Plan ahead. That’s the advice from Internal Revenue Service (IRS) this year. As tax season approaches, IRS is advising taxpayers to plan ahead when requesting copies of any tax transcripts. Last year, following attempts to access taxpayer records using the “Get Transcript” application on the IRS website, the transcript application was taken down. Currently, taxpayers are…
What do you want for Christmas this year? Most American workers would like a higher salary for the new year, followed by better health insurance, a better work/life balance, a new employer, and more vacation time. When you add up the numbers, a Bankrate Money Pulse survey indicated that a quarter of those surveyed would like…
It’s the fourth day of my 12 Days of Charitable Giving. Readers have suggested deserving charities over the past few weeks and I’ll be posting one a day for – well, 12 days (I’m clever that way). Today’s charity is Cops For Kids With Cancer. Cops For Kids With Cancer began as a golf rivalry between Captain…
With tax season opening soon, scammers aren’t just taking advantage of taxpayers, they’re preying on tax professionals, too. Earlier today, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) warned tax professionals that new phishing scams are making the rounds, including an email asking e-services users to update their e-services information. Specifically, the email asks tax professionals to update their…
It’s the third day of my 12 Days of Charitable Giving. Readers have suggested deserving charities over the past few weeks and I’ll be posting one a day for – well, 12 days (I’m clever that way). Today’s charity is Family Hope Foundation. Family Hope Foundation provides resources, activities, support, and funding for therapies to families of children…
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has announced the 2016 filing season start date. And surprise! There’s no delay. Tax season for paper and electronically filed returns will open on Tuesday, January 19, 2016. That’s one day earlier than last year’s start date (January 20, 2015). Even better? There’s no tiered opening season. All taxpayers can begin filing…
It’s the second day of my 12 Days of Charitable Giving. Readers have suggested deserving charities over the past few weeks and I’ll be posting one a day for – well, 12 days (I’m clever that way). Today’s charity is PACT For Animals. PACT stands for People + Animals = Companions Together. The mission of the organization is…
Americans gave $358.38 billion in 2014, a 7.1% increase from 2013, and equivalent to a whopping 2% of the U.S. gross domestic product (GDP). The majority of that giving, $258.51 billion, came from individuals, representing 72% of all charitable donors. Making a charitable donation is not only a chance to make a difference: it’s also an…
There are, as of this writing, 12 days until the end of the taxable year. That means that you have 12 days to squeeze in most of your remaining tax deductions for 2015 (there are a few exceptions like those for IRA contributions). One of the easiest ways to get a deduction, assuming you itemize,…
With just a few days to go in 2015, Congress finally reached an agreement on tax extenders for 2015. Nope, that’s not a typo. Congress had allowed over 50 tax breaks to expire as of December 31, 2014, and until this week, there had been no movement on extending those tax breaks for the current…