Tax Updates and Help With Tax Questions
Important Tax Deduction Tips
Did you search for a new job in 2008? (Job search expenses can reduce your
taxes)
Did
you lose your job in 2008? (How a job loss might impact your taxes)
Did you get married
in 2008?
Did you get divorced
in 2008 or are you separated?
Did you have a child
in 2008?
Medical
deductions and medical expenses checklist
Charitable
donations and deductions
Other
miscellaneous deductions
Nondeductible
expenses
Additional tax deductions
February 21, 2009 - As part of the American Recovery
and Reinvestment Act of 2009, the new stimulus package signed by President Obama,
you could see a larger paycheck this spring.
See if you must file a tax return. Find a list of income types and amounts that
require you to file or efile a tax return.
Tax loopholes are not only for businesses or savvy tax attorneys. Read here about
ways to save your tax dollars--from charitable giving to deductions to income the
IRS can't tax.
Depending on the degree of economic hardship that they are suffering, a taxpayer
may be eligible for adjustment to payments on back taxes, deferral of collection
action, or leniency over the default status of payment agreements.
January 29, 2009 - IRS Commissioner Doug Shulman assured
taxpayers that the IRS would balance its responsibility to enforce the law with
the economic hardships that face American citizens in the 2009 tax season. He reassured
taxpayers that IRS staff has been given a degree of flexibility on a wide range
of issues to help taxpayers struggling to pay taxes.
Economic times are difficult. The IRS has implemented an expedited process that
will make it easier for financially distressed homeowners to avoid a federal tax
lien that would block the refinancing of mortgages or the sale of a home.
2008 was a tough year for many people. It is important to know the tax ramifications
of bankruptcy or insolvency.
The IRS reassured homeowners that although mortgage workouts and foreclosures can
have tax consequences, special relief provisions can often reduce or eliminate the
tax bite for financially strapped borrowers who lose their homes.
For taxpayers who find they owe additional tax, it also includes a form they can
use to request a payment agreement with the IRS. In some cases, eligible taxpayers
may qualify to settle their tax debt for less than the full amount due using an
offer-in-compromise.
Checks Without a Home
More than 279,000 economic stimulus checks (approximately $163 million) and 104,000
refund checks (approximately 103 million) have not found their home. Reason: They've
been returned to the IRS due to wrong mailing address.
Click here to update the mailing address for stimulus payment and tax refund payment
checks, or call 1-866-234-2942.
The federal standard tax deduction for taxpayers who do not itemize has been raised
for 2008.
The base amount for each filing status is listed below.
Exemptions reduce your taxable income for the year and are divided into two categories:
personal exemptions and exemptions for dependents. Each exemption is worth $3,500
for the 2008 tax year, but different rules apply to each type of deduction.
Mileage Reimbursement Rate Increases to 58.5 Cents Per Mile
The increased gas prices have a major impact on individuals who use their own personal
automobile for business use as well. The new standard business mileage reimbursement
rate for July 1, 2008 - December 31, 2008 is 58.5 cents. This rate is used to compute
deductible business related automobile costs. (This applies only if you are using
your automobile for both private and business use.)
Your filing status must be decided before you can calculate your correct tax, deduction,
and filing requirements. Your income tax filing status generally can be divided
between being unmarried and being married, which is determined by your status on
the last day of the tax year, December 31. There are five filing options however,
each with its own specific qualifications and consequences. 2/2009
The IRS and U.S. Treasury announced that they have released guidance on the estimated
tax penalty for citizens or residents of the United States living and working abroad.
The Tax Increase Prevention and Reconciliation Act of 2005, Pub. L. No. 109-222,
120 Stat. 345 (TIPRA), enacted in May 2006, changed the maximum amount of foreign
earned income and housing costs that may be excluded from gross income under section
911 of the Internal Revenue Code.
According to the IRS, the total number of audited individual tax returns increased
by 7 percent--from 1,293,681 in 2006 to 1,384,563 in 2007. That’s the highest
number since 1998. Good tax record keeping is important in case you get audited.
Don’t forget to print out (either as a hard copy or PDF file) your 2008 tax
return and keep a copy for your records. On efile.com, you can print your return
free of charge until December 2009. After that, we will close that operation in
order to prepare for the new tax season.
The U.S. Treasury Department began sending economic stimulus payments in April 2008.
Payments will continue to be issued by the IRS through 2008 for returns filed after
April 15. You should wait 8-12 weeks after filing your return before you check
on the status of your stimulus payment.
The Internal Revenue Service will simplify the signature process for electronically
filed individual income tax returns submitted by tax practitioners. The simplification
eliminates the need for a paper signature document to be sent to the IRS in support
of efiled tax returns.
Taxpayers can now request an Employer Identification Number (EIN) through a web-based
system that instantly processes requests and generates identification numbers in
real time, the Internal Revenue Service announced today.
"This new and improved online application will reduce the time it takes taxpayers
to get an EIN," said Richard Morgante, commissioner of the IRS Wage & Investment
Division. "Essentially they can get one while they wait -- within minutes."
Starting next year (2008), casinos and other sponsors of poker tournaments will
be required to report most winnings to winners and the Internal Revenue Service,
according to the IRS.
The new requirement, which goes into effect on March 4, 2008, was contained in guidance
released September 4 by the Treasury Department and the IRS. The guidance is designed
to clear up confusion about the tax reporting rules that apply to poker tournaments.
In recent years, some casinos and players have been confused over whether poker
tournament sponsors who hold the money for participants in a poker tournament are
required to report the winnings to the IRS and withhold tax on the winnings.
The IRS announced cost of living adjustments applicable to dollar limitations for
pension plans and other items for Tax Year 2008.
Section 415 of the Internal Revenue Code provides for dollar limitations on benefits
and contributions under qualified retirement plans. It also requires that the Commissioner
annually adjust these limits for cost of living increases.
The IRS alerted taxpayers to the latest versions of an email scam intended to fool
people into believing they are under investigation by the agency's Criminal Investigation
division.
The email purporting to be from IRS Criminal Investigation falsely states that the
person is under a criminal probe for submitting a false tax return to the California
Franchise Board. The email seeks to entice people to click on a link or open an
attachment to learn more information about the complaint against them. The IRS warned
people that the email link and attachment is a Trojan Horse that can take over the
person's computer hard drive and allow someone to have remote access to the computer.
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