V is for Vacation Home. Spring Break is coming up in a few weeks and we’re lucky enough to be able to spend time with my parents in coastal North Carolina where I grew up. Every year that we go down there, I convince myself that I want a vacation home. And I know exactly…
U is for Unreasonable Compensation. I don’t love S corporations. I know that my CPA friends love, love them but I don’t. While I agree that they have advantages in terms of flexibility, many shareholders struggle with compliance putting the S status at risk. And even more concerning? The IRS isn’t a fan. And by…
When I was in college, I used to think there were only two federal income tax returns: the form 1040-EZ for students and the form 1040 for everybody else. Of course, many years and a couple of degrees later, I’ve figured out that I was wrong. There are actually a number of tax forms available…
T is for Tuition and Fees Deduction. College can be expensive. Crazy expensive. I say this as a former student now repaying tons of student loans – and eying my three kids and thinking about how in the world I’m going to pay for them, too. Fortunately, there are some tax breaks available for paying…
S is for Standard Deduction. Most taxpayers have the option of claiming the standard deduction or the itemized deduction. I say “most” because, as with almost everything tax-related, there are some exceptions. You cannot use the standard deduction if you file as married filing a separate return and your spouse itemizes deductions; you are a…
The Philadelphia Daily News is reporting that there is a suspicious package at the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) office in Philadelphia. The device consists of batteries, exposed wires, and orange powder. The bomb squad is investigating. The IRS facility at 30th and Market is a key IRS office in the northeast, accepting, among other things,…
R is for Refund. With tax season down to the wire, more and more taxpayers are wondering about the status of their refunds. Your refund information is generally available about 72 hours after your tax return is processed. You can track your refund online with the “Where’s My Refund?” service offered by IRS or use…
Sometimes, what seems like a little story is actually quite extraordinary. That’s what happened earlier this month, when what seemed like business as usual thousands of miles away came and went without a lot of attention. That business, with the bang of a gavel, was the Swiss parliament amending their tax treaty with the United…
That’s right, I said ‘Win an A in Tax Law.’ My popular contest for law and paralegal students is back. So let’s get right to the good stuff… Here’s how it works: simply write a guest post to be posted on taxgirl for Forbes.com about any hot tax policy issue. And I don’t mean a…
Q is for Qualified Dividends. Qualified dividends sound fancy but they’re really just ordinary dividends that, if they meet certain criteria, are taxed at lower tax rates. In order to be taxed at the qualified dividend rate, the dividend must be paid between January 1, 2003 and December 31, 2012, by a U.S. corporation, by…