LANDLINE
ARTICLE
NOVEMBER 2008
Question: What are
the best “income tax states” for a trucker to live in?
Answer: Interesting question in as much what may be good for income taxes may not be for the homeowner and property taxes. What may be good for income taxes for single taxpayers may not be good for married taxpayers or for taxpayers with children. What may be good for taxpayers who do not itemize may not be good for taxpayers who do. We could go on and on but I think you get the picture. It’s simply not good enough to move to a non-income tax state, see list attached, without considering a multitude of other factors.
The tax factor to consider would include:
Social Security
Retirement Income
Inheritance Tax
Military Pay
Fuel Tax
Licenses (tags)
State Excise Taxes
Etc.
Other factors for consideration would be:
Housing Costs
Schools
Crime
Air Quality
Weather
Etc.
We have searched to arrive at what we feel are the best tax states for truckers but have found too many variables to come up with an answer. Not only would you have to consider what we mentioned above but you would also need to consider income levels, types of income, number of dependents, married versus single and head of household status.
It can be said that in our experience the best tax states,
keeping an eye on all the states without income taxes, are
We do suggest that before you decide to make a move you should do research on the following websites:
For a list of state Individual income taxes go to: www.taxadmin.org/fta/rate/ind_inc.html
Or www.taxfoundation.org/taxdata/show/228/html
For a range of state corporate income tax rates go to: www.taxadmin.org/fta/rate/corp_inc.html
For state Partnership and LLC’s, go to Individual states.
For tax by state go to www.retirementliving/RLtaxes.html.com , they talk about state sales tax, fuel tax, personal income taxes, and property tax among others.
For detailed taxes by state, go to: www.retirementliving.com/RLstate1.html
For a list of property taxes by state go to: www.taxfoundation.org/research/show/1913html
Or articles.moneycentral.msn.com/taxes/advice/propertytaxeswheredoesyourstaterank.aspx
For the best retirement communities research the site www.topretirements.com, and then go to 100 Best Retirement Towns.
Also search out moneycentral.msn.com/articles/retire/basics/9838.asp which lists which states give retirees the best deal.
There are seven non-tax states:
There are two that tax interest and dividends only:
Question: I received
a 1099 of several thousand dollars driving as an Independent contractor for an
acquaintance. What tax do I need to pay?
Answer: You are responsible for Federal income tax and self-employment taxes on your income as an independent contractor. Self-employment taxes are your contributions to social security and Medicare. Your self-employment income and expenses will be reported on Form 1040, Schedule C, Profit or Loss from Business, or you may qualify to use Form 1040, Schedule C-EZ, and Net Profit from Business. You will use Form 1040, Schedule SE, Self-Employment Tax, to compute and report your social security and Medicare tax. Since there is no withholding on your self-employment income, you may need to make quarterly estimated tax payments in the future, and avoid penalties. This is done using a Form 1040-ES, Estimated Tax for Individuals. The same could be true for your state except you don’t pay social security and Medicare to the state.
Question: What do I
do when I cannot get the social security number or address of my subcontractors
for the 1099 forms?
Answer: If the person fails to provide you with their social security number, you are required to withhold money on the payments made to that person. This is called back-up withholding. The current backup withholding rate is 28%. You may also be subject to a penalty of up to $50 per information return that is filed without the necessary information. That penalty may be waived for reasonable cause, generally, if you requested the subcontractor’s social security number and they failed to provide it to you. You will have reasonable cause for not including the SSN on your 1099 by requesting subcontractor’s social security numbers by sending them a Form W-9 by certified mail. Keep the proof.
This article has been presented by PBS Tax & Bookkeeping
Service, a company that has been providing income tax and bookkeeping services
to the trucking industry for over a quarter century. Contributions to this article were made by
“Everyone’s financial situation is different. This article does not give and is not intended to give specific accounting and/or tax advice. Please consult with your own tax or accounting professional.”