By: Kerry Freeman EA Tax Planning Views: 3838 | Comments: 0 | Votes: 0
How protected is your personal tax information? It is tax season and you have all your records tied up in files and boxes and you drag them to you tax preparer. But what does that person due to keep your personal information safe? Identity theft is at record levels across the nation. Not all tax preparers are equal and some are down right crooks. Mr. Mr. More
By: Kerry Freeman EA Tax Planning Views: 3811 | Comments: 0 | Votes: 0
Remember those economic-stimulus checks the government was handing out this year? Many taxpayers didn't qualify for the full amount -- or for any payment at all -- because their 2007 income exceeded a certain threshold. But many people who lost their jobs this year, or whose incomes fell for some other reason, will get a second chance next year, thanks to a little-noticed tax-law twist. More
By: File Your Taxes Online Tax Planning Views: 3764 | Comments: 0 | Votes: 0
San Diegans who have lost their homes through foreclosure or short-sales thought they had emerged from the dark times and could start rebuilding their lives. Then the state tax man came calling. With less than six weeks before taxes are due, an estimated 16,000 former homeowners statewide will owe $15 million in extra income taxes this year and $29 million through 2012. H.D. 1, 2009. More
By: Kenneth R. Harney Tax Planning Views: 3320 | Comments: 1 | Votes: 1
WASHINGTON — The IRS has an urgent message for would-be home purchasers: Make the most of the $8,000 first-time buyer tax credit before it disappears Dec. 1 — if you qualify. But if you don’t truly qualify, don’t try to play games with the credit. The IRS already has 24 criminal investigations of suspected fraud under way around the country. The answer from the IRS: We are. 5. More
By: Richard Close Tax Planning Views: 3301 | Comments: 0 | Votes: 0
The IRS has sent you a letter telling you that you owe them money. However you’re convinced that you can handle the IRS on your own. And why not, you’re smarter than the IRS…right? The IRS is a labyrinthine bureaucracy that is diff More
By: Frugal World Tax Planning Views: 3176 | Comments: 0 | Votes: 0
New figures reveal that RALs drained about $960 million in loan fees, plus over $100 million in other fees, from the wallets of nearly 9.6 million American taxpayers in 2005.“Taxpayers can save themselves over a billion dollars by just saying ‘no’ to quick tax refund loans,” says NCLC staff attorney Chi Chi Wu. For that year alone, about 1 in 13 tax returns involved a RAL. More
By: Robert W. Ditmer Tax Planning Views: 3144 | Comments: 0 | Votes: 0
In the case of some fringe benefits that are offered to or given to employees, certain benefits can be excluded from an employee’s income because the expenses would normally be deductible on an individual’s personal income tax return. A moving or relocation expense is one such benefit. What moving expenses are deductible? How should moving expenses be reported? More
By: Daniel Stoica Tax Planning Views: 3139 | Comments: 0 | Votes: 0
IRS has launched an Issue Management Team focused on improving U.S. income reporting and tax payment compliance by foreign athletes and entertainers who work in the United States. The initial focus is on those engaged in tennis, golf and music. These individuals and those associated with arranging their appearances in the U.S. They are required to file a U.S. More
By: Lew Sichelman Tax Planning Views: 2992 | Comments: 0 | Votes: 0
Taxpayers are due a onetime federal excise tax refund credit of $30 to $60 – or possibly even more – on their 2006 federal returns, according to the Internal Revenue Service. The refund is intended to compensate people who have been charged an excise tax on their phone bills. But when they went to flat-fee phone services, they continued to levy the tax. More
By: Robert W. Ditmer Tax Planning Views: 2975 | Comments: 1 | Votes: 0
In the case of some fringe benefits that are offered to or given to employees, certain benefits can be excluded from an employee's income because the expenses would normally be deductible on an individual's personal income tax return. A moving or relocation expense is one such benefit. What moving expenses are deductible? How should moving expenses be reported? Robert W. More
