4 Myths Surrounding Tax Return in the USA

There are many myths and urban legends about tax return all over the world, To finally put an end to this, let us break together 4 fiscal myths specific to the United States.

1. Married couples are obliged to pay their taxes on the same declaration

This is not specified anywhere! There is no obligation to file a tax return for two when you are married. Indeed, sometimes even completing two separate returns will save you money. However, it should be noted that in 90% of the time, using only a tax return will be more advantageous to you. But why not be in the 10% that will make a little more savings. To do this, one of the spouses must have more tax deductions than the other. By processing your taxes together, you lose those possibilities of individual deductions. Let's take medical expenses as an example. Since these expenses can only be deducted when they exceed 10% of the Adjusted Gross Income, lowering it may allow you to increase your deductions. Thus, if one of the two spouses is in this case, it is preferable to fill out your taxes separately, to be entitled to these deductions.

2. Home Office Deduction = Automatic Tax Control

Here is an accepted idea that has persisted for many years in the minds of many taxpayers. However, if your Home Office Deduction is done based on the rules dictated by the Internal Revenue System (IRS), as interpreted by a tax attorney, there is no reason to fear a tax check!

Here are 3 basic rules of the IRS about Home Office Deduction:

· Regular and exclusive use: if you have a room in your home or apartment that you use only for business purposes, you meet the criteria of the IRS.

· Main place of work: To be eligible for Home Office Deduction, your home office cannot be a place you use occasionally. You cannot deduct expenses from an office outside your home, in addition to your own.

· If you are an employee and not an employer: As an employee, to benefit from the Home Office Deduction, you must meet these criteria: the 2 conditions above, your employer accepts and validates your Home Office, and if the latter does not pay rent for this space.

When you talk about a "reasonable" deduction of your homework expenses, what does "reasonable" mean? This means that this deduction cannot exceed the price per square foot (US measure) of your office, divided by the total square footage of your home. Example:

Your home makes 2500 square feet of total surface. Your office: 200.

200/2500 = 8%.

You can deduct 8% of your home expenses from your income tax. On the other hand, if you exaggerate and climb up to 40% or 50%, there, you can be sure that the tax check will fall.

3. Students do not have to file an income tax return

Another widespread myth, yet you will not find any statement affirming that. Student status does not exempt you from paying taxes on earned income whether you are full-time student or not, provided you earn more than $ 10,150 over the last 12 months, it is obligatory to declare and pay your income taxes.

4. To get a tax refund, a bank account is compulsory

Here is one of the most common tax myths! Even if a majority of tax refunds go to taxpayers' bank accounts, this is not an obligation. For example, you can choose to receive this amount on a prepaid credit card if you wish. It is also possible to receive this money by check.