Getting married changes your tax status. Being aware of a few key things can help you avoid trouble come tax time. If you and your partner were married anytime in 2016, the IRS considers you to be married for the full year, so you both should adjust your tax withholding with your employers. A two-earner couple may end up in a … Read More
The Holy Grail of Tax Deductions
Here are three deductions which could be considered “the holy grail” of deductions. That is, they can greatly reduce your adjusted gross income. 1. Contributing to a traditional IRA One of the best ways to reward yourself now — and later — is by contributing to a traditional IRA. A traditional IRA has a maximum annual contribution limit in 2016 … Read More
Is Filing a Tax Extension Right for You?
The tax deadline is just around the corner. Maybe you’re overwhelmed at work or you misplaced the W-2 that your employer sent you weeks ago. Whatever the reason, it looks like you might not make the looming April 18 due date and filing a tax extension may be the right thing for you. It’s alright! The good news is that … Read More
10 Crazy Tax Facts for Tax Day
Taxes have been levied on people since the beginning of civilization. Since Tax Day is almost upon us, we thought it would be fun to share some of the most interesting tax facts from the long and fascinating history of taxes: The number of words in Atlas Shrugged is 645,000. The Bible has around 700,000 words. The number of words in the … Read More
Tips for Education Tax Benefits
Income tax season is here. College students and their families should learn about available education tax benefits that can help lower their education costs. On average, families spend $24,000 a year on college. However, just over a third take advantage of federal tax credits and deductions to help make college more affordable. The benefits have changing rules and limitations, and … Read More
Military Members Tax Tips
Joining the military means changing your life. Frequent moves, new skills, and overseas deployments all come with the job description. Even taxes change for members of the Armed Forces. That’s why we’re providing military members tax tips. Over the years, the government has created a number of provisions and perks intended to make life for military members less hard on … Read More
5 Freelance Tax Tips
Self-employed workers may have difficulty filing their taxes every year. These workers need to pay taxes on their income in addition to whatever self-employment taxes they might have. However, there are many self-employed tax tips that can help them reduce their tax burdens. Whether workers are fully self-employed or doing freelance work, there are costs in working without a boss … Read More
The Future of the IRS
The IRS is developing a “Future State” plan that it says will transform the way the service interacts with taxpayers. Many parts of the plan may ease the processing of filing returns, the issuing of refunds, and the identification and resolution of problems. But the Tax Advocate Service – an independent part of the IRS that defends and assists taxpayers – warns … Read More
Unfiled Returns and Back Taxes? Read This.
We all know the annual ritual: once January rolls around, you gather your tax documents to file your tax returns by the deadline to avoid back taxes and unfiled returns. Sometimes (or maybe the whole time!) you need an extension. And maybe you don’t meet the extended deadline, and now your return is late and unfiled. The next tax season … Read More
6 Self-Employed Tax Tips
Early in a new year is often the time when would-be entrepreneurs think about going into business for themselves. Self-employment can be a terrific opportunity to be your own boss and do something you love to do. Being your own business also brings with it a special set of tax advantages as well as tax pitfalls that you need to … Read More