{"id":805,"date":"2016-02-26T15:08:07","date_gmt":"2016-02-26T20:08:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.etax.com\/blog\/?p=805"},"modified":"2016-02-22T15:08:49","modified_gmt":"2016-02-22T20:08:49","slug":"four-ws-to-know-at-tax-time","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.etax.com\/blog\/2016\/02\/26\/four-ws-to-know-at-tax-time\/","title":{"rendered":"Four W\u2019s to Know at Tax Time"},"content":{"rendered":"

Wage Base<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n

The wage base changes every year, and is the income level at which the full tax rate of 15.30% will apply to withhold Social Security and Medicare taxes. In 2015, the 15.30% rate (a combination paid by employers and employees) is applicable to the first $118,500 of income or self-employment earnings. After that, 2.9% Medicare applies to additional income over the base. Employees pay \u00bd of the tax rate, and employers pay the other half. Self-employed taxpayers pay the full amount and then get an income tax deduction<\/a> for half.<\/p>\n

Wash Sale<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n

If you sell stocks, mutual fund shares, or bonds for a loss, and have purchased identical or substantially similar securities within thirty days prior to or after the sale, then the loss occurred from the sale is considered a wash. You are not able to deduct the loss.<\/p>\n

Withholdings<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n

Any amount taken from your salary every payday in order to cover your share of income and social security taxes for the year is called a withholding. When you start your job, you\u2019ll file a Form W-4 with your employer, which in conjunction with the amount you earn will determine how much each withholding is.<\/p>\n

Worthless Security<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n

Do you own stock? If any of it became completely worthless at any point during the tax year, you are entitled to claim a capital loss. It\u2019s as if you sold the stock on December 31st<\/sup> for nothing, which would net you no profit. Claim the loss the year the stock became worthless.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Wage Base The wage base changes every year, and is the income level at which the full tax rate of 15.30% will apply to withhold Social Security and Medicare taxes. In 2015, the 15.30% rate (a combination paid by employers and employees) is applicable to the first $118,500 of income or self-employment earnings. After that, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[125],"tags":[448,449,447,7,37,450],"class_list":["post-805","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-general-filing","tag-additional-income","tag-income-level","tag-income-tax-deduction","tag-medicare","tag-social-security","tag-tax-rate"],"yoast_head":"\nFour W\u2019s to Know at Tax Time - eTax.com\u00ae Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.etax.com\/blog\/2016\/02\/26\/four-ws-to-know-at-tax-time\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Four W\u2019s to Know at Tax Time - eTax.com\u00ae Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Wage Base The wage base changes every year, and is the income level at which the full tax rate of 15.30% will apply to withhold Social Security and Medicare taxes. 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