Hello everyone,
I hope this is the right forum for tax question. If not, I'm sorry, please let me know where (or feel free to move my post there..)
I'm more of a LBYM than FIRE person in practice (I discovered, or rather, rediscovered this website, not even looking for FIRE info but for tax advice..) but due to several changes (employment, health, some life choices along with those) which I won't bore everyone with all the details, now find myself in "semi-retirement" (I'm quite a few years shy of 65) at least for the time being, starting in 2013. This "semi" means cannot FIRE but am frugal (live on just under 2k/month) and have enough savings to manage with part-time self employment, for the next year or few years..perhaps pessimistically I estimate only 9k in income for 2013 which along with my savings will get me through 2013 (and maybe beyond, though this question is just about 2013)
Now apparently I have something due April 15: I've already filed my 2012 fed and state, but need to file for estimate taxes for 2013, it seems.
A separate post may be my more complicated question, essentially making sure I've got all the 'pieces' and putting together correctly the jigsaw of Schedule C, Schedule SE, and using the preceding, along several worksheets, for Form 1040-ES, and that I hopefully filled them in right..
A simpler question for this post is - are self employed not eligible? I think they are, I found an IRS page at one point that listed "Net earnings from self-employment" as among the sources that count. And yet, after filling out the C-EZ, and worksheet for SE (self-employment) etc, and starting to fill out the ES (estimated) and then looking into EIC (which in previous years my earning were not low enough to qualify for) the worksheet part A, Part 1, step 1 says, "enter your earned income from Step 5" but step 5, part 2 says "Figure earned income:" and asks you to put down "Form 1040, line 7" (and then subtract scholarships/fellowships, worked performed as an inmate, and pension/annuity, and combat pay..which I'm ignoring) but line 7 on 1040 is separate from line 12, "business income/loss, include schedule C/C-EZ" so under my tentative assumption for 2013 (all income being from self employment..this may change, but is my current assumption) wouldn't my Line 7 on my 1040 for 2013 end up being 0?? And then my EIC "step 5" would be zero, and so Worksheet A of EIC, part 1, step 1, would have "0" too, so then step 2 "look up the amount..in EIC Table..if line 2 is zero, stop, you cannot take the credit" is what I'd have.. Yet the IRS page says
> What is Earned Income?
>
> Earned income includes all the taxable income and wages you get from
> working for someone else or you own or run a business or farm.
>
> Taxable earned income also includes:
>
> Wages, salaries, and tips
> Union strike benefits
> Certain disability benefits received before you reach minimum
> retirement age
> Net earnings from self-employment
so what am I missing? And equally importantly, clues on how to fill out Worksheet A correctly and get an EIC there..so I have a better estimate of my 2013 taxes, so I can send a more accurate (lower?) first quarter check, postmarked by the 15th in less than a week..?
As I said all of this is new, the SE, the ES, the C-EZ and the
EIC...but right now the EIC directions have me tumped..Last time I tried posting tax question it was a silly misreading I caught not long after posting..but right now I just don't see it...Thanks!
P.S.: if/when work, schedule, and other aspects of personal
life are more stable I'd like to visit here more often than once every year (or several years!) Used to be on motley fool on and off last decade.. this website seems very nice with a community feel to it..besides while I'm not FIREd I'd like to be by the end of this decade if possible..and maybe rules/fees won't change here as often as motley seemed to ;-)
I hope this is the right forum for tax question. If not, I'm sorry, please let me know where (or feel free to move my post there..)
I'm more of a LBYM than FIRE person in practice (I discovered, or rather, rediscovered this website, not even looking for FIRE info but for tax advice..) but due to several changes (employment, health, some life choices along with those) which I won't bore everyone with all the details, now find myself in "semi-retirement" (I'm quite a few years shy of 65) at least for the time being, starting in 2013. This "semi" means cannot FIRE but am frugal (live on just under 2k/month) and have enough savings to manage with part-time self employment, for the next year or few years..perhaps pessimistically I estimate only 9k in income for 2013 which along with my savings will get me through 2013 (and maybe beyond, though this question is just about 2013)
Now apparently I have something due April 15: I've already filed my 2012 fed and state, but need to file for estimate taxes for 2013, it seems.
A separate post may be my more complicated question, essentially making sure I've got all the 'pieces' and putting together correctly the jigsaw of Schedule C, Schedule SE, and using the preceding, along several worksheets, for Form 1040-ES, and that I hopefully filled them in right..
A simpler question for this post is - are self employed not eligible? I think they are, I found an IRS page at one point that listed "Net earnings from self-employment" as among the sources that count. And yet, after filling out the C-EZ, and worksheet for SE (self-employment) etc, and starting to fill out the ES (estimated) and then looking into EIC (which in previous years my earning were not low enough to qualify for) the worksheet part A, Part 1, step 1 says, "enter your earned income from Step 5" but step 5, part 2 says "Figure earned income:" and asks you to put down "Form 1040, line 7" (and then subtract scholarships/fellowships, worked performed as an inmate, and pension/annuity, and combat pay..which I'm ignoring) but line 7 on 1040 is separate from line 12, "business income/loss, include schedule C/C-EZ" so under my tentative assumption for 2013 (all income being from self employment..this may change, but is my current assumption) wouldn't my Line 7 on my 1040 for 2013 end up being 0?? And then my EIC "step 5" would be zero, and so Worksheet A of EIC, part 1, step 1, would have "0" too, so then step 2 "look up the amount..in EIC Table..if line 2 is zero, stop, you cannot take the credit" is what I'd have.. Yet the IRS page says
> What is Earned Income?
>
> Earned income includes all the taxable income and wages you get from
> working for someone else or you own or run a business or farm.
>
> Taxable earned income also includes:
>
> Wages, salaries, and tips
> Union strike benefits
> Certain disability benefits received before you reach minimum
> retirement age
> Net earnings from self-employment
so what am I missing? And equally importantly, clues on how to fill out Worksheet A correctly and get an EIC there..so I have a better estimate of my 2013 taxes, so I can send a more accurate (lower?) first quarter check, postmarked by the 15th in less than a week..?
As I said all of this is new, the SE, the ES, the C-EZ and the
EIC...but right now the EIC directions have me tumped..Last time I tried posting tax question it was a silly misreading I caught not long after posting..but right now I just don't see it...Thanks!
P.S.: if/when work, schedule, and other aspects of personal
life are more stable I'd like to visit here more often than once every year (or several years!) Used to be on motley fool on and off last decade.. this website seems very nice with a community feel to it..besides while I'm not FIREd I'd like to be by the end of this decade if possible..and maybe rules/fees won't change here as often as motley seemed to ;-)
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