Taxation Legal Terms and Definitions

Work Opportunity Credit and Welfare-to-Work Credit The work opportunity credit and the welfare-to-work credit are scheduled to expire for wages paid to individuals who began working for you after 2003. 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. 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). Excise tax A tax on the sale or use of specific products or transactions. Earned Income Credit A tax credit for certain people who work, meet certain requirements, and have earned income under a specified limit. Limited Liability Company An LLC may be classified for Federal income tax purposes either as a partnership, a corporation, or an entity disregarded as an entity separate from its owner by applying the rules in Regulations section 301.7701-3. See Form 8832, Entity Classification Election, for more details. Subchapter S The S-Corporation must complete and file IRS Form 1120s to report its annual income to the IRS each 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). Federal Insurance Contributions Act (FICA) Tax Provides benefits for retired workers and their dependents as well as for disabled workers and their dependents. Also known as the Social Security tax. 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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	Did You Know?
	There are tax rules if change in accounting method is made Generally, the partnership must get IRS consent to change its method of accounting used to report income (for income as a whole or for any material item). To do so, it must file Form 3115, Application for Change in Accounting Method. See Form 3115 and Pub. 538, Accounting Periods and Methods.