Moving to boston from India. want to know total taxes (federal + state + if any) (sales)

[manish.sharma]

Hi guys,
i am moving from delhi to boston(MA) in next 2 months. I want to know the total tax calculation (federal + state + if any).
I will be moving with my familiy (wife and 3.5 yr daughter).
pls help.

[ogre]

The total tax depends on your income. You'll have to pay income tax both to the state and to the U.S. federal government. The state income tax in MA is 5.3 percent on your income after deductions. This is the same no matter what your income. It's the federal tax that varies depending on your income. There's no way for anyone to even estimate what you'll pay in federal tax without knowing your income. Even then it would be only an estimate, because there are various reductions in the tax you pay depending on certain personal circumstances, whether you have any investments and what kind, etc.

Below are the links to the MA state department of revenue and the U.S. Internal Revenue Service. You may find some useful information there.

Massachusetts Department of Revenue

Internal Revenue Service

In addition to income tax, MA charges a sales tax of 6.25 percent of the purchase price on most items other than staple food items and clothing of less than a certain price. There are also property taxes charged if you own real estate, but you would not pay these if you were a tenant living in rental property. There is also a tax on automobile ownership, if you own a car registered in MA. This is another tax about which no one can tell you the amount you'd pay, because this would depend on the value of your car.

That covers the major taxes that apply to most people.

[miu]

There is no simple answer to your question. If there were, companies like H & R Block would not exist. When we do our state and federal taxes, we have complicated forms to fill out. I fill out my own tax forms, but everyone else I know uses a tax service or accounting firm. Filling out my tax forms every year takes me about an hour each year and I find it a painful process.

How much you will make a year will be a big factor. You'd probably file as a head of household since your wife wouldn't be working. Your daughter would be a dependent. For your state taxes, you can deduct half your rental fee up to $3K... and I don't know what happens if you are from another country and only here in the US for a short time for work.

I guess my suggestion to you is to go online and print out copies of the current US federal and MA state tax forms and to fill them out based on how much you will be making for the 2011 calendar year. On the federal and state income tax sites, search for answers regarding your status in our country. That will give you a ball park figure for your taxes.

So go to this site for our federal tax forms and instructions:
Internal Revenue Service

And this site for MA state tax forms and instructions:
Mass.Gov

[manish.sharma]

Thanks ogre and miu.... hope i'll find the my answers here....
FYI, my anuual income would be approx to $70,000. (sorry for not mentioning initially )

[ogre]

I think you're going to need to ask questions of a tax consulting professional, or at the IRS and MA Dept. of Revenue. There is no way for people who are not professionals in the tax field to be able to tell you what your income tax would be. There are too many variables depending on your income, your investments, and your deductions all in combination for anyone not thoroughly familiar with the tax laws to be able to tell you how much your tax would be based on just your approximate income.