I'm confused. This is parents last year to file me as a dependent. I am now in the process of filing for MY own taxes. I made just short of 15k. When I finished the paperwork for my taxes I come to realize I have $400 to owe. WHY? Do I need to file?! I am a full-time student.
2007-04-07 07:01:27 · 8 answers · asked by Rebecca K 1 in Business & Finance ➔ Taxes ➔ United States
In addition to the other details... I am a full-time student as well. If I am a student do I still need to file?! I am just not understanding why I need to owe $400. If I still need to file then is the amount I owe deducted from my paychecks?
2007-04-07 07:37:45 · update #1
If your parents claimed you as a dependent, then they got your personal exemption.
If you had been able to claim the exemption for yourself, then it would have reduced your taxable income and you wouldn't owe as much. However, there is only one personal exemption per SSN. If you are someone else's dependent, they have the right to claim it.
When you fill out your W4 for your job, you can elect to have a little extra tax withheld if you know that someone else will be claiming you as a dependent. It takes a little off your paycheck but you may be able to avoid a tax bill at the end of the year.
This happened to me as well when I was in high school. I always had my W4 set to Single with 0 allowances and always owed money at tax time. My parents and I came to an agreement after a while. Since they got a bigger benefit from claiming me as a dependent then I would have by claiming my own personal exemption, they gave me a bit of their tax refund each year.
Yes, you need to file and pay the $400. Maybe your parents will help you with it? If you made 15K, then you probably picked up some of your own expenses so they didn't have to pay them.
2007-04-07 07:31:26 · answer #1 · answered by TaxGurl 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
As a single, with income over $8450, you have to file even if you don't qualify as your parents dependent. Assuming the standard deduction and no personal exemption (because you are a dependent), your taxable income is $9850. Your Federal income tax is $1,104. It appears you had about $700 withheld. You can increase your withholdings by claiming 1 less allowance on your W-4, or by using line 6 of the W-4 to have your employer withhold an additional amount per check. $5.00 per week should cover $400 a year.
You said this is the last year your parents can claim you. That would reduce your taxable income by $3300 to $6550. Your tax would than be $1059. It appears you should still increase your withholding.
All numbers are based on 2006 taxes. The standard deduction, personal exemption and tax bracket cutoffs are adjusted annually for inflation.
2007-04-07 07:40:59 · answer #2 · answered by STEVEN F 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You owe because you didn't have enough deducted from your paychecks in 2006. And yes, you definitly need to file - as a dependent, if you had income over $5150 you have to file, and you made WAY over that. Being a full-time student affects whether your parents can claim you, but has no effect whatsoever on your own taxes.
You have to pay the $400 with your return. If you don't have it and can't borrow it anywhere, you can set up a payment plan with the IRS, but that will cost you extra to do that, so if you can come up with it, you'd be better off. No, you can't just have it deducted from your paychecks.
2007-04-10 02:17:29 · answer #3 · answered by Judy 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Obviously I don't know why you owe $400 on your return, but I can say that even if you're claimed as a dependent on your parent(s)' return, you still need to file if your earned income is more than $5,150. So, yes, you need to file your own return.
About the $400 you owe, you might want to check with your employer to see how many exemptions you claimed on your W-4. If you claimed 1 exemption, you may want to choose 0 exemptions instead, so your employer withholds more from your paycheck and you don't continue to owe as much at the end of each year.
2007-04-07 07:09:41 · answer #4 · answered by Steven 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
If your 1099 is over $400, you have to file. If you are a dependent of anybody else, you have to file if you made $6K. If neither of those is true, then you don't need to file, but you might want to get some of that withholdings back. Without knowing how much of your $6400 was 1099 and how much was W-2, nobody can tell you your refund.
2016-04-01 02:23:04 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
If you were under 24 and a full-time student, and you did not provide over half of your own support, then you cannot claim yourself as a dependent.
With $15,000 in income, you are going to owe taxes. My guess is that your withholding was based on you claiming yourself. Since you will not claim yourself on your return, you miss the $3,300 exemptioin. You now have to pay the tax on that exemption, which is in your case the $400.
2007-04-07 09:51:48 · answer #6 · answered by ninasgramma 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes, you need to file.
As far as the $400 is concerned: if you have double/triple/quadruple checked your forms and everything is in place -- then your withholdings on your w-4 with you employer are probably off -- or perhaps your employer is not calculating your taxes correctly. Often, employers are calculating the taxes based on old numbers from the IRS and state. Verify with your employer that your exemptions are correct (should be no more than 1, though 0 is a better bet for single filers). If they are correct, ask them to check their payroll percentages to verify that they are deducting the correct percentages. If they are not, not only will you have to pay, but they will be shorting themselves as well -- your inquiry could save the company from a lot of headaches later on!!
2007-04-07 07:26:35 · answer #7 · answered by falcon.medical 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Yes you need to file.
Remember this in comparison, the IRS makes the Nazi Gestapo look like a bunch of pacifist girl scouts.
2007-04-07 07:09:56 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 4⤋