56 articles
457 plan
A 457 plan, or 457(b) deferred compensation plan, is a tax-advantaged US retirement plan for state/local government and tax-exempt employers, with a $24,500 limit in 2026 and penalty-free early withdrawal for governmental plans.
Adjusted gross income
Adjusted gross income (AGI) is a US taxpayer's total gross income minus specified above-the-line adjustments from Schedule 1 of Form 1040, reported on line 11; it gates credits, MAGI tests, and 31 states' income taxes.
Alternative minimum tax
The alternative minimum tax (AMT) is a parallel US federal income tax under which certain individuals, estates, and trusts pay the larger of regular or alternative tax.
Canada Revenue Agency
Canada Revenue Agency (CRA, Agence du revenu du Canada): federal agency administering Canadian tax laws for the federal government and most provinces and territories, plus benefits such as the Canada child benefit; created 1999, renamed 2005.
Capital gains tax in the United States
United States federal capital gains tax: tax on profit from selling capital assets. Long-term gains (held over one year) taxed at 0%, 15%, or 20%; short-term gains at ordinary income rates; $3,000 loss limit; 3.8% NIIT.
Church tax
Church tax (Kirchensteuer), a levy on members of recognized religions collected with income tax in Germany, Austria, Scandinavia, and Swiss cantons; Germany charges 8-9% of income tax, yields billions annually, and opt-out requires deregistering from the church.
Corporate tax in the United States
Corporate tax in the United States: federal tax on corporate net income, begun as a 1909 excise, set at a permanent 21 percent since the 2017 TCJA, with a 15 percent CAMT and state apportionment systems.
Council Tax
Council tax is the local property tax on dwellings in England, Scotland, and Wales, introduced in 1993 under the Local Government Finance Act 1992 to replace the poll tax. Properties sit in bands A–H (A–I in Wales) based on 1991 (England/Scotland) or 2003 (Wales) values, with means-tested Council Tax Reduction for low incomes.
Employer Identification Number
Employer Identification Number (EIN), also called Federal Tax Identification Number: a nine-digit IRS identifier (format 12-3456789) for businesses, tax-exempt organizations, estates, and trusts. Applied for free on Form SS-4; distinct from SSN and ITIN.
European Union value added tax
European Union value added tax (EU VAT), governed by Council Directive 2006/112/EC, is a harmonised destination-principle consumption tax charged at every transaction stage and borne by final consumers. Members raise over €1,000 billion yearly; standard rate minimum 15%; ViDA digitalisation adopted 2025.
Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act
The Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) is a 2010 United States federal law requiring foreign financial institutions to report accounts held by U.S. taxpayers.
Form 1040
Form 1040, U.S. Individual Income Tax Return, is the IRS's main federal individual income tax form, first issued January 5, 1914; redesigned in 2018 with schedules, paired with 1040-SR for seniors, due April 15.
Form 1099
Form 1099 series: IRS information returns reporting non-wage payments such as nonemployee compensation, interest, dividends, rents, and third-party network transactions, with $2,000 post-2025 threshold and January 31 NEC deadline.
Form W-2
Form W-2 (Wage and Tax Statement) is the US IRS form employers file with the Social Security Administration and give employees, reporting annual wages and federal income, social security, and Medicare tax withheld; distinct from Form 1099 for nonemployees.
Form W-4
Form W-4, Employee's Withholding Certificate, is the IRS form employees give employers to set federal income tax withholding; redesigned for 2020 to drop withholding allowances after the TCJA, with five steps, an exemption option, and a 2026 update adding tips, overtime, and seniors deduction lines.
Form W-9
Form W-9, Request for Taxpayer Identification Number and Certification, is an IRS form a U.S. person uses to give a payer their TIN (SSN, ITIN, EIN) and certifications; it goes to the requester, not the IRS, and supports 1099 reporting and backup withholding at 24%.
Goods and services tax (Canada)
Canada's goods and services tax (GST), a 5% federal value-added tax under the Excise Tax Act, combined with provincial sales tax as HST in some provinces (13-15%) and separate elsewhere, with QST 9.975% in Quebec.
Income Tax Department
Income Tax Department of India, under the CBDT, Ministry of Finance, administers direct taxes. Originating from the 1922 Income-tax Act, it performs assessment, appeals, search and seizure, and faceless e-processing under the Income-tax Act, 1961 and the new 2025 Act.
Income tax in Australia
Income tax in Australia: Commonwealth tax on individual and entity taxable income, introduced 1915, consolidated federally in 1942; $18,200 tax-free threshold, 45% top rate, 2% Medicare levy, PAYG withholding, and 2026-27 CGT, negative gearing and offset reforms.
Income tax in India
Income tax in India is a central direct tax under Entry 82 of the Union List, historically under the Income-tax Act, 1961, replaced by the Income-tax Act, 2025 from 1 April 2026, with a default concessional regime under section 115BAC (section 202) for individuals and HUFs.
Income tax return (India)
Income tax return (ITR), India: annual statement filed under the Income-tax Act on forms ITR-1 to ITR-7 via the e-filing portal; covers due dates, belated, revised, and updated returns (ITR-U), and the 2025 Act transition.
Indian black money
Indian black money (also unaccounted or parallel-economy income) is income and wealth on which Indian taxes or public dues went unpaid, defined in the 2012 White Paper; addressed by the Black Money Act 2015, disclosure schemes, and demonetizations of 1946, 1978, and 2016.
Indian Revenue Service
Indian Revenue Service (IRS), the Indian civil service administering income tax under CBDT and customs, excise, and GST under CBIC; formed as an independent Central Service in 1953, with UPSC recruitment and 16-month NADT training.
Indonesian tax amnesty
The Indonesian tax amnesty (Pengampunan Pajak), under Law No. 11 of 2016, let taxpayers declare unreported assets for reduced fees and forgiveness of tax sanctions, running from July 2016 to March 2017.
Internal Revenue Code
The Internal Revenue Code (IRC), Title 26 of the U.S. Code, is U.S. federal statutory tax law, current version the 1986 Code as amended after the 1939 and 1954 Codes, administered by Treasury and the IRS.
Internal Revenue Code section 1031
Internal Revenue Code section 1031 (26 U.S.C. §1031), the like-kind exchange provision: defers gain or loss on exchanging investment or business real property for like-kind real property, via 45-day identification and 180-day completion deadlines, qualified intermediaries, carryover basis, and the 2017 restriction to real property.
Internal Revenue Service
Internal Revenue Service (IRS), US Treasury agency administering the Internal Revenue Code since 1862 (named IRS in 1953); collected $4.7 trillion in FY 2023, estimated a $496 billion annual tax gap for 2014-2016, and lost about a quarter of its workforce in 2025.
International taxation
International taxation is the body of rules, treaties, and practices governing how cross-border income is taxed when two or more countries claim jurisdiction over the same taxpayer.
IR35
IR35, the UK off-payroll working rules from the Finance Act 2000, taxes contractors through personal service companies like employees when the engagement resembles employment; reformed 2017 and 2021 to shift status determination to clients.
IRS tax forms
IRS tax forms: standardized U.S. Treasury/IRS documents such as Form 1040, W-2, and 1099 series used to report federal taxes; Form 1040 dates to 1914, redesigned 2018, with e-filing since 1991.