Smyrna times., 1962-01-18

U assist lIle FARMER IN pre-
pairing his Federal income tax
return.)
Let's discuss the returns Z
farmer must file. First of all
what farmers must file tax re
turns?
If you are under 65 years oi
age at the end of the tax year
you must file if you have gross
income of $500 or more during
your tax year. If you are 65
years of age or older, you must
file if you have gross income OF
81, 200 or more. These rules
hold true whether or not any
tax would be due on the return
In addition, you must file a re.
turn if there is any self-employ.
ment tax due. The self-employ.
ment tax is a tax imposed on
farmers and other self employ.
ed persons to give them social
security coverage. Since there
are special rules pertaining tc
the self-employment tax or
farmers, | would prefer to leave
any discussion of it to later.
might also emphasize that the
basic requirements for filing
the $500 and $1,000 figures
mentioned previously, are based
on gross income and not on net
profit.
What tax return forms should
farmers use?
The Form l040 is the one to
be used by farmers. Form l040A
cannot be used as it is designed
for persons whose income is
solely from wages and a small
amount of dividends and inter-
est. Farm income and expenses
should be listed on Schedule F.
This is separate schedule de-
signed for farmers and is at
,.tached to and becomes part of
the Form l040.
When is the tax return due?
There are special rules for
farmers; to qualify, two-thirds
of your gross income must be
from farming. For purposes of
stating specific dates that re-
turns are due, I'll use the year
1861 as an example. A farmer
has a choice. If he does not
wish to file an estimate of his
tax, he can file his return and
pay the tax due by February Is,
1862. Or he can file an esti-
mate of-his tax on Form l040ES
and pay this amount by Janu-
Iary Is, 1862. If he does this,
the Form l040 and any tax
owed on it will be due by April
l6, 1862. Normally, the return
is due on April is, but that
date falls on a Sunday in 1862.
| certainly urge farmers and all
other taxpayers to file their re-
turns as early as they possibly
can. With millions of returns
being filed, we need the coop
Grafton of those who are able
to file early so that the returns
can be processed as economical
ly and as efficiently as possible.
Are farmers required to file
any other tax forms?
Some of them are. If farm
er hires an agricultural en-
ployee for cash wages for 20
or more days during a year or
pays him cash wages of $3.50
or more during year, he must
withhold the social security tax
from these wages. He then
must file Form 943 by January
I3l of the following year and
forward with this form the with
held tax and an equal amount
representing the farmers share.
For wages paid in 1861, the
amount to be withheld from the
employee is, 3 percent of his
wages. For wages paid in 1862,
the amount to be withheld is
3% percent. If you have agri-
cultural employees, l suggest
that you get a copy of our Cir
cular A from your local District
Directors office. This explains
in detail the withholding pro-
visions, Also, If. a, farmer pays
$500 or more to an individual
in the course of this business
for wages, rent, or interest, he
must advise the Internal Rev.