Are reimbursements from company taxable,and do I need to deduct them?
"I'm assuming that you're in the US.  In that case, the answer is that it depends on how your company set up its reimbursement plan.  The IRS recognizes ""accountable"" and ""nonaccountable"" plans.  Accountable plans have to meet certain requirements.  Anything else is nonaccountable.  If you are reimbursed according to an accountable plan, this is not income and should not be reported to the IRS at all.  If you are reimbursed under a nonaccountable plan, then this is income but you might be able to get a deduction on your tax return if you itemize. Most established companies have accountable plans for normal business expenses. More detail from IRS: http://www.tax.gov/TaxabilityCertainFringeBenefits/pdf/Accountable_v_Nonaccountable_Plans_Methods_of_Reimbursing_Employees_for_Expense.pdf"
I know in the instance that if my MAGI exceeds a certain point, I can   not contribute the maximum to the Roth IRA; a traditional IRA and   subsequent backdoor is the way to go. My understanding is that if you ever want to do a backdoor Roth, you don't want deductible funds in a Traditional account, because you can't choose to convert only the taxable funds. From the bogleheads wiki: If you have any other (non-Roth) IRAs, the taxable portion of any   conversion you make is prorated over all your IRAs; you cannot convert   just the non-deductible amount. In order to benefit from the   backdoor, you must either convert your other IRAs as well (which may   not be a good idea, as you are usually in a high tax bracket if you   need to use the backdoor), or else transfer your deductible IRA   contributions to an employer plan such as a 401(k) (which may cost you   if the 401(k) has poor investment options). "First, let's look at the tax brackets for single taxpayers in 2016: The cutoff between the 25% and 28% tax bracket is $91,150.  You said that your gross is $87,780.  This will be reduced by deductions and exemptions (at least $10,350).  Your rental income will increase your income, but it is offset in part by your rental business expenses. For this year, you will almost certainly be in the 25% bracket, whether or not you receive your backpay this year.  Next year, if you receive your backpay then and your salary is $11k higher, I'm guessing you'll be close to the edge. It is important to remember that the tax brackets are marginal.  This means that when you move up to the next tax bracket, it is only the amount of income that puts you over the top that is taxed at the higher rate.  (You can see this in the chart above.)  So if, for example, your taxable income ends up being $91,160, you'll be in the 28% tax bracket, but only $10 of your income will be taxed at 28%.  The rest will be taxed at 25% or lower.  As a result, this probably isn't worth worrying about too much. A bit more explanation, requested by the OP: Here is how to understand the numbers in the tax bracket chart.  Let's take a look at the second line, $9,276-$37,650.  The tax rate is explained as ""$927.50 plus 15% of the amount over $9,275.""  The first $9,275 of your taxable income is taxed at a 10% rate.  So if your total taxable income falls between $9,276 and $37,650, the first $9,275 is taxed at 10% (a tax of $927.50) and the amount over $9,275 is taxed at 15%.  On each line of the chart, the amount of tax from all the previous brackets is carried down, so you don't have to calculate it. When I said that you have at least $10,350 in deductions and exemptions, I got that number from the standard deduction and the personal exemption amount.  For 2016, the standard deduction for single taxpayers is $6,300.  (If you itemize your deductions, you might be able to deduct more.)  Personal exemptions for 2016 are at $4,050 per person.  That means you get to reduce your taxable income by $4,050 for each person in your household.  Since you are single with no dependents, your standard deduction plus the personal exemption for yourself will result in a reduction of at least $10,350 on your taxable income." If my salary slip says that I will be paying x INR tax this financial year. Then how much minimum investment I need to do to avoid any tax? This rebate is not directly linked to investments. If your total Gross is less than Rs 5 lacs, from the total tax computed, you can claim a rebate of upto Rs 5000. Does salary slip considers this rebate amount? This depends on the company policy. Companies may already factor in the rebate and deduct less tax. However it is important to claim this when you file the Returns, else it would show up as excess tax. There is no provision in the company form 16 to show this. Further if your taxable income becomes more than Rs 5 lacs, due to say other income, you will not be eligible for this rebate and have to pay tax. Do I have to explicitly specify this claim under 87A in my ITR? Yes you have to. If you company has already factored this while deducting tax you will not get any refunds. If the company has not factored this, you will have to claim refund. If above is true, and x is not calculated by considering this rebate amount, As indicated, this is not directly linked to investments. Will this increment of tax rebate from 2000INR to 5000INR will be applicable immediately  This is applicable for financial year 2016-2017 for which you would be filing returns in 2017. Edit: If you say Gross salary is say Rs 6 lacs. If you invest 1.5 lacs in 80C. Your Net taxable income is Rs 4.5 lacs. The tax on 4.5 lacs Normal individual less than 60 years will be 10% of 2 lacs. i.e. Rs 20,000. You can then claim Rs 5000 as deduction under 87A and pay only Rs 15,000 [20000-15000]. If your Gross salary is say Rs 2.8 lacs. You don't do any investments, your Net taxable income is Rs 2.8 lacs. The tax would be Rs 3000. You can claim rebate under 87A and not pay any tax. They are wrong.  If they offer an FSA, they must abide by the rules regarding FSA eligible expenses, plain and simple. They can offer a lower limit than the general maximum ($5K/yr?) and they can allow a grace period on expenses, or not. But, they must allow reimbursements for reimbursable items. Medical Insurance premiums are included. See this comprehensive list.  On the IRS web site, Pub 969 discusses FSAs at a higher level and indicates that Publication 502 has the detailed list of reimbursable expenses. Medical insurance is listed. I offer this chain so one can find the data directly from the IRS and not claim that Wikipedia might not be accurate.  At this point you need to decide how far you want to go with your benefits department on this. Do they offer a copy of what they claim is the accepted list of reimbursables? "Reimbursements for business expenses are generally not taxable, but the commute from home to the job and back is not considered business travel and if they're paying for that it is taxable income. I don't think carpooling changes that, but I am not a tax lawyer or accountant. The rest of your questions seem to be company policy issues. There is no ""should"" here. You aren't required to pick up the other guys, but he isn't required to reimburse those miles (or employ you) so think carefully about your priorities before pushing back. Never invoke what thou canst not banish." "No, your business cannot deduct your non-business expenses.  You can only deduct from your business income those reasonable expenses you paid in order to earn income for the business. Moreover, for there to be a tax benefit, your business generally has to have income (but I expect there are exceptions; HST input tax credits come to mind.) The employment income from your full-time job wouldn't count as business income for your corporation. The corporation has nothing to do with that income – it's earned personally, by you. With respect to restaurant bills: These fall under a category known as ""meals & entertainment"".  Even if the expense can be considered reasonable and business-related (e.g. meeting customers or vendors) the Canada Revenue Agency decided that a business can only deduct half of those kinds of expenses for tax purposes. With respect to gasoline bills: You would need to keep a mileage and expense log. Only the portion of your automobile expenses that relate to the business can be deducted.  Driving to and from your full-time job doesn't count. Of course, I'm not a tax professional.  If you're going to have a corporation or side-business, you ought to consult with a tax professional. (A point on terminology: A business doesn't write off eligible business expenses — it deducts them from business income.  Write off is an accounting term meaning to reduce the value of an asset to zero. e.g. If you damaged your car beyond repair, one could say ""the car is a write-off."")" You can only deduct (with the 2% AGI threshold) expenses that: You've actually incurred. I.e.: you actually paid for equipment or services provided and can show receipts for the payment. At the request of the employer. I.e.: you didn't just decide on your own to buy a new book or take a class, your employer told you to. With business necessity. I.e.: it was in order for you to do your job. And you were not reimbursed by your employer. I.e.: you went somewhere and spent your after tax money on something employer explicitly told you to pay for, and you didn't get reimbursed for that. From your story - these conditions don't hold for you. As I said in the comments - I strongly suggest you talk to a lawyer. Your story just doesn't make any sense, and I suspect your employer is doing something very fishy here. Don't overthink it. As an employee, whether of your own corporation or of someone else, you get a salary and there are deductions taken out. As the owner of a business you get (hopefully) business profits as well. And, in general, you often have other sources of income from investments, etc. Your estimated tax payments are based on the difference between what was withheld from your salary and what you will owe, based on salary, business income, and other sources. So, in essence, you just add up all the income you expect, estimate what the tax bill will be, and subtract what's been withheld. That's your estimated tax payment.