Quote: "The United States of America has separate federal, state, and local governments with taxes imposed at each of these levels."
Understanding and managing taxes, including income taxes, payroll taxes, and deductions.
Taxable Income: The total income that is subject to taxation, after certain deductions and exemptions are applied.
Tax Brackets: A system of income tax rate tiers that determines how much tax an individual owes based on their income level.
Standard Deduction: A fixed amount of money that can be deducted from an individual's taxable income to reduce their tax liability.
Itemized Deductions: Specific expenses that can be deducted from an individual's taxable income, such as medical expenses or charitable donations.
Tax Credits: A reduction in an individual's tax liability, often based on certain expenses or behaviors.
Filing Status: The classification of an individual's tax filing, such as single, married filing jointly, or head of household.
Tax Withholding: The amount of money that is withheld from an individual's paycheck and sent directly to the government to cover their tax liability.
Estimated Taxes: Taxes paid on a quarterly basis by self-employed individuals or those with certain types of income.
Social Security and Medicare Taxes: A mandatory payroll tax paid by employees and employers that funds these federal programs.
State and Local Taxes: Additional taxes that may be owed by individuals, depending on where they live and work.
Capital Gains and Losses: Taxes on the profit or loss from the sale of a capital asset, such as a stock or real estate investment.
Business Taxes: Taxes that are paid by business entities, such as income taxes, sales taxes, and payroll taxes.
Gift, Estate, and Inheritance Taxes: Taxes on the transfer of wealth, either during an individual's lifetime or after their death.
Taxation of Retirement Accounts: Taxes on income or withdrawals from retirement accounts such as IRAs or 401(k)s.
Tax Planning: Strategies for minimizing an individual's tax liability through deductions, credits, and other legal means.
Income Tax: A tax levied on the income of individuals and businesses by the government.
Sales Tax: A tax imposed on the sale or purchase of goods or services.
Property Tax: A tax levied on the value of real estate properties.
Capital Gains Tax: A tax levied on the profits earned from the sale of assets that have appreciated in value.
Estate Tax: A tax applied to the transfer of assets from a deceased person to their heirs.
Gift Tax: A tax on gifts given above a certain value threshold.
Payroll Tax: A tax levied on wages and salaries paid to employees.
Excise Tax: A tax levied on specific goods or services, such as alcohol or tobacco.
Value-added Tax (VAT): A tax on the value added at each stage of production for goods and services.
Inheritance Tax: A tax applied to assets inherited by an individual.
Wealth Tax: A tax levied on a person's net worth, including their assets minus liabilities.
Tariffs: A tax levied on imported goods, which increases the price of those goods and can be used to protect domestic businesses.
Road Tax: A tax imposed on vehicle owners for using the roads and maintaining them.
Education Tax: A tax which is directed towards improving the education system.
Health Tax: A tax levied to fund healthcare or public health programs.
Quote: "Taxes are levied on income, payroll, property, sales, capital gains, dividends, imports, estates and gifts, as well as various fees."
Quote: "In 2020, taxes collected by federal, state, and local governments amounted to 25.5% of GDP, below the OECD average of 33.5% of GDP."
Quote: "U.S. tax and transfer policies are progressive and therefore reduce effective income inequality, as rates of tax generally increase as taxable income increases."
Quote: "The lowest earning workers, especially those with dependents, pay no income taxes and may actually receive a small subsidy from the federal government."
Quote: "Taxes fall much more heavily on labor income than on capital income."
Quote: "Citizens and residents are taxed on worldwide income and allowed a credit for foreign taxes."
Quote: "Individuals are permitted to reduce taxable income by personal allowances and certain non-business expenses, including home mortgage interest, state and local taxes, charitable contributions, and medical and certain other expenses incurred above certain percentages of income."
Quote: "Federal marginal tax rates vary from 10% to 37% of taxable income."
Quote: "The 2017 tax law imposed a $10,000 limit on the state and local tax ("SALT") deduction, which raised the effective tax rate on medium and high earners in high tax states."
Quote: "The United States is one of two countries in the world that taxes its non-resident citizens on worldwide income, in the same manner and rates as residents."
Quote: "The foreign earned income exclusion eliminates U.S. taxes on the first $120,000 of annual foreign source earned income of U.S. citizens and certain U.S. residents living and working abroad."
Quote: "Payroll taxes are imposed by the federal and all state governments. These include Social Security and Medicare taxes imposed on both employers and employees."
Quote: "There is an additional Medicare tax of 0.9% on wages above $200,000."
Quote: "Property taxes are imposed by most local governments and many special purpose authorities based on the fair market value of property."
Quote: "Sales taxes are imposed by most states and some localities on the price at retail sale of many goods and some services."
Quote: "The United States imposes tariffs or customs duties on the import of many types of goods from many jurisdictions."
Quote: "Estate and gift taxes are imposed by the federal and some state governments on the transfer of property inheritance, by will, or by lifetime donation."
Quote: "Similar to federal income taxes, federal estate and gift taxes are imposed on worldwide property of citizens and residents and allow a credit for foreign taxes."
Quote: "Payroll taxes have dramatically increased as a share of federal revenue since the 1950s, while corporate income taxes have fallen as a share of revenue."