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Are Full-Time Students Exempt from Taxes?

Students are not exempt from taxes and have the same filing requirements as everyone else

Already beleaguered college students will be disappointed to learn that there is not a tax exemption for students, full-time or otherwise.

Whether you have to file a return depends on

  • your income amount (earned and unearned)

  • whether someone else claims you as a dependent

  • your filing status

  • your age

If your level of income is below the filing requirement for your age, filing status, and dependency status, then you don’t have to file a return. Conversely, if your income level is above this filing requirement, you must file regardless of whether you are a student.

You can see the filing requirements for most non-dependent situations below: Continue reading “Are Full-Time Students Exempt from Taxes?”

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First-Time Tax Filer FAQ

Information to make taxes easier for first-time filers

The U.S. tax code is one of the most complicated things out there. Even experienced professionals who have spent their entire careers dealing with it can still be confused about some of the finer points. If you’re just starting out and have never filed a return before it can be incredibly daunting.

Thankfully, RapidTax has assembled a collection of questions that frequently confuse first-time filers. The information here is hardly complete, but it should serve as a basic introduction to the world of taxes. If you need more information about a particular topic, trying searching for what you need in the sidebar; there are tons of great articles on the RapidTax blog that could answer your question.

But that’s the great thing about RapidTax: it makes filing taxes so simple you don’t have to bother with all that information. Get started on your return now to see for yourself.

Federal taxes vs. state taxes

When most people file their taxes, they have to file both a federal income tax return and a state income tax return. These are two different returns and you may very well be charged extra for preparation of the state return. Continue reading “First-Time Tax Filer FAQ”

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How to File Taxes When You and Your Spouse Move to New York at Different Times

You and your spouse will probably have to file separate returns, but New York does give you the option of filing a joint return – as long as you let it tax all your money

The following is a slightly modified question from one of our readers:

My wife lived and worked in New York City for all of 2012. I lived and worked in Maryland for one month and then lived and worked in NYC for eleven months. I have already filed in MD as a part-time resident. For New York State, though, I am a bit confused. I have filled out a resident return for my wife and a part-time resident return for myself (including a part-time NYC resident worksheet for myself). Do we file jointly as we did for our federal return or do we each file separately? Does this affect our standard deduction? It seems like the two forms we filled out (IT-201 and IT-203) should be filed separately.

This is precisely of the sort of question that boggles taxpayers across the country. State tax residency is such a popular topic on this blog precisely because it is so complicated.

Every taxpayer is responsible for filing a resident return in the state where they live, unless that state happens to be one of the nine that don’t have an income tax. Continue reading “How to File Taxes When You and Your Spouse Move to New York at Different Times”