Helen1234

1. For all of the US side tax, can I simply think if I have some tax resbonsibility, I will receive all the tax forms at the tax season by mails. I think all the tax forms will be called 1099 forms and w2, right? After that, I just fill in them at the turbotax? I do not have complicated investment, such as equity, bond.

2.One day, if I open or close my US bank account, do I need to report it to the IRS? I assume no.

Jack_Russells4ever

Under normal circumstances in the US any income paid by employers will cause you to recieve an IRS form W2.

Contract work income or from investments in income producing items such as stocks, bonds, bank Certiicates of Deposit (CD's) will result in you recieving IRS form 1099' US paid pensions also generate form 1099

If you do self employment work you must report wages yourself to the IRS. I am not sure about that process in regards to self employment income reporting to the IRS.

You should automatically recieve your W2's by the end of January or form 1099's

Opening or closing a regular bank account would not be cause for you to inform the IRS.

My answers ar based upon my personal experience when I lived in the USA.

robin1234

Noting your wording, “by mails.” I assume this includes snail mail + email. Actually, my recent experience over the last few years, I receive no mail notification of most of my 1099s. I need to log in to my accounts online to find my 1099s. No doubt, in each account, I could turn on the option of email notification, but I prefer not to receive too many emails of things I should be able to predict (like 1099s being generated during January.)

Rete

My experience with retirement accounts and savings accounts is the same. Email notification that the summary(ies) are ready. Log into the account and print. IRS and the State will only snail mail the usual forms, i.e. 1040, never email and only if it is your second year of filing. They won't have a clue about you if you have never filed before.

Also it is up to you to download the proper filing forms you need for federal, state taxes and those needed to be filed for withdrawal of retirement funds and for form for filing of money accounts overseas.

Helen1234

Many thanks. That is very helpful. I think all of these forms are coming from bank, broker (financial institutions) and the employer. It will not come from the consumer place such as CVS, uber (not the uber driver), right? The reason why I ask is that sometimes, I may get some coupon or discount to consumer with them.

Helen1234

Many thanks. That is very helpful. I think all of these forms are coming from bank, broker (financial institutions) and the employer. It will not come from the consumer place such as CVS, uber (not the uber driver), right? The reason why I ask is that sometimes, I may get some coupon or discount to consumer with them.

Helen1234

gotcha, many thanks

Helen1234

and the airpline app, such as delta

Helen1234

and the airpline app, such as delta

robin1234

It sounds to me like you are overthinking this. Coupons, discounts and the like are not income. They are simply reductions in the price you are charged for the good or service.

Along the same lines, money paid to you by your credit card provider (1% of your purchases, or whatever,) is not income that you have to declare to IRS or pay tax on.

Steerpike

MOST financial institutions will send you the relevant forms. HOWEVER - there's a 'minimum threshold' at play. Every year, I get 1099-INT forms from my financial institution for interest paid, because it's a substantial amount. But I don't get a 1099-INT from my checking account, because the amount is below the threshold for them to have to send a form. I Think the threshold is $10. Technically, you are required to report ALL interest paid to you, so failing to report (eg) $7.50 interest paid to you by your checking or savings account could lead to trouble. If you use (eg) Turbo Tax, it has a 'question and answer' mode, which will lead you through all the possible sources of taxable income so you can use that as a 'checklist' of sorts. The version of TT I use also offers to connect to my financial institution(s) and pull all the information it needs - a very useful feature once you have a few accounts.

Also, be aware that forms sometimes get lost in the mail, and emailed documents sometimes get flagged as 'junk', so you can't just assume you will receive everything you need. "Not being sent the appropriate form" is no excuse for a mistake on your tax return and you could be liable for penalties if you miss something.

Helen1234

Gotcha, thanks. I assume I can ignore the app such as CVS, uber and delta airline, but mainly focus on the financial apps.

Helen1234

Thanks. So, I mainly focus on the finanical apps for the tax form (For the consumer app, such as uber, delta, cvs, I can ignore them.). Just make sure to check both email and mail to see whether I have tax forms. If both of them I do not have, it means I do not have the tax forms. But make sure to count all the interests even it is not in the tax form, right?

Helen1234

BTW, for the credit card, I assume except for referring, I think most of time, I shouldnt receive the tax form, right? I think I mainly buy things to earn some cashback.

Steerpike

I mentioned "Interest" (1099-INT) just as an example. Also, did you get a state tax refund last year? Last year's state tax refund is Federal Income for this year. Did you get health insurance through an 'exchange', and did you receive a subsidy? If you did, you hopefully received the appropriate form. Did you receive a 'stimulus' check from state or federal?

I would recommend you either buy the cheapest version of TurboTax, or use the free online version (not sure what limitations it has, but may be good enough for you). You may or may not have 'state tax' obligations, depending on what state you live in.

Also - very important - do you still have any UK bank accounts or other financial vehicles (retirement, etc)? If you do, there are very strict requirements for filing along with your US tax return. If you have less than $10,000 (equivalent) then I think the filing requirements are simple, but don't take my word for it - this is an area you can get into a lot of trouble for, if you don't get it right.