What tax knowledge do new immigrants in the United States need to know

As we all know, the United States is a big tax country. The complexity of American tax law is second to none in the world, and native Americans may not understand it themselves, let alone new immigrants who have just arrived in the United States. However, as a new American immigrant, if you don't have any tax knowledge, you may pay a lot more taxes. Therefore, new immigrants urgently need to know the tax laws of the United States in advance.

Of course, the American tax system is so complicated that it is impossible for new immigrants to understand it all. However, we must understand the four taxes that have the greatest impact on new immigrants.

I. Income tax

Income tax includes: first, labor income, such as wages, bonuses, industrial and commercial income; Second, non-labor income, including rent, investment income and limited partnership income; Third, cancel the retirement plan.

Second, the gift tax

The gift tax in the United States is that the giver has the obligation to pay taxes, but the receiver does not. There is no gift tax in China. So if China people give money to Americans, neither of them needs to pay taxes, and there is no limit on the amount. By making good use of this tax law, new immigrants can do many things. There are two kinds of allowances for gift tax: lifetime allowance and annual allowance. In 20 17, the lifetime allowance for gift tax is USD 5.49 million, and the annual allowance is USD14,000.

However, the indiscriminate use of gifts is also a common problem for new immigrants now. Few people in the United States give money to others, but almost everyone gives money to new immigrants from China. Therefore, it should be noted that this may not only help you save taxes, but also cause the IRS to check taxes and remind new immigrants that gifts should be appropriate and should not be used desperately.

For example:

A customer has a company in Beijing, but he doesn't want to declare his income to the IRS. Before landing in the United States, he took the advice of others and transferred all the shares of the company to his mother. After landing, he bought an office building and a shopping center in America. The money was also donated by his mother again and again, and the amount was relatively large, which was targeted by the IRS. Whether the gift is reasonable or not is not important, such as the wealth of family assets. Most importantly, the IRS found that his mother was over 90 years old and had no ability to control the company at all. He handled all the company accounts online. The IRS collected evidence and asked him to provide information about his relationship with donors. But he gave up his green card and flew back to China, fearing that he could not prove it and had to pay taxes. In fact, we should know here that the IRS only has the power to check the tax problems of American tax residents, but there is no way to check the problems of non-tax residents. Therefore, even if the IRS calls his mother, as long as he answers that he is a tax resident in China, he won't answer any questions from the IRS. Hang up. It's simple. You can consult a professional in the future, and you don't have to give up your green card.

Third, inheritance tax.

In 20 17, the American estate tax exemption was slightly higher according to inflation. Everyone gets a tax allowance of $5.49 million, which is equivalent to 40% of the gift tax rate, but the two cannot be added together. For example, if he gave a gift of $2 million before his death, the tax-free amount will be only $3.49 million after his death.

Four. Social security medical tax

In the United States, people mainly receive pensions from the government after the age of 62, and enjoy free medical insurance for the elderly after the age of 65, so they can enjoy material benefits. To enjoy these two benefits, you need to pay social security tax and medical tax before retirement, and you can accumulate up to four points and forty points every year, that is, at least ten years, and you can enjoy these two benefits when you retire.

Because the tax laws in the United States are very different from those in China, as a new immigrant, if you want to enjoy more benefits and avoid paying more taxes, you are advised to know the relevant tax knowledge in the United States in advance.