Glossary of Tax Terms
# A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
Tangible Personal Property
Targeted Group
Tariff
Tax Deferral
Tax Home
Tax Liability
Tax Preference Items
Tax Rate Schedules
Tax Return Preparer
Tax Shelter
Tax Tables
Tax Year
Tax-Exempt Interest
Tax-Sheltered Annuity
Taxable Income
Taxpayer Identification Number
Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997
TeleFile
TeleTax
Tenancy by the Entirety
Tenants in Common
Terminally Ill
Testamentary Trust
Total Tax
Transportation and Storage Costs
Travel and Lodging Expenses
Trust
Assets other than real estate that physically exist. Business equipment and vehicles are tangible personal property. Assets such as stock certificates and franchises only represent value and are therefore intangible property.
For the Workforce Program, groups of individuals that have been designated as having a high unemployment rate and that employers receive tax incentives to hire. These groups include certain economically disadvantaged people, convicts, and government assistance recipients.
A tax on goods being brought into or exported from the United States. When you buy imported goods, the price you pay includes the tariff. Tariff taxes that you pay for personal goods and services are not deductible.
The postponement of taxes to a later year, usually by recognizing income or a gain at a later time. Qualified retirement plans are a common method of tax deferral.
Your principal place of work or post of duty. Your tax home is used for tax purposes, including determining if travel expenses are allowable as incurred away from home and determining if you qualify for the foreign earned income exclusion.
Items, such as accelerated depreciation, percentage depletion, or certain tax-exempt income, that are considered to have favorable tax treatment and could trigger the alternative minimum tax.
Schedules published by the IRS for taxpayers with taxable income of more than $100,000 to use to compute their income tax.
A person you pay to prepare, review, or assist in the preparation of your income tax return. The paid tax preparer must sign your Form 1040 on page 2.
An investment that is planned to result in tax-favored treatment. The IRS has placed restrictions on tax shelters where the principal purpose of the activity appears to be the avoidance or evasion of taxes or where the activity might result in more deductible expenses than the investors have at risk.
Tables published by the IRS for taxpayers with taxable income of $100,000 or less to use to compute their income tax. Taxpayers with taxable income of more than $100,000 must use the tax rate schedules.
Interest income, such as interest from state and municipal bonds, that is exempt from federal income tax. Even though it is not taxable, your tax-exempt interest is still important for certain tax calculations, such as the earned income credit and determining your taxable social security benefits.
A retirement plan for employees of tax-exempt organizations and public schools, also known as a Section 403(b) plan. The plan is funded by pretax salary reductions, and it earns tax-deferred income until withdrawal.
The amount of net income used to calculate your income tax. Taxable income is your gross income reduced by all your adjustments, deductions, and exemptions.
Tax legislation passed in 1997 to provide tax cuts and benefits to individuals while attempting to balance the federal budget. While the new laws definitely do not simplify the tax code, they do provide breaks for such taxpayers as families with children and taxpayers who are investing in retirement plans, selling their home, selling capital assets, or paying for higher education.
A tax package that enables qualified taxpayers to file a simple federal tax return (Form 1040EZ) with the IRS using a touch-tone telephone. If you are eligible to use TeleFile, the IRS will send you a TeleFile tax package. You can use TeleFile only if you receive the package. You cannot order it.
The program computes the amount of earned income credit for you if you are eligible. It also automatically figures the amount of your refund or balance due. It is a free service of the IRS, and it is available 24 hours a day.
An IRS phone number that you can call to hear recorded tax information or to check on your refund if you have not received it within three weeks. Before you call TeleTax about your refund, gather the following information from your return:
- The first social security number shown on your return.
- Your filing status.
- The exact amount of your refund.
Joint ownership of property, generally by a husband and wife. If one owner dies, the other takes the entire estate.
Owners who each own half of an undivided estate. If one owner dies, the other does not automatically take the entire estate. Whoever is designated in the decedent's will inherits the decedent's share of the property.
The sum of all taxes that you owe for the tax year after all your credits, but not your payments, have been applied.
Ordinary and necessary business expenses you incur when you are traveling away from home for your business or as an employee.
A separate, taxable entity that holds property to be managed, protected, and distributed to others.
