Tax news and guidance for individual taxpayers — filing tips, deductions, refunds, and everything else that hits your personal return.
Taxpayer asks: hi can you deduct the sales tax paid if you leased a new car in june of 2009? Taxgirl says: Nope, sorry. If you’re referring to the new car sales tax deduction, leases are specifically excluded. However, if you itemize your taxes, you might still be able to claim sales taxes paid as…
Taxpayer asks: What are my options if an employer has not provided me with my 1099 yet? I have asked them at least once a week since February 15th and keep being told they are coming. I have a full record of how much they have paid me, am I able to just leave their…
I’ll admit it – as if you hadn’t already guessed – I’m a bit of a geek. And not just a tax geek. I like math. And charts. So I was pretty psyched when @fixR-com sent me a note on twitter about their homebuyer’s credit pictograph. It’s a really good representation of the credit and…
I’ve been getting lots and lots of questions about the Making Work Pay Credit. To make it easier for you, here are the basics: The Making Work Pay Credit is only available for taxpayers with earned income during the year. The credit HAS NOT already been calculated as part of your withholding. Your eligibility for…
Taxpayer asks: I’m a stay at home mom (not employed) and my son attends preschool part-time a few days a week. My husband and I file jointly and we live in Arizona (don’t know if that matters). Can we deduct the tuition we pay to the preschool?Thanks so much! Taxgirl says: You’re going to hate…
Taxpayer asks: I was not aware of the above credit. I am single, and just yesterday filed form 1040 EZ my self. I did not file schedule M to claim that credit. Can I file an amended return to claim this credit. Taxgirl says: This is a great question. I actually called up the IRS…
Taxpayer asks: Can food bloggers write off ALL or part of their ingredients from the recipes they post on their food blog? And/or, can they write off ingredients from paid campaigns where advertisers paid them to create a recipe? Taxgirl says: I’m actually going to answer this question by saying that I’m not going to…
A recent CBS News/New York Times poll has the White House scratching its head. Americans were asked, “In general, do you think the Obama Administration has increased taxes for most Americans, decreased taxes for most Americans or have they kept taxes the same for most Americans?” More than half of all those surveyed said that…
Taxpayer asks: Thanks taxgirl for helping me out on this one! I have a couple of different ad and affiliate accounts for my blog. When I earn money, they bank it until I hit a certain dollar amount and then they make a deposit into my PayPal account. A few of them accumulated earnings in…
Taxpayer asks: Hi Kelly, I saw you speak at BlogHer in San Francisco and was hoping I’d see you again this year in Chicago. Since I didn’t see you, I thought I’d email you a question. I just wanted to know if you had any updates to your handout from the BlogHer seminar about deductions…