Tax Tips & News: Tax Tips (11)

7 Tax Tips: Standard Deduction Vs. Itemized Deduction

4 minutes read

The answer to the question is clear: “whatever gets me back a bigger refund”. But how do you know when it is beneficial to itemize your deductions over taking the standard deduction? Each year, thousands of taxpayers miss out of millions of dollars in additional refunds because they make a mistake in this area–usually because they choose the standard deduction over itemizing. The two major reasons for making this mistake is 1) they are used to filing...

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4 Tax Tips For Divorcing Couples

5 minutes read

Many couples in the midst of a divorce will likely be confused about how to file their tax return. Although many splits are sadly not amicable, this is an important time to put aside your differences, sit down with your current or former spouse and cooperate…Just as with every divorce, all tax returns are unique and you should consider consulting with a tax accountant.

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4 Tips: Unemployment Benefits

3 minutes read

Unemployment can be stressful enough without having to figure out the tax treatment of the unemployment benefits you receive. Unemployment compensation generally includes, among other forms, state unemployment compensation benefits, but the tax implications depend on the type of program paying the benefits. You must report unemployment compensation on line 19 of Form 1040, line 13 of Form 1040A, or line 3 of Form 1040EZ.  

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10 Tips: Capital Gains & Losses

3 minutes read

Did you know that almost everything you own and use for personal or investment purposes is a capital asset? Capital assets include a home, household furnishings and stocks and bonds held in a personal account. When you sell a capital asset, the difference between the amount you paid for the asset and its sales price is a capital gain or capital loss.

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10 New 2011 Tax Laws

10 minutes read

The good news for taxpayers working on their 2011 tax returns is there aren’t many major surprises this filing season.

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When Is Income Non-Taxable?

3 minutes read

Although most income you receive is taxable and must be reported on your federal income tax return, there are some instances when income may not be taxable.

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Options For Dealing With A Tax Lien

4 minutes read

If you have a tax liability with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), you should be aware of what a tax lien is.  A tax lien is a tool used by the IRS to enforce collection of an unpaid tax liability.  It allows the IRS to take your assets—your checking account balance, your cars, even your wages—in order to satisfy the money you owe to them.

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Tips For Taxpayers Who’ve Changed Their Names

3 minutes read

The IRS recently released a list of 5 tax tips for taxpayers who have recently married or divorced, and are planning on filing their taxes with a different last name than in years past. If you fall into this category, it is important to ensure that the name on your tax return matches the name registered with the Social Security Administration. A mismatch between the name shown on your tax return and the SSA records can cause problems in the processing of your return and may even delay your...

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The True Cost of Do-It-Yourself Taxes

4 minutes read

Fellow tax professional Dave Ramsey recently preformed a survey of 2000 taxpayers; about half of who prepared their own returns, and the other half who had them prepared professionally. This is what he found:

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Lessons Learned From Mitt Romney’s Tax Return

8 minutes read

Republican candidate Mitt Romney recently bowed to pressure last week and released his 2010 tax return.  What it showed is that Romney paid a little less than $3 million in taxes on $21.6 million of income.  This equates to an affective tax rate of less than 14%–far below what the average taxpayer pays.

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