Tax Vocabulary

Tax Vocabulary

Last updated: January 26, 2004

The following page contains common words found in tax forms and tax related documents.

. Alien: generally, any person who is not a U.S. citizen.

. Student: person temporarily in the U.S. on an F, J, Q, or M visa.

. Teacher or Trainee: person who is not a student & who is temporarily in the U.S. on a J or Q visa.

. Dependents: generally, spouse and children living in the same home.

. Compensation/Earnings: wages, salaries, tips.

. Income: wages, salaries, tips, interest, dividends, some scholarships/fellowship grants.

. IRS: Internal Revenue Service

. Income Tax Return: statement filed (submitted) by individual taxpayer to the IRS or State of New York.

. Withholding: U.S. income tax automatically taken from your paycheck.

. Exempt Individual: person who does not have to count days of presence in the U.S.

. Effectively Connected Income: All income, gain or loss from U.S. sources. This pertains to F, J, Q and M visa holders.

. Standard Deduction: standard amount that individuals may subtract from income when calculating taxes owed.

. Itemized Deductions: additional amount that individuals may subtract from income when calculating taxes owed. Example: charitable contributions, state and local tax withheld, etc.