Tax news and guidance for individual taxpayers — filing tips, deductions, refunds, and everything else that hits your personal return.
By far, the most popular questions to “ask the taxgirl” this season have involved the tax rebates. Of those, the most asked is “Do I qualify for a tax rebate?” To help you figure it out, here is a list of folks who do NOT qualify for a tax rebate: You will NOT qualify for…
It’s kind of appropriate that the crisis management post that I had planned was to hit today. You see, I’m a little backed up on my things to do because, well, I had a crisis, of sorts. Following up on weeks (and weeks!) of my children contracting every bug/virus/infection known to man, I got slammed…
Tax rebate checks will be mailed in May, according to Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson. Just a day after I criticized the rush to sign an economic stimulus plan, the House of Representatives voted 380-34 in favor a Senate version of the economic stimulus package. The bill goes to the President today and the White House…
I have been highly critical of the proposed economic stimulus plan and the crazed rush to pass any bill just to have something in place. It’s bad tax policy, it’s bad economic policy and it’s just plain terrible politics. Thank goodness that the Republicans put the kibosh on a mad rush to pass a half-baked…
I try not to politicize too much on taxgirl.com but the circus that is Congress and the White House trying to agree on an economic stimulus plan is really getting out of hand. In a move that I can only categorize as half-baked, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson issued a statement today urging the Senate to…
I am a last minute filer. I am not ashamed of this. My life doesn’t seem to lend itself to advanced filing. But I was blown away to see that Anne at The Golden Pencil already had her taxes done. That entry was written on February 3. Crazy. That did, however, inspire my new poll…
I probably get more questions related to income and deductions for blogging than any other job or hobby. Maybe that’s because I am a blogger – but I suspect that it has more to do with the fact that there are a lot of questions about how to treat new media when it comes to…
When it comes to Super Bowl, folks think chili, beer and commercials. They also think gambling. It’s one of those games that inspires a lot of big money, sure, but also enormous numbers of side bets and the ubiquitous office pools. What does gambling have to do with tax? Plenty. Gambling winnings, no matter whether…
I’m often asked about the differences in tax software – and what specific program I would recommend. To be honest, I am not well-versed in the differences between the different brands. Now, I don’t have to be. A new web site called Software.com compares different types of computer software by features – including tax software….
I just received an email from a reader who wanted me to correct my statement in my earlier “ask the taxgirl” post that “[i]ndividual taxpayers generally do not provide forms 1099-MISC for payments made to vendors for personal services” because she believes that “childcare expenses are personal services that require a 1099-MISC.” I appreciate the…