Twitter Tax Tips #1
Sign your return! Sounds obvious but IRS reports it as a top filing mistake. (For more on twitter tax tips, see my prior explanatory post.)
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No April Fool’s: Adjusted Withholding For Stimulus Package To Begin April 1
President Obama has issued a target date for the adjusted withholding to begin as part of the stimulus package: April 1. Obama mentioned the date in his weekly radio address, saying: I’m pleased to announce that this morning the Treasury Department began directing employers to reduce the amount of taxes withheld from paychecks, meaning that…
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Walmart To Offer Free Tax Prep Services
Occasionally, a news item will come across my desk that will cause me to do a double take. This story, reported on the PR Newswire, was one of those items: Wal-Mart will offer free tax filing services to eligible taxpayers in its parking lots. Just let that sink in for a minute. In fairness, it…
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Tax Breaks For New Cars Not Yet Law
Don’t get too excited just yet. Yes, the Senate did vote to give a tax break to new car buyers by a vote of 71-26. But the break is part of a stimulus package that has yet to be finalized. In other words, it’s still just part of the talk. But it was popular talk….
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Ask The Taxgirl: Tax Help For Those Over 55
Taxpayer asks: I went to the website that you referred to for free e-file. Why is it that the free e-file websites have a 55 year age limit and gross income cap of $56,000. Why is there nothing available (for free) for people over 55 with a combined income over $56,000? I even called the…
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Ask The Taxgirl: Is It Alimony?
Taxpayer asks: Hi Taxgirl,My wife filed for divorce in Tennessee Aug 2007. Moved out of the house in Dec 2007 and have paid her money ordered by the court as spousal support.I’ve paid all year and want to know if I can claim this money paid as alimony. Thanks for your help! Taxgirl says: It…
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IRS Moves Centers In Four States
If you live in Delaware, Illinois, New York or Rhode Island and file a paper federal income tax return, make sure you read the fine print: your service center mailing address has changed. Taxpayers in Delaware, New York and Rhode Island will mail their returns to the IRS Service Center in Kansas City, MO. Taxpayers…
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Fix the Tax Code Friday: Illegal Activity & the IRS
It’s Fix the Tax Code Friday! One of this week’s “Ask the Taxgirl” posts focused on illegally gained income. Under the Tax Code, you must report all income, regardless of source. This includes drug sales, illegal betting operations, prostitution, bribes, the whole bit. Clearly, including this income on your return, while required, opens you up…
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IRS Claims At Least 70% of Taxpayers Can E-File For Free
Nope, I didn’t make that statistic up. The IRS claims that 98 million taxpayers – or about 70% – are eligible to e-file their 2008 federal tax returns for free through their FreeFile program. It works like this: twenty vendors have partnered with the IRS to provide free e-filing services for taxpayers who meet certain…
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Ask The Taxgirl: Illegal Gambling Losses
Taxpayer asks: Hello, I would like to ask some questions about tax evasion and honest mistakes: I am being looked into (audited) for tax evasion for 2006 where I failed to file tax returns for online poker winnings of about $60,000.00. I did not file these returns for the sole purpose that my losses outweighed…
