Help! Need tax advice…on deductions and withholdings.?

I’m doing my boyfriends taxes on turbotax.com, his employer does not withhold any federal tax for some reason, and it is estimating that he has to pay 0! Is there a benefit for the employer to not deduct taxes? This seems unfair, he only makes 12,000 and has to pay? Are there any credits or deductions that I might not know about, so that he doesn’t have to pay so much?
Also: I hear there is a way to pay your taxes in increments…does anyone know how I would do this?

What are the calculations to show the tax benefit of mortage interest deductions for a rental-property buyer?

I understand that if the owner lives in a four family house, 25% of the interest is shown as a deduction on Schedule A and 75% is shown as an expense on Schedule E.

However, exactly how does this benefit the owner? Lets assume the owner paid 0 over the course of the year in taxes and paid 0 in mortgage insurance.

Thanks!!

What are the calculations to show the tax benefit of mortage interest deductions for a rental-property buyer?

I understand that if the owner lives in a four family house, 25% of the interest is shown as a deduction on Schedule A and 75% is shown as an expense on Schedule E.

However, exactly how does this benefit the owner? Lets assume the owner paid 0 over the course of the year in taxes and paid 0 in mortgage insurance.

Thanks!!

Should Income Tax deductions be pro-rated?

Inspired by a previous question as to why the magical number 18 is the dividing line between being an adult or child, when in reality we tend to mature much later (in many cases).

When you file your Income Taxes, you will notice at least two things that seem illogical and unfair.

A baby born on Jan. 1 doesn’t get the full year deduction for it’s parents as does the same baby born on Dec. 31.

Same holds true for people who get married. They can’t get the advantage of "Married filing Jointly".

If you were in Congress, would you propose a law that makes these Income Tax advantages pro-rated on a monthly basis, so that a child would get a twelfth of the benefit for each month.

This may sound ridiculous to you, but serious money is lost on a child who has the disadvantage of being born just after midnight on Jan. 1. Roughly several hundred dollars of benefit is at stake, maybe more depending on the tax bracket.

Maybe folks would want to induce labor sooner over this?
Yes, I know the difference between exemption and deduction, and yes, it does get complicated, but no, no increase in taxes (read my lips).
I messed up this question, and it was ill timed (it’s after tax filing season).

Child born Jan. 1 had no benefit for the parents tax return of the previous year.

Child born Dec. 31 gets full year benefit on parent’s taxes.

Charity and tax deductions – does it defeat the purpose of charity?

When you make a charitable donation you are able to claim it on your taxes and you receive a deduction.

This would obviously be a benefit and urge some people to donate more, but to me I feel it defeats the purpose of "charity." I always thought of charity as a give something for nothing in return sort of deal… but maybe I am wrong?

Do you feel as though tax deductions for charity is defeating the purpose of the meaning and integrity of charity?

When your payroll check is done, are the taxes calculated on total earnings – even with pre-tax deductions?

I have pre-tax medical and retirement taken out but when I calculate out how much of my total gross I take home, the percentages indicate the taxes are being calculated on total earnings, not the total after pre-tax deductions. I thought that was the benefit of pre-tax deductions – you didn’t get taxed on it. If anyone knows of the legal writings for payroll practices, I would like to know, thanks.