Tax news and guidance for individual taxpayers — filing tips, deductions, refunds, and everything else that hits your personal return.
I’m planning a trip to Europe this year and preparing to take the kids along. There are three of them and as they’ve grown too big to successfully hide in my luggage (even though I pack rather light), that means that I get to buy them tickets, too. They love this. My bank account does…
Are you really you? The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is ramping up efforts to thwart identity theft. As part of those efforts, IRS is reminding taxpayers who receive requests from the IRS to verify their identities using the Identity Verification Service website at idverify.irs.gov. I know: this sounds like a scam. You’re right to be…
It’s my annual “Taxes from A to Z” series! Next up: I Is For Insolvency At tax time, getting a form 1099-C in the mail can be a pretty nasty surprise. A form 1099-C, Cancellation of Debt, is issued by a lending institution or a bank when you settle or pay a debt for less…
By now, you probably have a stack of tax forms from employers, banks and other issuers on your desk. Sometimes, those tax forms go straight to a tax professional, unopened. Other times, taxpayers may dutifully open those forms and type the information, box for box, into tax preparation software. In both cases, it’s not unusual…
It’s my annual “Taxes from A to Z” series! Next up: H Is For Household Employees It’s easy to think that household employees are just for the Downton Abbey set but that’s not true. A household employee is anyone who performs household work and can be classed as an employee because you exercise control over…
It’s my annual “Taxes from A to Z” series! Next up: G is for Gross Income Test Personal exemptions are beneficial because they reduce your total taxable income. You generally can claim one personal exemption for yourself and, if you are married, one for your spouse. The exemption for your spouse is just called an…
With a month to go before Tax Day, about 2 of every 3 taxpayers have yet to file their federal income tax returns. That means pitches from tax software and tax professionals are heating up. And, of course, identity thieves are ramping up their efforts to snare taxpayers, too. This week, I received yet another…
Looking for some extra cash? The Internal Revenue Service has $1 billion of it waiting to be collected. An estimated one million taxpayers who did not file a federal income tax return for 2011 have failed to pick up refunds totaling $1 billion. The IRS estimates that about half of those refunds total $698 or…
I’m in sunny southeastern North Carolina this week but not for the change of weather. My dad had heart surgery on Friday and I flew out to be with my family. It’s an unexpected visit and no amount of surfing Bookit.com or Expedia could lower my airfare. Add in the icy conditions we’ve been having…
It’s my annual “Taxes from A to Z” series! Next up: D is for Disability Income When you miss work due to an injury or disability, you may receive compensation in the way of disability income from an employer’s insurance, health plan, or pension plan. Under the Tax Code, all income is taxable unless otherwise…