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About Medford mail tribune. (Medford, Or.) 1909-1989 | View Entire Issue (Feb. 6, 1956)
Monday, February 6, 1958 nuirunu UMUuflj mail Tnusuxsti o& &n Revenue Service No Major Changes in Law Since Last Year Offers elpful Advice for Filing Incdml Tax Returns (Editor's Note: This is the first in a rriei of five dispatches prepared by assell C. Harrington, commissioner of internal revenue, to give taxpayers some ..helpful ..advice., in .preparing their returns. This dispatch lays-down some of the ground rules under tne lederal income tax law.) By RUSSELL C. HARRINGTON Commissioner Of Internal Revenue Written For United Press Washington r- U.R) Now In fact, the sooner the better- is the time for U.S. citizens and residents to file their 1955 fed eral income tax returns. There, have been no major changes in the law since last year so it will probably be most helpful to begin by suessmg cer tain basic points. The Internal Revenue Service has compiled a list of questions which gave taxpayers the most trouble last year after Congress revamped the internal revenue code. To start with, the regular filing deadline for individual taxpayers is midnight, April 15, the same as last year, but since that date falls on Sunday this year, you get an extra 24 hours to file. The question of "When do I get my refund? can best be answered by saying that you'll get it just as soon as we can check your return. The best advice, if you're in a hurry for your refund, is to file your return early. With more than 60,000,000 returns to process, the later you file the longer it will take us to get around to yours. We handle them on a first come, first serv ed basis. The second basic point is who must file. That, too, is unchanged and includes, in general, "citizens and residents of the United States, under 65 years of age and with a gross income of at least $600. Individuals 65 or over must file if their gross in come is $1,200 or more. For most persons, paid either wages 'or salaries, gross income is the same as the total of their wages or salaries. Musi File for Refund It's always worth repeating this: Even if you did not earn $600 last year it's in your in terest to file a return if during the year" some -income tax was withheld. You may be eligible for a refund, and the only way you can get it is by filing a re turn! .. Due to certain trends like greater coverage by hospitaliza tion plans and more people own ing stocks and bonds special provisions of the law require attention. I will cover those later. Also, certain events which happen' each year affect the in come tax liability of many indi viduals. For example, of vital importance to: thousands of peo ple this year will be the deduc tion for losses resulting from the hurricanes and floods which ' ravaged parts of our country during 1955. It must be remembered that on personal, or non-business property, these casualty loss de ductions are measured by the . difference between the fair mar ket value of the property before it was damaged and the value immediately afterward. ' You should also keep in mind that the deductible loss is limited to the cost or other adjusted basis of the property, and any compen sation received, such as insur- When filing on form 1040, you that you still owe some tax, you Revenue Service." Do not send year should save us all a lot of also shouia mail your return should attach your check ..or casn. mso, be sure to attach your time. You are now permitted, to your district director. How- money order for the balance form "W-2s" if you have any. if yu choose, to "found off" the ever, if your calculations show due, payable, to the "Internal One change -we made this amounts eritered on your return or accompanying schedules. This means that, you may elim inate any amount of less' than 50 cents and increase any; am ount between 50 and 99 cents to the next highest dollar. (Tuesday: Whether to file a separate : or joint return.) r Decline Seen in Blind Premature Babies Tillamook Retrolental fibro plasia, the tongue-twisting eye disease that not long ago blind ed a high percentage' of prema ture babies,, is continuing to de cline in Oregon. Figures released last week by the children's eye clinic at the University of Oregon medical school show only four "preem ies" with retrolental fibroplasia in 1955 and three of these cases were mild ones. About two years ago research ers pinned the cause of the dis ease on too much oxygen being given to premature babies in in cubators. The children's eye clin ic was among the first to ad vance this solution. ' Dr. Kenneth Swan, head of the clinic and the school's eye department, said more accurate control of oxygen has reduced the disease in Oregon, but he warned that the disease has not been eleminated entirely. DISCRIMINATING DRINKERS Shrewsbury, N.J. (U.R) Dis criminating thieves raided a supermarket in nearby Shrews bury township and stole 100 bottles of scotch, brandy and bourbon, 15 boxes of cigars and 14 cartons of cigarettes. "We had a similar job here about three months ago," police said. "They took only the best kind of liquor." Use Mail Tribune Want Ads ance coverage payments, must be subtracted from the amount to be claimed. . Because so many persons suf fered ' storm damage to their homes and other personal prop erty last year, the Internal Rev enue Service has prepared a booklet entitled "How the Fed eral Tax Applies to Losses From Hurricanes, Floods and Other Disasters." You can obtain a copy from your district director and should find it very helpful. Just ask him for "Publication No. 155." Proof of Loss I also want to call your atten tion to a provision of the law which permits you, if your de ductible loss exceeded your in come for 1955, to claim a "quick" refund of part, or all, of the : income taxes you paid for 1953 and 1954. You will need to have valid, proof of owner-ship and evidence pictures will help j of the loss sustained. A spe-! cial form 1045 is available at your district director's office to make this claim. Form 1045 must be filed on or after the date of filing - your return for 1955, but not later than Dec. 31," 1956. ,1 have issued orders that these applications are to be handled as fast as possible. This so-called "carry-back" provision, as mentioned before, is confined to actual loss and not what it may cost you to re build or repair. , The tremendous movement of , our population from one place to another has brought an in crease in the number of taxpay- j ers who sell their homes and buy another. If you sold your home during 1955 for more than you origin ally put into it as your initial cost, plus the cost of any im provements, the difference is not taxable if you bought another residence within a year which cost as much, or more, than you realized on the sale. However, if you buy another home which costs less, you must pay tax on part, or all, of your profit. This tax may be at a lower - rate, however, if you owned the home more than six months. If you sold your home and built a new one the time limit is extended to 18 months. If you did neither and your sales price exceeded the original cost, you must declare the excess and pay the tax. Forms' To Be Used ' One further general question should probably be answered be fore turning, in subsequent in stallments, to some of the more detailed problems: That is which of internal revenue's personal income tax forms should be used. This is one area where we have changed things a little. There are now just two basic forms the 1040 and the 1040A and we no longer use the term "long" and "short" in regard to form 1040. You simply use as much or little of it as necessary The 1040A is a check-size card which we can process in high speed accounting machines. It is simple and brief. Almost half the taxpayers will use this form. Speif ically, it is designed for those whose : in come last year was less than $5000 and was in the form of wages or salaries from which income tax was withheld, or consisted entirely of such wages and not more than $100 of other income, such as pay for a part time job, interest on which no tax was withheld, or dividends etc. A husband . and wife earn ing less than $5,000, including not more than $100 - in other forms of income of -the type men tioned, may also use this form to' file a joint return. . , The form 1040. must be used if your gross income was $5,000 or more, or if you had more than $100 in other income, or if you wish to itemize your deductions because they exceed the stand ard 10 per cent of adjusted gross income. On the 1040A, you auto matically get a 10 per cent de duction to cover medical ex penses, contributions, ..interest and other deductible items. You also get the same 10 per cent if you use the first page of form 1040, and take your tax from the tax table. If you can, it's a great time saver for you and us to use the card form 1040A. , Determine Own Tax If you use form 1040 you have to determine your own tax. And if your income" comes from sev eral sources, it must be listed on the other pages of the form and your tax computed on the rate tables which are provided. When filing card form 1040A, send it to your district director not to me as so many thous ands have already done. He will send you a bill or a refund. Do not send a check or cash. Be sure to enclose the "W-2" form which your employer will give you showing your wages,' how much was deducted for income taxes, etc. If You're Not Trading at the GROCETERIA You're Paying Too Much (1B(1D(D SIXTH AND GRAPE STREETS OPEN 7 DAYS (Q) A WEEK UNTIL j P.M. r - & sdTSiiijM 1 I ADMIRAL APPLIANCE Drawing ' This Saturday 9:30 A.M. st' l jj GLr0 2 Big Admiral TV SETS O 4 Admiral -'- ' CALENDAR J is Wm THRFFY, SHOPPERS ok wmm Tickets freely given to all over 18 years of age. 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