Free Tax Help Is Still Available

6 April 2012

With the minutes ticking away until Tax Day, my inbox is rapidly filling up with questions about where to find free tax help. So first, an obligatory stern talking to in my mom voice: free is not always good and it’s not always better. Sometimes free is just free. That said, I understand that it [...]

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Do You Have What It Takes to Run the IRS?

6 April 2012

Do you have what it takes to run the IRS? You may be in luck. Doug Shulman, current Commissioner of the IRS, announced during a Q and A at the National Press Club that he would not continue to serve past his five year term which ends in November. While no IRS Commissioner has served [...]

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You Can’t Get a Tax Refund for Buying Groceries – And Other Helpful Advice

5 April 2012

I’ll be the first to admit that the Tax Code is filled with crazy acronyms – like FBAR, EITC and AGI – and convoluted titles (my current favorite is “IRS Facilitated Self-Assistance”). In fact, the Tax Code and the IRS tend to be painfully over descriptive when naming credits, deductions and the like. What you [...]

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Never Home Alone: How Changing Your Family Life Affects Your Taxes

5 April 2012

This week, I’m back in North Carolina to visit with my parents, albeit this time in happier circumstances. Two months ago, my mom was in the hospital for open heart surgery; after an initially easy surgery, her right lung collapsed, causing us all a lot of concern and extending my stay a little longer than [...]

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Eleven Things Your Tax Pro Doesn’t Want to Hear From You This Month

4 April 2012

  It’s T minus 13 days until Tax Day and tax pros everywhere are scrambling to get returns prepared on time. It’s easy to get carried away since everyone is in a hurry. But slow down and think… Here are the top eleven things your tax pro doesn’t want to hear from you this month: [...]

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Tax Season Cheat Sheet: Most Noteworthy Tax Changes of 2011

2 April 2012

We’re down to the wire! Tax season is nearly over for the 2011 tax year: just 15 days remain until Tax Day (remember that you have until April 17, 2012, to file your 2011 individual federal income tax return). If you haven’t yet filed, here’s your chance to get caught up on what was new [...]

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Pet Exemption Post a Joke

2 April 2012

Fooled ya! In case you didn’t read all of the way to the end (ahem) on yesterday’s post, it was, in fact, an April Fool’s Day joke. I have fun with my April Fool’s Day posts every year. You can catch some of the prior posts by clicking below: IRS Offers Discount for Cash Payments [...]

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Congress Bites At Pet Exemption

1 April 2012

Statistically, more than nine in ten pet owners say they consider a pet to be a member of their family, according to a 2011 Harris Poll. That’s a meaningful statistic in a country filled with pet owners: more than three in five Americans have at least one pet in the home with dogs, cats, fish [...]

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Taxes from A to Z: Z Is For Zero

30 March 2012

Z is for Zero. If you work a regular job – meaning that you’re not an independent contractor – you pay federal income tax as you go by having it withheld from your pay during the year. This is called “withholding” and is based on the number of allowances you claim when you file a [...]

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Taxes from A to Z: Y Is For Year End

29 March 2012

Y is for Year End. Tax returns are filed based on your tax year end. Individual filers have a calendar year which means that federal income tax returns are due on April 15 of each year – unless that day falls on a Saturday, Sunday or holiday as it does in 2012. This year, we [...]

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