Hello.
I know nothing about finances and I have a stupid tax question.
I am finally getting around to filling out my 2004 taxes. All of my income can be excluded, but I want to make sure I get the numbers right.
According to the IRS website I ought to be basing my taxes on income earned from the previous calendar year (Jan-Dec), not the previous fiscal year (Apr-Apr) [http://www.irs.gov/businesses/small/article/0,,id=98673,00.html].
If I had a job in the US this would all be taken care of for me as my W-2 would list income from the previous calendar year. However, I work in the UK so instead of receiving a W-2 I've recieved a blue form called an "End of Year Certificate". (Is this is a P60? It doesn't actually say P60 anywhere on it.) I've compared it with my payslips and this is listing my income for the past fiscal year.
So, when determining my income do I
a) use the "Pay For Tax Purposes" on my P60?
b) dig out my Jan 2004 and Dec 2004 payslips and subtract the "Pay To Date" numbers?
Cheers