Milford chronicle., 1923-01-12
REQUIREMENTS FOR INCOME TAX
FILING
Government Tells Who Must Send in
Statements and How it is Done.

Before March Is, 1923, every resi-
dent of the United States, and nom
resident alien within the nations bor-
ders, is required by Federal law to
determine the exact amount of his in
come for the year just ended, 1922,
unless special permission has been
granted for the use of some other fis-
cal period of accounting. After deter
mining this income for the past year,
one must ascertain whether or not it
will be necessary to fill out an income
tax blank according to the filing re-
duirements of the law. These require
ments differ from the requirements
for the taxing Of income.
The records of the local collection
district show that more persons have
been delinquent through failure to file
returns during the past year than ev-
er before because they overlooked the
filing requirements which make a re-
turn necessary Oftentimes when there
is no tax due.
Filing Requirements
Married men or women, who are
| living with husband or wife on De-
cember 81, 1922, must file if the net
income exceeds $500. This figure
should not be confused with the $4,000
exemption of income for taxing pur-
poses. Nor should a person fail to file
because his or her income is not tax
able because of dependent children
under 18. Every man or woman who is
married and living with wife or hus-
band, regardless of the number of de-
pendents' credits, must file if his or
her net income equals or exceeds ST.
900.
Single persons, heads of families,
and persons married but not living
together must file if the net income
equals or exceeds $1,000. This is i'm
portant for "heads of families" to un-
derstand, inasmuch as the mistake is
often made by the head of a family
without husband or wife that they
need not file unless the income is ST.
900. The filing requirements of the act
put their figure at $1,000
Gross Income Of $4,000
A further filing requirement under
the 1921 act compels persons whose
gross income equals or exceeds $4,000
to file, even though his net income
does not exceed his exemption from
filing under the single or married and
living with wife classification. Gross
income, as used in the act, means
gains, profits and income derived from
any source whatever, which is not
specifically exempt under the act. Spe-
cific exemptions of income will be
dealt with separately in this series Of
articles. For a shopkeeper or prOprie-
tor of a business the gross income is
the balance after merchandise bought
for sales, inventories, and labor and
supplies directly put on goods have
been deducted from gross receipts.
From this gross income the allowable
business deductions are taken, 10 COM
pute net income. However, if the gross
income figure is $4,000 or more, re-
turn must be filed, regardless of
whether tax is due or not.
Where and When to File
The law requires that all returns
be filed in the collectors Office, third
floor, Postoff1ce Building, Ninth and
Shipley streets, Wilmington, or depos-
tied in the mails before midnight of
March Is, 1928, unless an extension
because of sickness or absence from
the country has been granted by the
collector in writing. When in doubt as
to your liability to file return, visit
this Office and get correct information.
Excuses that some one told you you
were not required to file a return will
not save you from the penalties for vi
olating the law. These penalties are
severe and will therefore be made the
subject of separate discussion. Num-