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…
Taxpayer asks: A tax client was issued a 1099-MISC for rental income received in 2006. Box 1 of the form showed $1000 when the correct number should have been $500. My client contacted the issuer, but the issuer will not correct this error. Please advise as to what I should do. Taxgirl says: Gosh, this…
No, no Lee Marvin, Ernest Borgnine or Charles Bronson here. It’s the IRS’ annual Dirty Dozen: tax schemes to avoid. The top schemes to avoid for 2007 (the list for 2006 is here), many of which have already been noted on this site, are: 1. Telephone Excise Tax Refund Abuses. 2. Abusive Roth IRAs (specifically…
When Congress first introduced the wacky legislation that is the current federal estate tax situation (an exemption that gradually rises to $3.5 million per person, is eliminated in the year 2010 and returns in 2011 to its “old self”) most folks assumed we had plenty of time to fix it. 2010 seemed years away. Now,…
Taxpayer asks: For the past few years, I’ve earned a little bit of self-employed income here in Philly. I never paid the city’s Business Privilege Tax (BPT) until 2006, when I paid all my delinquent business taxes, plus interest and “court costs.” Can I deduct those back taxes on my 2006 federal taxes? If so,…