Tax news and guidance for individual taxpayers — filing tips, deductions, refunds, and everything else that hits your personal return.
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…
Bush’s tax plan has suggested severely limiting the mortgage deduction and eliminating deductions for interest on home-equity loans or mortgages for vacation homes. So today’s Fix the Tax Code Friday question is: Should we eliminate the deduction for home mortgages? Or should we limit the deduction to first time home buyers?
Taxpayer asks: I made $400 from my freelance work. Why didn’t I receive a form W-2? Does this mean that I don’t have to report the income? Taxgirl says: You don’t receive a form W-2 if you’re classified as an independent contractor (more on that in future posts). You’ll receive a form 1099 from the…
As previously reported, the IRS will be watching Hollywood’s award season this year almost as much as we are… The Grammys are no different. The 2006 Grammy gift bag was valued at $68,434 and included: a two-week lease of a Cadillac complimentary LASIK Eye Surgery Chadsworth Haig bathrobes Solstice sunglasses Escada ski jackets Casio digital…
The IRS is finding that there are already problems with returns involving the telephone excise tax refund. The most common mistakes seem to involve the form 1040EZ-T. Mistakes include not filling out the form completely or filing the form and your regular 1040 or 1040EZ (it’s one or the other, folks). It may also be…
My daughters received their forms 1099-INT for their “Little Savers” accounts at our local bank last week. Since they are under the age of 16, we must report their income on our personal income tax returns (the infamous “Kiddie Tax”). The tax policy rationale is that wealthy parents should not be able to shift income to their…
Taxpayer asks:It’s February and I didn’t receive my W-2 (or 1099). What do I do?Taxgirl answers: You should receive your forms W-2 or 1099 by January 31. If you haven’t received your forms, you should first contact your employer (or the issuer). You might not have received the form because of an incomplete or bad…
Or any other resident of a state where there is no sales tax. But the rest of you? Listen up. You have the option of claiming your local and state income tax or sales tax as deductions on your federal income tax return. Most folks automatically go for the income tax because it is easily figured. However,…
As posted before, you may have a day or so extra to file your taxes this year. The IRS confirmed that the tax deadline this year will be Tuesday, April 17, 2007, for all taxpayers. The extra time is because April 15 falls on a Sunday in 2007, and the following day is a holiday…
