my short list of tax preparers
Padgett Business Services of Westwood (John Barucci) apparently have stellar reviews:
Update:
Used Dukhon for my 2017 taxes, and Padgett of Westwood (John Barucci) for 2018.
IRS directory of tax preparers
As advised in this money.stackexchange answer the following web page allows one to search for tax preparers according to desired qualifications (CPA, EA etc.):
https://irs.treasury.gov/rpo/rpo.jsf
Social security and medicare taxes
The Federal Insurance Contributions Act (FICA) imposes two taxes on employers, employees, and self-employed workers:
- one for Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance (OASDI; commonly known as the Social Security tax)
- the other for Hospital Insurance (HI; commonly known as the Medicare tax)
There is a maximum amount of compensation subject to the OASDI tax, but no maximum for HI.
For 2018, an employee will pay:
- 6.2% Social Security tax on the first $128,700 of wages, plus
- 1.45% Medicare tax on the first $200,000 of wages, plus
- 2.35% Medicare tax (regular 1.45% Medicare tax + 0.9% additional Medicare tax) on all wages in excess of $200,000
Sadly it doth appears that H1B visas are not exempt from the social security tax.
Reporting Requirements (FATCA / FBAR) and their forms
- FATCA Form 8938
This form is part of the Income Tax Return so it's handled by the IRS (a bureau of the US Department of the Treasury)
- FinCEN Form 114 — FBAR
This form is filed independently of the Income Tax Return
but observes the same deadlines. This form is not under IRS for enforcement (FinCEN is a different bureau of the US Department of the Treasury)
Income forms
- Form 1040 — U.S. Individual Income Tax Return: this is the
main income tax form
- Form 8621 — income from a PFIC/QEF (a PFIC will typically send
a "PFIC Annual Information Statement" containing such information as
is necessary to fill Form 8621)
- Form 4868 — this is used to request an automatic extension
with the tax filing.
Acronyms
- FATCA
- Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act
- FBAR
- Foreign Bank Account Report
- FICA
- Federal Insurance Contributions Act
- FinCEN
- Financial Crimes Enforcement Network
- PFIC
- Passive Foreign Investment Company
- QEF
- Qualified Electing Fund
Retirement
- My retirement plan is of the 403(b) type — this is akin to 401(k) but for tax-exempt organizations like the Smithsonian.
Death
Apparently I can die without worrying too much. See