I'm a stone cold rookie, gonna work the texas oil fields

I don't think it was you who were retarded, I think it was the people you were talking to with the deficiency. Here's one you might like. H&R Block will save you time, 5 to 10 years! Seriously though, you should make sure your accountant knows the times you were a resident and a non-resident worker in each state, it matters as to which forms they file and can make a big difference on your return.

I understand about those question marks hanging over your head. I have a ton of them too getting into this business. You have answered a lot of my questions with you posts and I appreciate it. If you have any financial questions, I would be glad to help you with them. At least that is something I already know. God bless

 

I applied at Haliburton, the job I applyed for works two weeks with two weeks off, they fly you from Denver back and forth to ND,and put you up in a company housing while you are there. This way I get to spend 2 weeks at home and still pick up some small construction jobs.

I also am talking to JBS in Greeley CO. to drive otr we will see who calls first.

 

I've done the same thing. Now I either nap in the passenger seat or a spin around and kick my feet up on the passenger seat. I decided it probably wasn't a good idea to get use to sleeping in the driving position.

Great thread! thanks for sharing.

 

Great questions. I get those a lot. I will try to break it down, but in the long run, a good CPA is the only way to go.

1. I think you hit the nail on the head. OT is going to mess with your taxes tremendously, but if you work the same amount of OT or close to every week, it will be cake. The good thing is, you can adjust your W4 throughout the year. If it were I, I would just keep claiming one for now and wait till the end of February to file my taxes (I know, you are probably itching to go on January 1 to get that CA money back lol). That way, you will have 4 checks from the new year to work with, and when your CPA does your taxes, he or she can look over your 2012 pay stubs and tell you if you need to increase or decrease your withholding. They may make it seem complicated, but it is really simple. Let's take your example, you plan to make 75k. That would be $2885 every two weeks, and if you want to break even you would want $477.12 withheld. That is assuming you are single, won't be itemizing and the Bush cuts stay where they are. I like to look at it quarterly, you need about $3101.25 taken out quarterly. Have your CPA check it if your income goes up or down and adjust your W4 accordingly and you'll be rollin'.

2. I apologize for my deficiency in explaining this, because no one ever seems to get me on this. Basically, you can can never get "bumped" into the next tax bracket. Income up to $85,650 (2012) will be taxed at 25% and then each dollar OVER that will be taxed at 28%. So, if you go over $85,650, all of your income WON'T be taxed 28%, just the amount over $85,650. It's a little more complicated than that with deductions, exemptions, and graduated taxes but your CPA can handle that. There really is only one thing you need to think about when you get into those kind of earnings. Are you willing to put in another hour of work for 3% less pay per hour? If it were me, I'd be ballin', but that's just me.

I can get into some more complicated strategies to save you a ton of money later on, but I hope this gets you started. God Bless

 

Just ask yourself WWDRD?? What would Dave Ramsey do??

 

Great discussion of pay and taxes paul! You should definitely find a good accountant and stick with him for the long haul it may seem like more money up front but the tax savings and no worries about the irs are worth it.
I just got my classes finished and am going to the dmv today to get my cdl (with tankers ,hazmat!) and ive been on the fence as to whether to go to texas or north dakota. If i can go to texas and make that kind of money then id rather not have icicles hanging off my ears lol!
Just a question if you were starting out like me would you still go with nabors? is there another company you think i should check out? Ive done a lot of research but theres nothing like boots on the ground for the real skinny on the situation.