Personal Taxes

No. Any termite or moth damage costs are not considered casualty losses. Generally, casualty losses occur from auto accidents, earthquakes, fires, floods, hurricanes, sonic booms, storms, thefts, tornadoes, vandalism, volcanic eruptions and other accidents.

If you itemized your deductions in the prior year and received a state tax refund in the current year (reported on a 1099-G slip), you may have to include all or part of the refund as income on your current year's tax return.
If you did not itemize your deductions in the prior year, you will not have to pick up as income the 1099-G refund amount.

If you use a dwelling as a home and rent it out for fewer than 15 days during the year, you should not include the rental income or deduct the rental expenses on your tax return. You may deduct the residence's mortgage interest and real estate taxes as a itemized deduction on IRS Schedule A.

Costs incurred while entertaining customers, prospective customers, clients, suppliers, employees and other business associates are valid business expenses that are subject to conditions and restrictions. For entertainment costs to be deductible, the following must be documented: the time, place and the nature of the entertainment, a description of the business purpose involved, the amount of each separate expense, the business relationship and identification of the persons entertained. A calender diary is recommended to maintain this information.

On Form W-2, box 15 will have an X in the box "retirement plan". You are an active participant in a retirement plan if contributions are made or allocated to your account for the plan year that ends within your tax year.

A retirement plan that covers self-employed persons (sole proprietors or partners)is referred to as a Keogh or H.R. 10 plan. With partnerships, the Keogh must be set up by the partnership, not the partner. Employees who are at least 21 and have at least one year of service must be allowed to participate. Employer contributions are tax deductible subject to certain income limitations. Employees may be permitted to make nondeductible voluntary contributions. There are two types of Keogh plans. Different rules apply to both types of the plan. A Keogh plan can be set up as a defined benefit plan or a defined contribution plan which includes 3 types: a Money Purchase plan, Profit Sharing and a Combination of the two.

AMT stands for Alternative Minimum Tax. The Alternative Minimum Tax was developed in 1969 to make sure that wealthy taxpayers didn't escape paying income taxes. The tax was meant to target high-income taxpayers who may have many deductions and can sometimes avoid paying any income taxes at all.
To make sure that all taxpayers with substantial income are not able to avoid paying tax, the law limits the benefit a taxpayer can receive from favorable treatment of certain deductions and preferences.
The Alternative Minimum tax is computed on IRS Form 6251.
If the Alternative Minimum tax calculation results in a higher tax then the Regular income tax, then the difference is added to the Regular tax computation.

The jury duty pay you receive is taxable and reportable on IRS Form 1040, line 21 as other income.
Any pay you gave to your employer during your jury duty period is deductible from Adjusted Gross Income on IRS Form 1040, line 21.

Your tax bracket is dependent on your filing status and your Taxable Income. Taxable Income is equal to your Gross Income, minus your itemized or standard deductions, minus your exemption amounts.
The tax bracket reflects the highest range of taxable income that your taxable income falls into and is taxed at that bracket rate. It does not mean that your "total" taxable income is taxed at that (10%, 15%, 25%, 28%, 33%, 35%,) bracket rate.
Therefore your tax liability on your taxable income is a graduated calculation.
The bottom layer of income is taxed at the 10% rate and the next layer is taxed at the 15% rate and the next layer is taxed at the 28% rate and the next layer is taxed at the 33% rate and the last layer is taxed at the 35% rate. This yields an "effective" blended rate at which your total income liability is calculated.
The current year consisits of 6 tax brackets and 6 tax rates. Income tax rates for individuals for the current year are 10%, 15%, 25%, 28%, 33%, and 35%.
The higher bracket and rates start at $8,701, $35,351, $85,651, $177,651, and $388,351 for a single person;
$17,401, $70,700, $142,701, $217,451 and $388,351 for married filing jointly and Qualifying Widower; $12,401, $47,351, $122,301, $198,0501 and $388,351
for head of household: $8,701, $35,351, $71,351, $108,726, and $194,175 for married filing separately.