Evening star., 1949-02-25
Your Income Tax
(Fitth of q SeriesJ
By jones NARROW
Press Stoff Writer

the 1040 short-form.
Like any one else with income
under $4,000. Jones can use the
short-form. His income was $4,000.
His wife had none. They have a
dependent child.
But his first problem is: Should
he file alone. separately, since his
wife had no income and doesn't
have to file? Or jointly? He
knows:
/. When a husband has income,
but not the wife. he can file by
himself and get an exemption for
himself, his wife, and any depend
ent. But
Note this: Under the new law
many husbands and wives-al-
though not all-save money by
filing jointly, even though the
wife had no income. Why?
Law Permits Splitting"
Because the new law permits
splitting" income. as if husband
and wife each were claiming half
the total income.
2. No exemption can be claimed
for wife who had income. no
matter how tiny, unless she files
jointly with her husband, or sep
arately. Remember: A wife is
not classified as dependent. You
can still claim as a dependent
person with income, so long asI
it's not $500 or more, and get anil
exemption for him.
If the wife with income files
separately. she claims her own
exemption, and the husband, filing
his own return separately, claims
his own exemption. And the one
who provided more than half the
support of dependent. like
child, claims an exemption for
him.
If husband and wife file joint
ly-when both have income-they
get their two exemptions, plus one
exemption for each dependent.
8. When husband and wife have
income which is individually less
than $4,000 but combined is more
than $4,000, they can file sepa-
rately on the short-form, but not
Jointly. Or, they can file sepa-
rately or jointly on the lo4O long
form. 4
Tax Table Is Guide.
Since Jones had income but his
wife didn't, he comes under No.
/ above. So, to find out whether
he saves by filing separately or
Jointly, he turns to the tax table
on page 4. Ill
He looks at the columns which
show the tax on a person whose
income was $4,000 and wants to
claim three exemptions, as Jones
does. They show the tax, in
case like that. when return is
made separately or jointly.
In Jones case: The tax is S437.
II he files alone. It's only $422.
q saving of SIS. if he files Jointly
with his wife. So he'll do that. 4
Now return to Page One. Start
down, answering the questions at
the top. Then
No. /. Jones lists himself, his
wife, his dependent child. He
answers "No" to the questions
about blindness and age, since
neither he nor his wife is IS or
blind.
(There's an extra exemption
for blind taxpayer and another
for his wife, if she's blind; and
another extra exemption for
him if he's over IS, and another
extra one for his wife if she's
over 65. Example: If both were
blind and over IS. each would
have three exemptions. But
there's no extra exemption for
dependent who's blind or over
65D
Lists Entire Income.
Now Jones comes to No 2. He
writes his employers name, and
place of business. Right beside 1t
he lists his salary, $4,000. which
was his entire income. And, beside
that, he lists-say, for illustration
-S460 which his boss withheld
from him in taxes during the year
He skips the next questions which
don't apply to him, or fills in those
that do, and makes it clear at No.
10 that he had already overpaid
his tax by $38: The difference be-
tween the $3.50 his boss withheld
from him and the $422 the tax
table shows his tax should be.
And under No. 10, since he
wants a refund, he checks off the
refund box.
Then he answers the rest OF /
the questions and he and his wife
both sign the return. Unless hus-
band and wife both sign joint
return, the collector will consider
it separate return. which may
mean a higher tax for the couple. |
Attaches Form W..
Then Jones tears off that first
page of Form 1040 and sends it
in to the tax collector for his dis
trict, but, before he does, he does
this: i
He attaches to it the form W.,
the withholding receipt his boss
gave him for the tax withheld
from his salary during the year.
But what of deductions for
things like charity and so on?
Jones didn't have to bother about
them. His didn't amount to 10
per cent of his income. And the
tax table he uses allows for a 10
per cent deduction for every one.
Buff yours are more than 10
per cent of your income. you'll
lose money filing on the 1O4O
short-form. Use the 1040 long
form. There you'll have to item
tze them, but you can claim them
in full.
Can Water