Tax Related Questions > Income Sources

Ordinary Dividends Dividends are what the shareholders of a company get, as their share of the company’s profits. If you own stocks, mutual funds, or bonds, you receive ...
Qualified Dividends Dividends are divided into two broad categories: ordinary dividends and qualified dividends. Ordinary dividends are taxed at the same rate as ordinary...
Self-Employment Profit or Loss Subtract your self-employment expenses from your self-employment income. If the difference is positive, meaning your self-employment income was greate...
Taxable Interest Income Generally speaking, you have to pay taxes on any interest income you receive, including interest on bank accounts, deposited insurance dividends, and ...
Tax-Exempt Interest Income Tax-exempt interest is interest that is not subject to federal income tax. Income earned from bonds issued by states, cities, counties or the District...
Tip Income All tips are taxable and must be reported to the IRS, including cash tips you get directly from customers, tips from customers using credit cards, and...
Allocated Tips The basic idea behind allocated tips is that if you work in a restaurant, cocktail lounge, or similar establishment, you deserve 8% of the business’s ...
Roth IRA A Roth IRA is an individual retirement account (IRA) that is generally subject to the same rules that govern traditional IRAs, with a few notable exce...
Qualified Charitable Distribution Qualified charitable distributions allow IRA owners over the age of 70.5 to directly transfer up to $100,000 tax free from their IRA (excluding SEPs a...
Interest and Ordinary Dividends - Schedule B Taxpayers filing a Form 1040 or 1040A can include a Schedule B to report their interest and dividends. Generally speaking, you must include a Schedul...
Profit or Loss from Business - Schedule C Schedule C is included with your return to report income or loss from a business you operated or a profession you practiced as a sole proprietor or si...
Net Profit from Business - Schedule C-EZ Schedule C-EZ is a simpler version of the normal Schedule C. You attach to your 1040 to report income and expenses, and ultimately your net profit or ...
Capital Gains and Losses - Schedule D Attach Schedule D to your 1040 to report your capital gains and losses. Starting in 2011 there is a new form that also deals with capital gains and l...
Self-Employment Tax Schedule SE calculates the tax due on your self-employment earnings. Generally speaking, you must pay self-employment tax if you earned $400 or more i...
Net Operating Loss - Form 1045 - Schedule A Form 1045 Schedule A is used to compute a net operating loss (NOL) and determine the amount available for carryback or carryforward. Those with a neg...
Miscellaneous Income - Form 1099-MISC Form 1099-MISC reports various types of miscellaneous income other than wages, salaries, and tips, which are reported on a W-2 instead. Payments for ...
Distributions from Pensions, Annuities, Retirement or Profit-Sharing Plans, IRAs, Insurance Contracts, etc. - Form 1099-R Form 1099-R is used to report distributions of $10 or more from profit-sharing or retirement plans, individual retirement arrangements (IRAs), annuiti...
Social Security and Medicare Tax on Unreported Tip Income - Form 4137 Form 4137 is used to figure the social security and Medicare tax owed on tips you did not report to your employer or allocated tips shown on Form W-2 ...
Tax for Certain Children Who Have Investment Income of More than $1,900 - Form 8615 Form 8615 is used to figure the tax for certain children who have investment income over $1,900. Their investment income is then taxed at their parent...
Wage and Tax Statement - Form W-2 Employers must file Form W-2 for every employee they paid more than $600 in wages, tips, and other compensation, and from whom they withheld income, s...
Certain Gambling Winnings - Form W-2G Form W-2G is the tax form for gambling winnings and the federal income tax withheld on these winnings. You must provide a Form W-2G if You receive m...
I rent out a property to others; do I have to pay taxes on this income? Yes, you must report and pay taxes on all your rental income using Schedule E [Supplemental Income and Loss]. Note that you could save a little mon...
I worked more than one job in more than one state during the tax year; how should I file my taxes? You have to report and pay tax on all of your income, from all of your jobs, so be sure to record income from every W-2 or 1099. As for multiple state...
What states do not levy a personal income tax? Seven states have no income tax: Alaska, Florida, Nevada, South Dakota, Texas, Washington, and Wyoming. If you earn money in these states you do not ...
Statement by Person(s) Receiving Gambling Winnings - Form 5754 You must fill out Form 5754 [Statement by Person(s) Receiving Gambling Winnings] before you can receive a Form W-2G [Certain Gambling Winnings] if you...
Sales and Other Dispositions of Capital Assets - Form 8949 Form 8949 is a new form for reporting capital gains introduced in the 2011 tax year. On Form 8949 you must list transactions that in previous years wo...
Proceeds from Broker and Barter Exchange Transactions - Form 1099-B A form 1099-B records all stock transactions and helps you report capital gains or losses to the IRS when you file your return. Brokers and barter ...
What is the Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) Adjusted gross income (AGI) is a special calculation of income that determines your eligibility for certain credits and deductions. Most phase out or ...
What is Basis? The basis of a piece of property is usually the cost at which you bought it. This can include the amount you paid in cash, debt obligations, other pro...
Capital Gains or Capital Losses Capital gains occur when a capital asset, such as a home, household furnishings, real estate, stocks, or bonds, is sold. The difference between the am...
What Is Earned Income? Earned income is income that you had to work to earn, either working for someone else who pays you or working in a business you own and run. Use your ...
What Is Unearned Income? Unearned income is income that you did not work to earn. Unearned income is often important in figuring out if a dependent needs to file a tax return....
Cancellation of Debt Exclusion - Form 1099-C If a debt you incurred is successfully cancelled by the lender, then the amount of the debt is generally considered a part of your gross income for th...
What Is Modified Adjusted Gross Income? Also known by its acronym MAGI, the modified adjusted gross income is figured by adding back to your Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) specific benefits, ex...
Supplemental Income and Loss - Schedule E Attach Schedule E to your 1040 to report income or loss from rental properties as well as royalties, partnerships, S corporations, estates, trusts, an...
I am unemployed; do I have to pay taxes? You are only legally required to file a return if your income is above $9,500 for single filers or $19,000 for married couples filing jointly (see Cha...
What about income not recorded on my W-2? You still have to report and pay tax on any income that’s not included on your W-2. For example, you have to report and pay tax on income from 1099s s...
Do I have to report income from child support payments? No, you do not have to report child support on your tax return because these payments constitute nontaxable income. Nor do they constitute a deductibl...
What is the difference between adjusted gross income (AGI) and modified adjusted gross income (MAGI)? Adjusted gross income (AGI) is your total gross income (which includes all income from whatever source) minus certain above-the-line deductions. Ad...
Do I have to pay state income tax if I work outside my home state? Yes, you have to file a state tax return for every state in which you live or earn money. File taxes as a resident in the state that contains your mai...
Do I list income from the state in which I live on a nonresident tax form? No, when you file taxes as a nonresident, you only have to include the income you received from that state. Don’t forget, you should be able to take a...
I received another tax document (such as a W-2) after I submitted my tax return. What do I do? In this case it is generally best to file an amended return. If you are receiving a W-2 or a 1099, that means the IRS has been notified of this income...
Certain Government Payments - Form 1099-G Those who received payments from either the federal, state, or local government during the year should receive a Form 1099-G, listing the amount they ...