ok well im a 17 yr old teen who works at an amusement park. i wana know do i HAVE TO do my taxes? my teachers told me i dont have to do them unless they send me some w2 forms. havent gotten them yet. and the thing that throws it off is that its only a seasonal job and im kinda confused ive never done taxes before!
2007-03-26 15:45:01 · 10 answers · asked by crobinson304 1 in Business & Finance ➔ Taxes ➔ United States
If you were paid cash, no, you don't have to file. By check, they should have taken out taxes and you should have a pay stub to break down each tax paid and by how much paid to each.
They may have also paid you by check and should have issued you a 1099 - that is how much you were paid with no taxes taken out - and if you earned less than $5000, you don't have to pay taxes, but you have to file.
Good luck!
2007-03-26 15:51:41 · answer #1 · answered by Dave O 3 · 1⤊ 4⤋
Legally, you should pay taxes on any income you receive, whether by cash or check. However, assuming that you are still being claimed as a dependent by your parents and are not married, you need to file a return only if your earned income was greater than $5,150. This also assumes that you have little or no unearned income (interest, dividends).
That being said, if you were paid by check, it is probable that taxes were withheld from each check you received. Even if you are not required to file, you may want to in order to get that money back. Also, you should check on your state's filing requirments, which are likely to be different from the federal requirements.
In many places, there are volunteer tax preparation sites for taxpayers below a certain income level. There is a number you can call to find them at the following link:
http://www.irs.gov/individuals/article/0,,id=107626,00.html
2007-03-26 17:26:05 · answer #2 · answered by Jason K 1 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Hopefully your teachers don't teach taxation. If they do, we're all in trouble.
You need to file if your income exceeds a certain amount based upon your filing status and the source of the income. In your case, since you can be claimed as a dependent by your parents, that magic number for 2006 is $5,150. Even if you earned less than that you'll want to file a return if any income tax as withheld as you're entitled to a refund of any tax withheld.
Your employer should have supplied your W-2 by 1/31/07. If you haven't received it yet, call them and ask for it immediately. If they fail to send it, call the IRS and file a missing W-2 complaint. Normally that's all it takes to motivate a lazy employer.
Note to Debbie: Before you start throwing bricks at other posters, make sure you know the correct answer yourself. You don't. If you only earned $2.00 in W-2 wages, the employer MUST send a W-2; there is no minimum amount for W-2 reporting. And the filing requirement is NOT $600 -- for ANY source of income.
2007-03-26 16:21:09 · answer #3 · answered by Bostonian In MO 7 · 1⤊ 3⤋
Hi there. Whether or not you have to file taxes has nothing to do with whether an employeer sends you a W2, even if the employment is seasonal. It instead has to do with how much money you make. If you made $600 or more, you have to file. Having said that, employers are required to send you a W2 or a 1099 (depending on type of employement) if they paid you $600 or more. But, you should check your last paycheck - it should have year to date info on it and tell you the total amount you paid. Hope that helps!
Also, in reference to the last posting, legally, whether you were paid in cash or check does NOT affect whether you owe taxes. But, the government may not know about the money you were paid if you were paid in cash. You should still file either way and include the money you made in your taxable income.
2007-03-26 15:52:02 · answer #4 · answered by Debbie 2 · 2⤊ 2⤋
hon, everyone has to pay taxes on any income other then law suits, welfare, social security or veteran's pensions for injury.
now there are exceptions to some of this mentioned. just because you didn't get a w2 form doesn't mean you get off. the business is breaking the law if they don't give you one.
now there is a limit of how much you can earn or receive before you have to pay taxes. age is not relevant. i am willing to bet that if your work is seasonal, you didn't make enough to have to file. if you don't owe, you don't have to
file. if the irs owes you money, you have up to 3 years to
file to get it back.
2007-03-26 17:06:06 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Since you are only 17, your parents can still claim you as a dependent, regardless of your income, if the supported you, which I am sure they did.
Yes, you are supposed to receive a W-2, and yes you are supposed to file if you didn't. You also should ask your employer for the W-2.
2007-03-26 16:15:33 · answer #6 · answered by CarVolunteer 6 · 1⤊ 2⤋
You should have received your w-2 form by Jan. 31. Unless you were paid "under the table" and did not have taxes withheld, you will almost definatley recieve a refund when you file your return.
2007-03-26 15:54:08 · answer #7 · answered by RotoGuru78 1 · 0⤊ 3⤋
I wouldn't worry...was it your only job for the year? If it was, you probably didn't make enough to claim IRS taxes and your parents are probably already claiming you anyhow. Now, I'm not an accountant, but I think they can't claim you if you made too much money over the year. Did you deposit all your checks--maybe you can check your deposits on your bank records just to make sure? Good luck anyhow!
2007-03-26 16:00:34 · answer #8 · answered by TilBot1007 3 · 0⤊ 4⤋
yeah, you have to do ur taxes if u get ur w-2's. you can do them yourself with a tax form that u can get from your- library, post office. its pretty easy. you need 3 diff. booklets, one for state, one for city and one for federal.
2007-03-26 15:58:30 · answer #9 · answered by brittany m 1 · 0⤊ 3⤋
that's what Al Capone said and look what happened to him.
2007-03-26 15:52:04 · answer #10 · answered by tom 1 · 1⤊ 2⤋