Senate Bill No. 681
(By Senator Sprouse)
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[Introduced March 26, 2001; referred to the Committee on
Finance.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact section fifty-five, article twenty-one,
chapter eleven of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine
hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to exempting citizens
seventy years of age or older from paying quarterly estimated
income tax.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section fifty-five, article twenty-one, chapter eleven of
the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as
amended, be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 21. PERSONAL INCOME TAX.
§11-21-55. Declaration of estimated tax.
(a) Requirement of declaration.
-- Every resident and
nonresident individual, except a resident seventy years of age or older, shall make a declaration of his or her estimated tax for the
taxable year, containing such information as the tax commissioner
may prescribe by regulations or instructions, if his or her West
Virginia adjusted gross income, other than from wages on which tax
is withheld under this article, can reasonably be expected to
exceed four hundred dollars plus the sum of the West Virginia
personal exemptions to which he or she is entitled.
(b) Definition of estimated tax.
-- The term "estimated tax"
means the amount which an individual estimates to be his or her
income tax under this article for the taxable year, less the amount
which he estimates estimated to be to be the sum of any credits
allowable against the tax.
(c) Joint declaration of husband and wife.
-- A husband and
wife may make a joint declaration of estimated tax as if they were
one taxpayer, in which case the liability with respect to the
estimated tax shall be joint and several. No joint declaration may
be made if husband and wife are separated under a decree of divorce
or of separate maintenance, or if they have different taxable
years. If a joint declaration is made but husband and wife elect
to determine their taxes under this article separately, the
estimated tax for
such the
year may be treated as the estimated tax of either husband or wife, or may be divided between them, as they
may elect.
(d) Time for filing declaration.
-- A declaration of estimated
tax of an individual other than a farmer shall be filed on or
before the fifteenth day of April of the taxable year, except that
if the requirements of subsection (a) are first met:
(1) After the first day of April and before the second day of
June of the taxable year, the declaration shall be filed on or
before the fifteenth day of June, or
(2) After the first day of June and before the second day of
September of the taxable year, the declaration shall be filed on or
before the fifteenth day of September, or
(3) After the first day of September of the taxable year, the
declaration shall be filed on or before the fifteenth day of
January of the succeeding year.
(e) Declaration of estimated tax by a farmer.
-- A declaration
of estimated tax of an individual having an estimated West Virginia
adjusted gross income from farming for the taxable year which is at
least two thirds of his or her total estimated West Virginia
adjusted gross income for the taxable year may be filed at any time
on or before the fifteenth day of January of the succeeding year, in lieu of the time otherwise prescribed.
(f) Declaration of estimated tax of forty dollars or less.
--
A declaration of estimated tax of an individual having a total
estimated tax for the taxable year of forty dollars or less may be
filed at any time on or before the fifteenth day of January of the
succeeding year under regulations of the tax commissioner.
(g) Amendments of declaration.
-- An individual may amend a
declaration under regulations of the tax commissioner.
(h) Return as declaration or amendment.
-- If on or before the
fifteenth day of February of the succeeding taxable year an
individual other than a farmer files his or her return for the
taxable year for which the declaration is required, and pays
therewith the full amount of the tax shown to be due on the return:
(1)
Such The
return shall be considered as his or her
declaration, if no declaration was required to be filed during the
taxable year, but is otherwise required to be filed on or before
the fifteenth day of January.
(2) Such The return, if filed on or before the fifteenth day
of January, shall be considered an amendment permitted by
subsection (g) if the tax shown on the return is greater than the
estimated tax shown in a declaration previously made.
(i) Fiscal year.
-- This section shall apply to a taxable year
other than a calendar year by the substitution of the months of
such the fiscal year for the corresponding months specified in this
section.
(j) Short taxable year.
-- An individual having a taxable year
of less than twelve months shall make a declaration in accordance
with regulations of the tax commissioner.
(k) Declaration for individual under a disability.
-- The
declaration of estimated tax for an individual who is unable to
make a declaration by reason of minority or other disability shall
be made and filed by his or her guardian, committee, fiduciary or
other person charged with the care of his or her person or property
(other than a receiver in possession of only a part of his or her
property), or by his or her duly authorized agent.
(1) Return of farmer as declaration of estimated tax.
-- If on
or before the first day of March of the succeeding taxable year an
individual who is a farmer files his or her return for the taxable
year for which the declaration is required, and pays therewith the
full amount of the tax shown to be due on the return, such the
return shall be considered as his or her declaration, if no
declaration was required to be filed during the taxable year, but is otherwise required to be filed on or before the fifteenth day of
January, for a taxable year ending after the thirty-first day of
December, one thousand nine hundred eighty-nine.
NOTE:
The purpose of this bill is to
exempt citizens seventy
years of age or older from paying quarterly estimated income taxes.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.