Taxation Legal Terms and Definitions

Acquisition The purchase of one corporation by another, through either the purchase of its shares, or the purchase of its assets. 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. Gross income Money, goods, services, and property a person receives that must be reported on a tax return. Includes unemployment compensation and certain scholarships. It does not include welfare benefits and nontaxable Social Security benefits. 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. Exemptions Amount that taxpayers can claim for themselves, their spouses, and eligible dependents. There are two types of exemptions-personal and dependency. Each exemption reduces the income subject to tax. The exemption amount is a set amount that changes from year to year. 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). 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. Subchapter S The S-Corporation must complete and file IRS Form 1120s to report its annual income to the IRS each year. 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. Standard Mileage Rate For 2004, the standard mileage rate for the cost of operating your car, van, pickup, or panel truck is increased to 37.5 cents a mile for all business miles.

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	Did You Know?
	Form 8308 is Report of a Sale or Exchange of Certain Partnership Interests Report the sale or exchange by a partner of all or part of a partnership interest where any money or other property received in exchange for the interest is attributable to unrealized receivables or inventory items.