fed taxes- owe 1600 on 11k income?

[tommy1999]

Please advise me nice people if you think this filing makes sense!!

I did 1 music job for a CA company while I was living the whole year in europe in 2005.
I was paid $11,500 but had at least $3000 in expenses , mostly for a piano player there in Europe.
( I don't have a receipt for the expenses but could get one now if it would be any good).
The check was indeed put into my CA bank account in dec 2005.
I thought I didn't have to file since it was so little for the year living overseas with wife and child (yea, dumb)
but a little while back the IRS said I needed to late file for the income - evidently the company 1099'd me.
When I filled out the tax form with an accountant friend recently in TurboTax (who does this on the side for many friends)
it basically said I owed $1625!
This was a joint filing with 1 dependent (3 year old son) for a year we moved in dec back to CA from europe, etc...
Geeez, $1,600 owed for $11,500 (essentially less then 8,000 'actually earned') for the whole year?!
Can this be right???
Would it do any good to ask the IRS or include a letter in the filing to the IRS if this all makes sense or if I missed something in my filing?...

Thanks for any tips before I mail the form as is...
Tommy

[jIM_Ohio]

check with a tax attorney

[irmanator]

i would double check maybe you got a decimal in the wrong spot or checked something you shouldn't have. that is strange.

[noppenbd]

More information from the completed return would be helpful, but if you were a self-employed individual you would be required to pay 15% self-employment tax in addition to normal income tax. The SE tax is equivalent to Social Security withholdings for employed persons. This can add a hefty amt to your tax due.

-What was taxable income?
-What was tax due?
-Were there any penalties for filing late?

You should be able to review the return in Turbotax before you file to get these numbers.

[tommy1999]

thanks all! very generous.

Taxable income = 0 but 'self employment' tax in Schedule SE = the 1600 owed.
It was for 2005. the penalties and all were no major deal..

Well I understand the 1600 is the SS tax for self employment and all...
it's just I'm shocked it's still so much for a family of 3 who only made 11,500 for the year and had a major move, etc!
(And actually I really only made 8k on this gig with the piano player expenses...
If only I could find a way to write off the 3k in expenses... we couldn't figure out how for a foreigner that I didn't 1099.. and in the end my client did give me a check for 11,500 etc...) I guess it's the way things are for self employed folk... but still insane after all the living expenses etc for a family of 3!
Tom

[maat55]

SS is automatic, the best you can hope for is to have enough deductions to eliminate regular income tax and recieve EIC to offset the SS. But, we all have to pay something.

[tommy1999]

hey matt55
coul.. I don't mind paying somethin if I had some...or IF it was used for good or poor people rather then the usual waste.

annnyways.. one last question before I bite the bullet and send it in as is...
what is EIC?
Thanks!
Tommy

[cooliemae]

EIC = Earned Income Credit which is a refundable tax credit.

I would google it for more information, but in '07 for someone with three children the credit could be worth almost $5,000.