Your Income Tax ? 2
Use Care In Picking Forms
By FRANK O'BRIKX
AP Newsfeatures
The amount and kinds of income
you had in 1954 determine which of
the tax forms you are eligible to
use.
You may have a choice of forms.
in that case, your choice will
probably depend upon whether you
decide to accept the standard de
duction for personal expenses, or
to itemize your deductions so as to
get more than the standard allow
ance.
The standard allowance is ap
proximately 10 per cent of your
adjusted gross income: that is
10 per cent of your total income
after any business - connected de
ductions have been subtracted De
ductions will be discussed in
articles 7 and 8 of this series.
There are just two basic indi
vidual income tax forms ? 1040
and 1040A. Hut 1040 can be used
as either a short form or a loim
form. There is no separate short
form 1040 or long form 1040.
The forms have been consider
ably revised this year to conform j
to the new tax law. But the 1954
federal income tax forms are basic
ally the same as those used now
for many years.
Persons with adjusted gross in
come of $5,000 or more must use
form 1040. In doing so. they may
either itemize their personal de
mictions. or lane me sianoaro nc
duction allowance
Persons with income of less than
$5,000 may use form 1040A.
short form 1040, or long form 1040,
depending on the kinds of their
income, and how they want to han
dle it.
There are a number of deciding
factors. Here they are, beginning
with form 1040A, the simplest tax
return, through 1040 short anil
1040 long:
1040A?To be eligible to use this
form, your income during 1954
must fit these specifications:
1. If must be less than $5,000
That means up to $4.999 99 If* it 1
a joint return, the combined in
come of husband and wife must not,'
exceed $4,999.99 , ;
2 It must consist entirely of
wages from which income tax was '
withheld and reported on a with
holding form iW-2i you get from '
your employer or employers, or '
3. of wages up to $4,899.99
from which tax has been withheld. 1
plus not more than $100 more of '
other wages, interest and divi- '
dends. This would not include ?
dividend receipts excluded from j
your income because only the*'
taxable part, counts in this $100 1
If it is a joint return, the husband '
Kind wife together must have no
?more than $100 of income from i
which taxes Hero not withheld.
4 Your income must not in
clude receipts from any of the
following if you are to use 1040A:
annuities: rents: "royalties:
retirement income; business
profits or professional earnings;
farming; transactions in securities
or other property: earnings as a
participant in partnerships, estates
or trusts: or reimbursed expenses
which ate taxable.
f> You nun not use form 1040A
if you want to deduct business
connected expenses from your in
come isuch as traveling costs): or
if you have a tax credit coming to
you from dividend or retirement
income; or if vou rlaini the special j
"head of household" status or the
?
new "joint return status" of a
widow or widower whose spouse
died in 1952, 1953 or 1954. I
Commissioner of Internal Rev
enue T. Coleman Andrews urged '
all who are eligible to use form j
1040A: "This eard-type form was
specifically designed to make tax
tiling as easy as possible for many j
millions of taxpayers. For those .
millions who can use it. it is sim- 1
plicity itself. The ease of prepara
tion will save the user time and 1
inconvenience. We will /ave time '
and money because the card pro
cessing is accomplished niechan
ically. Our savings are the tax pay- '
rrs' in the linal analvsis, for it is
the taxpayers' money that pays for '
the collection of the nation's reve- 1
nues."
v
As previously, users ? of this
'orm simply put down their name '
tnd social security number ihus
s
jand and wifei, address, whether pi
lot it is a joint return, total wages, '
otal taxe-- withheld, other income. c
?redits and exclusions, and list ex- v
imptions. *
The wages, withholdings, other t
ncome, credits and exclusions of '
loth husband and wife are set ?
town separately on the card if it T
is a joint return. !'
You then put the card, along ['
with yoyr W-2 forms, in an en-'
i-elope mailed with the form, and 1
send it to the district director. ?
The district director's office, us-jt
ing this information figures your 1
*
ASSEMBLY LINE GIVING to the March of Dimes was demons
trated by these members of rfrownie Scout Troop 57 at the Rotary
Club dime board in front of the Eirst National Bank Friday after
noon. Troop 57 is sponsored by Alpha Theta chapter of Beta Sigma
Phi. Mrs. Katherine Duval is troop leader and tylrs. Charles I*.
Dunn and Mrs. H. W.. Warren are assistant leaders.
(Mountaineer Photo*.
ax for you and sends you a bill 1
>r refund.
The special credit (line 11 on j
he card) is for any excess social! |
;ecurity payments you or your wife j
nay have made last year, and will' (
>e discussed in the sixth article j,
n this series. The exclusion tlinejt
2i is for pay '? received while off , j
vork vlue to sickness and will be j x
liscusied in the fifth article of the 1
cries. If you claim either of these (
ou should enclose a written ex- ^
ilanation with your 1040A return, j
The box at line 10 on the 1040A |,
ard, for "other income" is for alljj
ncome other than wages on which),
axes have been withheld. This i J
? ould include any wages on which \ j
ax has not been withheld, interest. 1]
nd dividends. You may exclude j
50 of your dividend income under j i
he law. entering only the remain-jl
ler. If it is a joint return, your '
vife is entitled to a separate $50 ?
xclusion i
If what \ou and your wife iif it ?
s a joint return) enter at line 10;
idds no to more than $100. you may !'
in( use 1040A, even though your;
otal income might be well under I
55.000.
A special, single - page instrur- (
ion sheet for form 1040A was mail
?d with the form, in addition to '
he regular instruction booklet. It 11
ells you how to use the form. <
line by line. fc
Short form 1040?Here, your ad-;
justed gross income must be less; in
:han $5.000?up to and including y<
M.999.99. that is. You may have j ^
otal income of over $5,000 and | **
itill use this form if your deduc- j f
ions for employee expenses cut Jl
?our adjusted .gross income to' al
jnder $5,000. 'j
Any sort income may be re
sorted on this-form. so you may
vant to use this short form 1040;'^
f you are forced off of 1040A by w
iome kind of income that may not c'(
Je reported there. For instance, if i'c
i'ou want to claim a tax credit for c<
tividend income, or have any re- it
:irement or rental income, you w
must use form 1040, short or long, ti
Also, if you have some employe
expenses that you want to deduct t,
From your income (not possible n
with 1040A), this is your next oi
simplest form. These business-1st
connected deductions, in general, gi
include certain reimbursed ex- ol
penses. and costs to you as an ol
employe of travel and transports-I h
lion, or your expenses as an out
side salesman. si
You may use this form and de-'ri
duct from vour tax anv credits you h
have coming to you from dividend h
>r retirement income. But you may "
not itemize personal expense de- |"
tactions and still use the short ||
irm.
A table on the back page of the
istructions mailed to you with
>ur tax forms will tell you your
ix liability according to your mar
al status, the number of your ex
nptions, and the size of your ad
isted gross income. ? The table I
jtomaticallv gives you the stand
-d allowance for personal deduc
ons.
Long form 1040?Regardless of
le size of your income, if you
ant to itemize your personal
eductions, you must use the long
irm. If your adjusted gross in
)me is over $5,000 you must use
. whether you want to itemize, or
ant to take the standard deduc
on for personal expenses.
The principal difference be-1
veen long and short 1040 is that ,
i using the long form you work
at your tax liability yourself, in
ead of finding it in a table. You |
et the help of a table, on page 14 [
f the instructions, that does part j
f the work for you after you j
ave found your taxable income. |
The next article, No. 3 in thisi
;ries. will deal with the joint ,
eturn. ip which important changes
ave been made by the new tax j
iw, and requirements for filing
Donald Green
Returns
To Naval Base
By MRS. SAM FERGUSON
Mountaineer Reporter
Donald B. Green, U. S. Navy,
who has been spending a leave with
his parents. Mr. and Mrs. Marvin
Green of Fines Creek, has return
ed to the Naval Air Station in San
Diego. Calif. He returned from
service in the Philippines in No
vember '
Green has been in the Navy
since August, 1951. He attended
the Fines Creek High School be
fore entering the service,
Mr. and Mrs. Cauley Rogers vis
ited the former's brother and sis
ter-in-law. Mr. and Mrs. Charlie
Rogers, in Asheville Sunday.
Mrs. Reeves Ferguson and daugh
ter, Nancy, left Tuesday to visit
friends and relatives in Ashland
as a head of household.
(Next: The new law on joint re
turns.)
The Younger
Set
By PEGGY REEVES
And SUZANNF. ("J^|
Hello! The Younger Set was
really thankful when this week
rolled around! Mid-term exams
are over. All that's left is a final
exam at the end of the year. Our
polio campaign is nearing com
pletion. but as of vet we do not
know the results. Monday in as
sembly, we saw a short movie on
the accomplishments of the March
of Dimes, with Helen Hayes as
narrator. It was very inspirational
; and we're sure this picture will
1 boost the march.
Speaking of movies, the Key
Club sponsored a full length
movie "Guadalcanal Diary," Tues
day morning. Practically the en
tire student body turned out for
the movie, and those who didn't
see it certainly missed a wonder
ful show! Thank you. Key Club!
The Key Club is also beginning
j plans for the annual Junior-Senior
j Prom to be held February 12.
j Plaas are incomplete right now.
but from what we've heard we can
| expect a wonderful prom.
Monday, the Senior Class was
increased by one. She is Bates
Ray, who hails from Woodfin High
School. She is now living at Lake
Junaluska. The Senior Class is
glad to ?>3ve you, Bates! Hope you
like WTHS as well as we do.
and Newport News, Va.
| A. J. Brown has returned to his
studies in the 6th grade after be
i ing absent several days on account
j of sickness.
'
I On the sick list in this commun
I ity are Joe Kirkpatriek. Mr. and
Mrs. Charles B. McCracken, Mrs.
M. M. Kirkpatriek, and Mrs. R. F.
Brow n.
A number of people here have
purchased new TV sets recently:
Zeb Clark, Frank Green, M. C.
Green, Floyd Fisher, Wayne Moore,
and Joe Clark.
Furman Noland has a new jeep.
| Wayne Ferguson a new car.
Vernon Ferguson and Robert
Price left this week for Detroit.
The Bethel
victorv
Mountainey-i? ?
>n H
featetl
etui H
will he
Bre\
Without all the
etc., everyone in< i^H
town for they jn
thing to do. (That K orH
ends. The teacher, ,.fl
during the week' \\.I
merchants and t>>wn,|'^H
member the Your r .^H
pushing for that Y<>utr^M
Maybe our great-erandct^H
enjoy it!
Congratulation (
ell and Barbara Ihui.
ing Mr. and Mis Jan ioc
Anne McC'racken am ? i
hart on their marriage jfl
Charles and Ann are qH
the senior (las t
High.
CARROLL MEDFORlTB
IS PROMOTED \ff
Carroll V. Mrdtnrd
and Mrs. Guy Medford ?
Canton, recently was pnH
private first class while fl
the 123d TransportatiosH
Service Company at fI
Va*.
Private Medford atter.c<H
High School before entetH
Army approximately oneB
He has been at 1 ?u t
May 1954.
^^^MfePreserve^
Small, oand or. -j
ha rife may In? k??p* at
1!lOhi ttiii|??*iatui?-: Uji '
I
YOU
ABE SELLING A PARADE!
Different Buyers Every Day!
#
People marry every day, a new household begins . ? ?
babies come along, children start to school ... a con
tinual parade of events ... of needs to be filled.
Look to the merchants of this community to fill the needs
of the thousands of fine families . . . courteously . . .
fairly . . . and economically . . . for some of the most
prominent leaders of North Caroline, business life are in
the field of retailing . . . managing department stores . . .
operating merchants associations . . . playing outstanding
roles in the day-to-day life of the communities in which
they live.
To these merchants . . . most of whom are our members
... we would advise, ADVERTISE continually. REMEM
BER . . . there is a DAILY MARKET for every business
firm with either merchandise or services to offer! Tell the
young . . . the old . . . those in the passing parade . . .
how you can SERVE them. Help them through the NEWS
PAPER and . . .
Sell Them While They're In The Mood!
The North Carolina
iill MERCHANTS ASSOCIATION
JcSx ^ r&jj INCORPORATED
812 Raleigh Building Raleigh
i
I WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA
TOBACCO TOPS THE MARKED
k
The Hurley Tobacco Market in Western North
Carolina, which closed recently, broke all records for
values. This was in a year when the markets gener
ally in other sections of the country were smaller.
The crop in the Mountain region was both larger
and higher quality.
r
Our farmers were particularly fortunate in having
favorable weather conditions, and sufficient moist
ure. Three things are necessary to produce high
quality Tobacco; good weather, good farming prac
tices and good Fertilizer.
In the production of this bumper crop, more BLUE
RIDGE BRANDS of Tobacco Fertilizers were used
by the farmers in this section than ever before.
Many of these users have reported the biggest
f ?' ' ? ? ' - -... . ' ? ?
I [> ?' ??? _? " ? ??? -
yields and best quality they have ever made, a
the highest dollar returns.
When planning your program for next year. *i
?
restricted acreage, it is more important than <'
1
to get the highest return per acre that is possib!
BLUE RIDGE Tobacco Plant Food is formula!
particularly for the Mountain Soils of this sect
They are produced at somewhat higher costs tni
sure the best quality leaf, with a lower chlorine f
tent and more of some of the added elements tfe
is found in many other tobacco fertilizer brands
Ask your Dealer for BLUE RIDGE Toba?
Brands this year, and give your crop the best. f
it off right by using BLUE RIDGE Tobacco
Bed fertilizer on your beds.
SMOKY MOUNTAINS \
FERTILIZER COMPANY
%
BLUE RIDGE BRANDS
P. O. Itox 670 WAYNESVI I.I.E. N. C. Phone (il.endnle 6 "
The Home Industry That Specializes in YOUR Needs.
?
Our Management Combines 100 Years Experience In Manufacturing
\ PLANT FOODS