Money & Banking
3guides
What you owe, when to file, and moving money across borders without losing a chunk of it.
Federal and state income tax — the basicsYou're taxed twice over: federal tax to the IRS, plus state tax almost everywhere (a handful of states charge none). Returns are normally due by 15 April for the year before.
Sending money home from the USBanks are rarely the cheapest way to send money abroad. The real cost is the exchange-rate margin, not the headline fee — and by law you're entitled to see the total before you send.
The W-4: the form that decides your paycheckOn day one of a new job you fill in a W-4, and it decides how much tax is withheld from every paycheck. Get it wrong and you either lend the IRS money all year or owe a lump sum in April.