Tax news and guidance for individual taxpayers — filing tips, deductions, refunds, and everything else that hits your personal return.
If you’re planning on buying the 364 items in “The Twelve Days of Christmas” this year, it’s going to cost you. According to the annual PNC Christmas Price Index (aren’t you glad such a thing exists?), it will cost $78,100 to buy the 364 items, up 4% from last year. That includes the repetitions in…
Taxpayer asks: Quick question from a slightly embarrassed newbie. Although I’ve been working as an hourly consultant for a few years, this year is the first year during which ALL of my income was received via 1099-MISC (I’m not incorporated in this state (Georgia), invoice an onsite consulting firm for my hours, and have checks…
Every year about this time, I get a lot of questions about deducting sales tax paid versus state and local income tax paid on your federal income taxes. Mostly, this comes up because your pockets are stuffed with receipts and you’re wondering whether you should keep them. First, the important part: this option has been…
Maybe the Internal Revenue Service has some of your cash! The IRS is looking for 115,478 taxpayers who are due refund checks worth about $110 million after the checks were returned as undeliverable. Yep, that averages out to nearly $1000 a pop. If you are expecting a refund and have not received one for the…
I’m getting quite a few in the queue, so beginning the week after Thanksgiving, I’ll ramp up to at least once per week. Have a question about charitable donations, individual tax planning or reporting? Ask the Taxgirl.
Feldman, Shepherd, Wohlgelernter, Tanner & Weinstock, a plaintiff’s firm out of Philadelphia, thinks so. They have filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania on behalf of Philadelphia resident Stacie Byers against members of an income tax software group, Free File Alliance. The suit, Byers v. Intuit Inc., alleges that…
When my husband saw a bright yellow post-it with the word “divorce” on it tacked onto my Mac, he began to worry a little. Nothing to worry about (yet – he still owes me a trip to Europe) on his part, it was just a reminder to me that I needed to finish an article…
You probably think that I’m talking about the fact that for some disturbing reason, retailers have packed the stores with Christmas goodies – and Halloween isn’t even over yet (who buys stuff this early anyway?). But I’m not. I’m talking about solicitations. It’s the time of the year when charitable organizations come calling. So far…
You’ve always known that you’re supposed to report your gambling winnings on your taxes, right? Well, the IRS is making it a little easier (for them) to make sure that happens. Beginning March 4, 2008, casinos and other sponsors of poker tournaments will be required to report most winnings to winners and the Internal Revenue…
See, you thought that I was going to bring up the Murphy case. Again. But no. TaxProf blog is reporting that the Ninth Circuit in Polone v. Commissioner, No. 04-72672 (9th Cir. 10/11/07), aff’g T.C. Memo. 2003-339, expressly refused to “address whether amended § 104(a)(2) violates the Sixteenth Amendment.” Just saying.