If credit exceeds tax, carry back one year and

carry forward 20 years Foreign tax credit

Hybrid business and personal – nonrefundable; carry back one year and carry forward 10 years

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Prepayments and Filing Requirements

Taxes must be paid-as-you-go Withholdings

Treated as made equally throughout the year

Estimated tax payments Due on April 15th,, June 15th, September 15th, and

January 15th of the following year

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Underpayment penalties Safe-harbor requirements

90% of current tax liability or 100% of previous year’s tax liability (110% with

higher AGI > $150,000) – 25% at each estimated filing deadline

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Underpayment penalties Applied on quarterly basis

90%/4 = 22.5% of current year liability must be paid in by deadline or

100%/4 = 25% of previous year’s liability must be paid in by deadline

Penalty based on amount of underpayment at each quarter x federal short term rate + 3%

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Filing requirements Generally, must file if gross income > standard deduction

+ personal exemption amounts If married filing separately must file if gross income >

personal exemption amount Lower thresholds for those claimed as dependent on

another’s tax return

Due dates April 15th Extend filing up to six months

May not extend due date for paying taxes

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Late filing penalty 5% of tax owed per month up to 25% if not fraudulent; 15%

of tax owed per month up to 75% if fraudulent No penalty if no tax is due

Late payment penalty If don’t pay entire tax owed by due date of return

.5% of amount due up to 25% maximum if not fraudulent 15% of amount due per month up to 75% if fraudulent

Combined late filing and late payment penalties may not exceed maximum amounts for either one

Chap007

Technology

tax issues

andmedicare tax

tax paymentrequirements

tax differences

alternativeminimum tax

different tax rates

ordinary tax rates

specific tax credits