Show simplified rules given to aid in making out 1944 tax returns on new forms An answers to puzzlers found in filling out lacome blanks EDITORS VOTE NOTES the article below was prepared as a service to the readers re adera of or this newspaper in on an effort to assist in the films filing of income income tax returns as required by law while the forms have ha ve been simplified it is urged that returns be filed at as for far in advance of march IS 15 as possible ne relented Relea leased ted by western newspaper News caper union T all that talk last year about abolishing JL income tax returns we hope you believe it because the treasury reminds us that the law requires an income tax return not later than march from every person even children who had or more income in 1944 the truth is that congress and the treasury simplified the income tax forms quite a bit but still insist on the annual march 15 accounting between you and uncle sam altogether the treasury figures that about americans must file 1844 1944 returns A few million including many farmers have already got the chore out of the way by filing their returns january 15 those early birds filed early so as to combine the filing of their returns with the filing ot of their declarations la 0 of estimated tax thus winding up all their 1944 income tax chores but most of us still have our returns to fill out and file ale between now and march 15 here are the answers to some of your inevitable questions about the job Q what kinds hinds of forms or blanks do we use A there are two forms one Is the withholding receipt offic officially lally called form W 2 rev which your employer gives you U you have been working tor for wages from which income tax was withheld the other blank the standard form 1040 Js not being mailed out generally this year but copies should be easily obtainable tai from rom local collectors offices banks post offices and employers pl Q I 1 hear bear there are three ways ot of making a return this year Is that true A yes you can use form 1040 as either a short form or a long form return that makes two methods of filing the third method which is one of the major simplifications in the new law is to use the withholding receipt Q do we have hare to nil fill out both the withholding receipt and form 1040 A no if you are eligible to use the withholding receipt as your return and desire to do so forget about form 1040 it if you fill out form 1040 attach your withholding receipts to the torm form but do not fill out the receipts Q Is this standard allowance exactly 10 per cent A the tax on a withholding receipt or a short form is taken from a table in which the tax and deductions duct ions are averaged for or income brackets such as from 2000 to 2025 irom from 2025 to 2050 etc the 10 per cent allowance and the tax are figured in the middle of each bracket Q who Is allowed to use a withholding receipt as a return A any wage earner whose total income was less than provided not more than of his income came from dividends interest and wages from which no tax was withheld and all the remainder of his income was from wages from which tax was withheld however in the so called community property states of arizona california idaho louisiana nevada new mexico texas and washington a withholding receipt cannot be used by a husband or wife alone in those states married couples can use the withholding receipt only as a combined return in those and all oth j A J J 41 1 11 aid will be given taxpayer er states moreover a combined return can be made on a withholding receipt only it if their combined income Is within the limits mentioned at the beginning of this paragraph it if husband and wife file a combined return on a withholding receipt ceist their tax will be figured either on a separate or joint basis whichever Is to their advantage Q who can use the short form form 1040 A anyone whose income was less than Q who uses the long form form 1040 A the long form must be used by anyone whose income in 1944 was or more and by anyone who claims more deductions tor for charities etc than the standard allowance ol of about 10 per cent which is given automatically to taxpayers filing withholding receipts or r the S short hort form Q can I 1 save money by using the long form instead of the other forms A that depends on your deductions if you use the withholding receipt or the short form you can T E L E F FACT A C T INCREASE OF INCOME BEFORE TAXES IN U USA S A 1939 isal hi ag t r I 1 1943 1943 1939 1943 BUSINESS industrial INDUS TRIAI corporations colorations COL ORATIONS farmers farmer proprietors WORKERS I 1 not take any deductions for or items such as charitable contributions interest taxes medical expenses and casualty losses but receive instead a standard a allowance equal to about 10 per cent of your income for I 1 instance ns tance if i your income last year was and you use your withholding receipt or a short form your tax is automatically figured as il if you had bad of deductions now in this example it if your actual deductions were less than it would save you money to use your withholding receipt or a i short form 11 your actual deductions were more than it would save you money to make a long torm form return on form 1040 Q how do I 1 fill out a withholding receipt A simply answer the few questions about your income and exemptions empt ions which are printed on the front and back of the receipt be sure to correct any mistake in your name and address which your employer has already written on your receipt sign the receipt if you have more than one receipt fill out only the last one but be sure to attach the others then mail tie lie receipt or receipts to the collector of internal revenue in your district that a all dont send any money if you file this way because the collector will figure your tax give you credit for amounts already paid and then either send you a bill if you owe more or a refund check it if you have overpaid Q how do I 1 fill out a short form A get a copy of form 1040 it if all your income was from wages dividends and interest you write only on page 1 and find your tax from the table on page 2 if you had other income for instance from a farm a business rental property annuities etc you also fill in part of page 3 page 3 is printed on the back of page 1 so you can tear off and throw away the other halt half of the form why it is called a short form when you file form 1040 and find in item 8 page 1 that you still owe some tax you must pay that amount in full at the same time you file your return Q what do you mein mean by the word income A As used in the income tax blanks income acome means mean 3 a all 11 kinds of income including wages or salaries dividends interest business profits rental profits a and nd profits on selling or trading securities or other property for t tax ax purposes however income does NOT include certain items specifically exempted by law such as the first 1500 of active service pay for members of the armed forces and their mustering out payment when discharged also exempted is the governments contribution to monthly family allowances to relatives of f servicemen social security benefits gifts bequests and inheritances and amounts received as the beneficiary of a life insurance policy by reason of the death of the insured person Q what kind hind of taxes do we pay A the 1944 income tax is made up of two kinds of tax there is a normal tax formerly called victory tax at the rate of 3 per cent and a surtax formerly called income tax at rates ranging from 20 to 81 91 per cent Q what kind of exemptions do we get from these taxes A for normal tax a taxpayer filing a separate return is allowed only a flat exemption of if husband and wife file a joint return and each had at least income they receive a joint normal tax exemption of 1000 it if they file a joint return and one of them had less than income the joint normal tax exemption would be plus the actual amount of the smaller income for normal tax there is no exemption for dependents for surtax you may get exe exemptions mp of for yourself plus for your you r wife or husband husban d plus tor for each of your dependents however you can claim an exemption tor for your wife or husband only if you file a joint return with her or him or if she or he had no taxable income and was not a dependent of another taxpayer T JE L E 1 A C T US PER CAPITA TAXES REACHES NEW HIGH al llast u s A THIA LAST GT THIS LAST CANADA ats fiscal FISCAL fiscal fiscal YEAR YEAR YEAR YEAR YEAR I 1 |