Tax news and guidance for individual taxpayers — filing tips, deductions, refunds, and everything else that hits your personal return.
Tax day is just a month or so away… If you haven’t figured it out by now, there are some changes for tax year 2006. Check ’em out: A 10% credit can be claimed for various energy-saving improvements made to your main home. The credit is based on the cost of new energy-efficient improvements including…
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…
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…
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…