When legislators across the country took steps to increase the tax on soda, many taxpayers shrugged their shoulders. After all, it’s just soda. But now, now lawmakers are getting serious. They’re talking about increasing the tax on beer. (I know.) And not just anywhere: the increase is planned for one of the microbrew capitals of…
A study out of the Rand Corporation has concluded that “small taxes” on soda do little to reduce soft drink consumption or prevent childhood obesity. Economist Roland Sturm and his teams analyzed how more than 7,300 fifth graders ate, drank and moved. The children were asked, as part of the study, how many sodas and…
The folks at CareerAdvice.com kindly included taxgirl.com as one of their “20 Best Blogs for Tax Advice.” A click over to their site also revealed that the tax features on AOL’s WalletPop garnered the top spot on the list – those links are my posts, too. I’ve been filling in as tax guru on WalletPop…
We have a winner! Congrats, Robert! Tax Day is less than 2 weeks away and that likely has many taxpayers stressed out. One way that taxpayers in beautiful Ocean City, NJ, cope is to celebrate the end of tax season with the traditional Doo Dah Parade. This year, the City’s 25th Annual Doo Dah Parade…
Taxpayer asks: I am retired and my wife and I support a son in college. We send him $2000/mo for room and board and I spend another $900/month paying off his Sallie Mae student loans. Is any of this deductible? If so, where do I declare it on my tax form. I generally use an…
Taxpayer asks: I can’t claim the making work pay tax credit. Do I need to file schedule M anyway? Taxgirl says: Nope. If you’re sure that you don’t qualify, then no need to complete the Schedule M. Just be really sure – you don’t want to leave money on the table!
Taxpayer asks: If I received $500 or say $5,000 in anonymous donations for brain surgery because I have no insurance, do I need to report that anywhere or as income? thank you for any help tax girl. Taxgirl says: So long as these are pure gifts – and you didn’t make any representations as to…
Another bit on NY1 – this time regarding audits: IRS Audits Need Not Be Feared – NY1.com
Taxpayer asks: I’m helping my daughter do her CT taxes. Last year she got a CT refund. If I’m reading the federal form correctly, it looks like she has to declare the state refund as federal income in 2009. Is that correct? Isn’t that double taxing? If that is correct, is there a way around…
In case you missed the humor in yesterday’s post, yes, it was outrageous and silly and it was an April Fool’s Day joke. If you didn’t catch them before, you can view April Fool’s posts from prior years here and here.