Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with salary and taxes

Should I do my own taxes or hire a pro?

Anonymous — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 08:36:38 -0800

I'm making four times what I have in the past, so should I continue to do my own taxes or should I try an accountant this year? I'm in the US.

I've done my own taxes since I started working at 15, and I don't actually mind the process. This year however is my first full year at my "career" job, and I've earned at least four times what I have in the past. My family is very working class so they have no experience with this sort of income and they have suggested that it might be worthwhile to use an accountant to make sure I'm not overpaying taxes.

I'm skeptical, because in many respects this is a more straightforward return than I have filed in the past. For example, I've only worked in one state/city and I live in that state/city (as opposed to when I worked four jobs in three states during my college years, for example). I have only one employer, and since I haven't been in school this year, I don't have any tuition deductions or credits. I don't own any property (live in NYC) or stocks (no capital gains/losses), and I make too much to be able to deduct my student loan interest. I have some charitable donations, but those are fairly straightforward and I have receipts. I don't have any client or business expenses I've shouldered personally (anything I've spent has been reimbursed by my employer) and I haven't spent any money on continuing education, etc. In short, I worry that going to H & R Block or finding a private accountant will be a waste of money because I don't know that they will find any deductions I'm missing.

Am I being cheap/naive/short-sighted? Should I find an accountant to make sure that I'm not overpaying my taxes? Or should I do my own taxes and only rely on a professional if my situation gets more complicated?

Dividends in lieu of salary

Anonymous — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 10:47:47 -0800

The owner of the small company I work for has suggested that I be compensated in the form of dividends on stock he would let me purchase for a nominal price rather than as regular salary. I would take home the same amount but this would save the company on taxes. Is this legit? We're a C-Corp and frankly trading water profit wise, I have no problem doing what I can to keep the company going. But I also have no desire to do anything slightly illegal or that will bring the IRS down on me. I'll be consulting an accountant as soon as I get a chance, but would appreciate any thoughts.

Italian wage and tax data?

GarageWine — Thu, 01 May 2008 07:18:14 -0800

Where can I get the Italian salary data that was released for less than a day? A day or so ago, the Italian government published every Italian's declared earnings and tax contributions on the internet. However, the Italian treasury suspended the website after a formal complaint from the country's privacy watchdog. The information, however, was up for almost a day.

If this were a Britney crotch shot, Google would return ten thousand links by the end of the day. Italian salary data is less sexy, and much harder to find.

Any pointers or links would be very helpful ....

Work in on state, get hosed in two.

littlerobothead — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 13:06:31 -0800

TaxFilter: I work in VA and live in NC. My state taxes are already a nightmare... I have a dev job in metro Virginia (Norfolk), but we live in North Carolina because it's so much cheaper. We've just discovered that apparently my company hasn't been taking any state taxes out of my salary, and NC is asking for its penance.

Friends had told me I could file in VA, get a refund, and pay NC with it; that was before we found out I haven't had any deductions taken. We're giving up and taking everything to an account, but before we do does anyone have any idea what I'm in for? To top it all off, this is the first year we're filing jointly and my poor wife is bracing for impact.

Isn't your employer required to deduct something for taxes for the state? I mean, obviously your mileage may vary, but this is Virginia we're talking about; I'm surprised they don't tax the air you breathe here. It seems they'd be pretty gung-ho about employers covering taxes.

Tax and other logistics of working hourly vs salary

Anonymous — Tue, 19 Feb 2008 07:12:06 -0800

I have the opportunity to work a job that is paying $ XX /hour full time plus benefits. I've only worked salary jobs in the past, so how do I consider this compared to salary positions. My biggest concern is tax logistics, how is that factored in compared to a salary position? It's in Colorado if anyone has any input from a state tax point of view as well.