Believe it or not, members of the military often get overlooked when our legislature is crafting new tax laws. And sometimes, it takes a bit to get it right. For 2006, the legislature finally fixed some problem issues for our military. For one, military members serving in Iraq, Afghanistan and other combat zone localities can…
One of the most important tax changes for 2006 is the increase in the contribution limit for Roth and traditional IRAs rises for those taxpayers who are aged 50 or more. The increase is more than 10% from $4,500 to $5,000. But if you’re under age 50, sorry, the contribution limits remain the same. Even…
There’s big news out of Jenkens & Gilchrist and it sounds like something out of Star Trek: they’re breaking up. You see, Jenkens’ image has taken a hit as of late. And it’s not just from this little gem of a recruiting video released last year which was widely criticized (and yes, of course, including…
Tax day is just a month or so away… If you haven’t figured it out by now, there are some changes for tax year 2006. Check ’em out: A 10% credit can be claimed for various energy-saving improvements made to your main home. The credit is based on the cost of new energy-efficient improvements including…
A little snow never hurt anybody. A lot of snow? That’s a whole other story. The IRS has announced that farmers and fishermen may request a waiver of estimated tax penalties if they were affected by the snowstorms that began on February 19, 2007. The reason? The magnitude of the storms may have affected the ability of many farmers…
Taxpayer asks: Hey there! I found your blog entirely through random surfing, and it’s perfect for a question I have right now.I’ve returned to being a full-time student, after several years of working in the real world. Last year, my income was a big, even 0. I had simply no taxable income. The IRS seems…
It’s Fix the Tax Code Friday! It’s also election time. Folks are throwing their hats into the ring left and right… literally. So today’s question is: Should contributions to political candidates be tax deductible (psst, currently, they’re not!)?
Taxpayer asks: I just got married to my beautiful wife who happens to be Australian. I’m a graduate student in San Diego and she hasn’t come to live with me yet. My wedding was on December 27th so I’m wondering if it is somehow illegal for me to file my taxes as unmarried. She has never made…
It’s not just Switzerland attracting celebs looking to save money on taxes… The Netherlands (which we at the office jokingly refer to as the “Delaware of the EU” – tax humor, I know, not for everyone) is winning over its share of famous folks, too. The Rolling Stones and U2 have been publicly identified for using…
US citizens or residents living and working abroad finally have some direction for purposes of filing individual taxes for 2007. The Tax Increase Prevention and Reconciliation Act of 2005 increased the maximum amount of foreign earned income that may be excluded from gross income to $82,400. The law also limited the amount of housing costs…