Taxation Legal Terms and Definitions

Employee Works for an employer. Employers can control when, where, and how the employee performs the work. Installment Agreements To be eligible for an installment agreement, all returns that are due must first be filed. Installment agreements generally require equal monthly payments. The amount of an installment payment will be based on the amount owed and on the taxpayer’s ability to pay that amount within the time legally available for the IRS to collect. Meal Expense Deduction Generally, you can deduct only 50% of your business-re-lated meal expenses while traveling away from your tax home for business purposes. Also, you can generally de­duct only 50% of certain reimbursements you make to your employees for meal expenses they incur while traveling away from home on business. Income taxes Taxes on income, both earned (salaries, wages, tips, commissions) and unearned (interest, dividends). Income taxes can be levied on both individuals (personal income taxes) and businesses (business and corporate income taxes). Self-Employment Tax The self-employment tax rate on net earnings remains the same for 2003. This rate, 15.3%, is a total of 12.4% for social security (old-age, survivors, and disability insur­ance) and 2.9% for Medicare (hospital insurance). Subchapter S The S-Corporation must complete and file IRS Form 1120s to report its annual income to the IRS each year. Depreciation and Section 179 Expense 50% special depreciation allowance. For qualified property you acquire after May 5, 2003, you can take a special depreciation allowance that is equal to 50% of the property's depreciable basis. However, instead of claiming the 50% special allowance, you can elect to claim the 30% special allowance or elect not to claim any special allowance. Form W-4, Employee's Withholding Allowance Certificate Completed by the employee and used by the employer to determine the amount of income tax to withhold. Dependency exemption Amount that taxpayers can claim for their eligible dependents. Each exemption reduces the income subject to tax. The exemption amount is a set amount that changes from year to year. Estate and Gift Tax One of the oldest and most common forms of taxation is the taxation of property held by an individual at the time of their death. Such a tax can take the form, among others, of estate tax (a tax levied on the estate before any transfers). An estate tax is a charge upon the decedent's entire estate, regardless of how it is disbursed.

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	Corporate Reorganizations; Transfers of Assets or Stock Following a Reorganization These proposed regulations address the effect of transfers of the assets or the stock of parties to a reorganization pursuant to transactions intended to qualify as reorganizations within the meaning of section 368(a) of the Internal Revenue Code. REG-130863-04. Published August 17, 2004.