As I have done for the past few years, I’ll be turning over the reins at taxgirl to my readers for the last week in August. Last year, pieces focused on the expiring Bush tax cuts (like this one and this one); in 2009, I asked readers what kind of tax reform ideas they wanted…
Tax Talk 2011 is on the way! If you’ve been following the blog over the years, you know that during most major elections, I ask the candidates a series of tax related questions in order to get a sense of their stance on federal taxes. This year is no different. I’ve sent queries to those…
Now that the debt ceiling fix is in place, you’d think that Congress would want to get to work on the rest of the budget. Um, not so much. The Senate went on vacation for the summer without taking any action on the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) budget. The previous budget ran out in July,…
So after all of the drama, it’s over. For now. President Obama has signed into law legislation that will raise the debt ceiling, averting what many in Congress and the media had led us to believe was very nearly the end of the world. The measure, which passed yesterday in the House by a vote…
Ah, Massachusetts. So many firsts: the first public park in the U.S., the first American university (Harvard, of course), first basketball game in the U.S., the first state Constitution, the first American subway system (take that, New York)… But when it comes to figuring out a budget, Massachusetts doesn’t feel the need to be first;…
Man, it’s hot. It’s like Africa hot. Tarzan couldn’t take this kind of hot. – Matthew Broderick as Eugene Morris Jerome in Biloxi Blues And I’m in Philadelphia. There’s an enormous heat wave stretching across the country right now. Some form of heat advisory, heat warning, or heat watch has been issued for the nearly…
I’ve received a lot of emails lately asking me to explain what the debt ceiling is and what it really means. It seems that it’s a term that Congress likes to throw around without a lot of explanation. So here’s the scoop: As of August 2, the United States can’t pay its bills anymore. We…
Hear that? It’s the sound of a pin dropping. Or my jaw dropping. Take your pick. The IRS has announced – unexpectedly – that it will no longer pursue an investigation into a group of donors who made contributions to nonprofit groups for the purpose of political ads. Specifically, the IRS was looking into whether…
Taxpayer asks: My husband and I went through a mediator instead of a divorce lawyer. Our MSA specifies a certain spousal support amount each month. If he wants to give me extra and we both agree on it, can we claim this as spousal support on federal taxes or does he have to call it…
After months of speculation and roller coaster oil prices, the IRS finally announced an increase in the optional standard mileage rates. The IRS generally only updates mileage rates once a year. However, with gas prices still on the rise, the IRS made an adjustment midyear. Doug Shulman said, about the increase: This year’s increased gas prices…