iambored10

I am currently doing a summer internship. I am getting taxed a large sum of my paycheck and i'm listed as a dependent. I am also single. I am paying for my own housing here and I payed for relocation costs (transporting my car). I will be returning to school in the fall. Does anyone know if their is a chance I get some sort of tax refund and if I could get some tax deduction?

swimcatsmom

As a dependent, you get the single person's standard deduction which I believe will be $5950 for the 2012 tax year (this can vary if yo have some unearned income). You do not get the personal exemption of $3800 as your parents instead get the dependent exemption of $3800. So your earnings up to $5950 should be free of federal taxes. It is likely you are being taxed based on the assumption you will be earning the same amount all year (tax tables that companies use are often set up that way), so it is fairly possible you will get a tax refund when you file your taxes unless you have other taxable income such as taxable scholarships and grants.

State taxes will depend on your state of residence and the state you are working in. If they are different states, you may have to do a state return for each state. It really depends on the states and their tax rules.

The FICA taxes you are stuck with.

Your housing and transportation expenses are not likely to make any difference to your tax bill. Even if they were deductible expenses, which offhand I don't think they are but I'd have to refresh my tax knowledge in that area to say for sure, they would have to exceed your standard deduction of $5950 to make it worth your while to itemize your deductions.

(On your tax return you get a standard deduction that varies. You have a choice of taking the standard deduction or itemizing your deductions, whichever gives you the highest deduction. Itemizing your deductions entails calculating all your deductible expenses based on tax rules. Most single people without mortgages are likely to find the standard deduction is a higher deduction than they would get by itemizing)

This is not intended as tax advice, so make sure you seek appropriate advice when filing your return. You can probably file for free using one of the links to free online software that you will find on the IRS web site.

Madison85

If you did not have a federal income tax liability in 2011 and don't anticipate having one for 2012, you can turn in a Form W-4 to your employer and write the word 'EXEMPT' on line 7. That way, there will be no federal income tax withholding from your paycheck.

http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/fw4.pdf

Will you earn more than $5,950 in 2012?

mazewanderer

I am assuming you are above 19 and a full time college student and dependent on your parents for half your support. If your income is less than $5950 as pointed out by Swimcatsmom, you do not have to pay taxes and can get a refund if you file a return. However, if you have unearned income (e.g. interest, dividends etc more than $600 you may have to file taxes.


You may want to look at the publication from IRS

Publication 929 (2011), Tax Rules for Children and Dependents

Again, as I understand, If you had legitimate moving expenses, they may be tax deductible (again it depends upon amount, distance moved etc,). Living expenses are generally not tax deductible.

As pointed out by swimcatsmom, please talk a tax expert with actual details and they can tell you what is deductible or not. I am not tax expert or lawyer etc.