Taxes Articles
Tax Deduction For Alimony Payments Yes
(category: Taxes, Word count: 275)
Share this article on: Facebook, Twitter, Whatsapp
Over 50% of marriages end in divorce in the United States. Many divorce decrees include provisions for the payment of alimony. The IRS takes the position that such payments constitute a form of income and create an alimony tax deduction for the person making payments.
According to the IRS, alimony payments are taxable to the recipient in the year received. In turn, the person paying the alimony can claim a deduction for the payments if the following tests are met:
1. You and your spouse or former spouse do not file a joint return with each other,
2. You pay in cash (including checks or money orders),
3. The divorce or separation instrument does not say that the payment is not alimony,
4. If legally separated under a decree of divorce or separate maintenance, you and your former spouse are not members of the same household when you make the payment,
5. You have no liability to make any payment (in cash or property) after the death of your spouse or former spouse; and
6. Your payment is not treated as child support.
If you are receiving or paying alimony, you must use Form 1040 for your personal taxes. Regardless of income levels, deductions or miscellaneous tax issues, you cannot use Form 104A or Form 1040EZ.
In preparing your tax return, the person receiving alimony will report the information on line 11 of Form 1040. That person must also provide their social security number to their former spouse or face a fine of $50. The person paying the alimony can claim the deduction on line 34a of Form 1040.
Filing Taxes Online Now Stress Free Cost Free
(category: Taxes, Word count: 376)
Share this article on: Facebook, Twitter, Whatsapp
For many Americans, the 2005 tax season will tax the nerves, take a lot of time and maybe cost a bundle, too.
Happily, there are ways to make doing taxes a lot faster, stress free and, possibly, cost free.
This is all possible because a tax industry maverick has broken down the barrier to free tax preparation. Customers can now e-file their returns without charge through www.TaxACT.com as well as prepare and print them for free.
A number of good reasons exist for filing your taxes online, including these:
1. It's faster. The software is designed in an easy-to-understand Q&A format. It asks intelligent questions in plain English and sorts out the tax code so that you don't have to.
2. It's easier than preparing your taxes by hand. There's no more erasing or whiting out. TaxACT asks smart questions based on previous answers. Users can also start their return and then save it to pick up again days or weeks later. How convenient.
3. You'll make fewer mistakes. Many programs flag mistakes and incomplete information (including TaxACT).
4. It's less costly. Filing returns online is less expensive than using an accountant. The software can be affordable and even free in the case of TaxACT Standard. Some taxpayers can file online for free at the IRS Web site, but ALL taxpayers can electronically file online for free at TaxACT.com.
5. Faster refunds. The average return time for e-filers is less than two weeks, whereas it can be months if you mail returns in.
Filing online this way not only eliminates costs associated with completing and filing your returns. The software also contains all of the forms, schedules and worksheets you'll need to prepare your federal tax return quickly and easily.
This year's edition of TaxACT Standard Federal features a simple seven-step process with reliable reference tools and automatic flags for inaccurate information to make the process convenient, speedy and reliable. TaxACT also automatically collects information for state returns, which makes preparing a state return just as fast and easy.
For those requiring extra advice or who have complex tax situations, a TaxACT Deluxe edition includes additional forms and gives more support.
How To Check The Status Of Your Tax Refund Online
(category: Taxes, Word count: 481)
Share this article on: Facebook, Twitter, Whatsapp
So, you were pleasantly surprised to learn that you are getting a refund on your taxes. Congratulations! The question for most taxpayers expecting a return is, "Where is my refund?"
Check Your Refund Status Online
The easiest way to check on your refund is to ask the IRS through IRS.gov. On the home page of the site, you will see a "Where's My Refund?" link. Using the service is fairly easy. You will need a copy of your tax return to provide the necessary information to get the status of your refund. Specifically, you need to provide your social security number, you tax filing status and the exact amount of your refund. The reason the IRS requires all of this information is purely for security purposes, to wit, the agency wants to make sure it is giving access only to the taxpayer. Again, all of this information should be on your return. If it is not, something is very wrong!
Once you submit the required information, the IRS will provide online results typically showing:
1. That the return was received and is in processing;
2. The expected mailing date or direct deposit date of your refund; or
3. Whether your refund could not be issued because of a delivery problem.
In some cases, the results may alert you to the fact that the IRS is reviewing your tax return because of errors or questionable entries. In such a case, it is highly advised that you review your return with a qualified tax professional and make absolutely sure that the return will stand up to scrutiny.
How Long Do You Have To Wait Before Checking?
If you filed your tax return electronically, you should be able to access the status of your refund within 48 to 72 hours. Since the return is coming into the database electronically, it should be assimilated into the system fairly quickly. If you do not file your return electronically, you are going to have to wait three weeks or more before the status of your return can be checked. As you can imagine, the IRS is receiving an enormous amount of paper tax returns and it takes time to organize and enter the returns into the system.
How Long Should It Take To Receive Your Tax Refund?
If you are expecting a refund, the time to issue the refund will depend upon how you filed your return. If you filed a paper return via regular mail, you refund should be issued in six to eight weeks from the date it was received by the IRS. Alternatively, if you filed your return electronically, you should expect to receive your refund in three to four weeks. If you elected to have your refund directly deposited in your banking account, you should take one week off of the above estimates.
Tax Advantages Of Incorporating A Business
(category: Taxes, Word count: 433)
Share this article on: Facebook, Twitter, Whatsapp
The tax advantages of incorporating a business is one of the main reasons that owners choose to incorporate their businesses, no matter what market they work in. Other types of businesses, such as sole proprietorships, are not afforded nearly as many tax advantages as an incorporation.
A move called income shifting is one that helps the business, and its owners, immensely. This is a method in which the total income of your corporation is divided among its members. How does this help, you might wonder? By shifting the income to a number of individuals, the overall tax that is required to be paid on it can be significantly lower, which is a great tax advantages of incorporating a business.
Being able to offer a greater amount of fringe benefits also factors into the tax advantages of incorporating a business. This is from the fact that other types of businesses don't get as much of a tax deduction on such things as medical and retirement plans. In some cases, you can get a full exemption as long as you choose the proper plans.
Another tax advantages of incorporating a business is that of making your business a completely separate entity. This saves you from liability with your personal assets in case your business gets in trouble, as well as allowing you to structure your business to take advantage of your business income and lower tax rate. There are also many deductibles that you simply don't get when you have a sole proprietorship or partnership.
While you don't want it to happen, business losses can occur. With an incorporation, you are entitled to an unlimited about of business losses, as opposed to the very stringent requirements for other structures of business. These are the main tax advantages of incorporating a business, and ones that you will want to keep in mind when deciding whether or not you want to incorporate your business.
Income delegation is another great aspect of incorporation. You can state when you receive income yourself, as opposed to income towards your business. This is a great way of keeping your income tax for both your personal and business selves down low, and is a huge reason to incorporating for small business.
You can also receive a small business tax deduction. This comes from incorporating for small business, and is 16% on your first $200,000 in profit, which may or may not be lower than what you are paying from your personal income taxes. It is definitely something that should be looked into, however.
Doh Irs Loses Taxes In San Francisco Bay
(category: Taxes, Word count: 339)
Share this article on: Facebook, Twitter, Whatsapp
On September 23, 2005, the Internal Revenue Service began sending notices to tax payers in thirteen states that there may be a problem with their tax payments. Here is the scoop.
Traffic School?
It seems one of the trucks carrying the payments was involved in a traffic accident and the payments were lost. The accident actually occurred in San Mateo, California and resulted in...wait, I have to stop laughing. Okay. Deep breathe. The tax documents were "ejected into the bay" and can't be recovered! There must be a couple of great white sharks wondering what is going on.
The payments in question are estimated tax payments made by anyone to the San Francisco mail box for the IRS in the first few weeks of September. Yes, the IRS uses drop mail boxes like everyone else. How encouraging.
The little traffic snafu suffered by the IRS apparently wasn't so little. The service is reporting that as many as 30,000 estimated tax payments from individuals and businesses in 13 states may have been lost.
Who knew the IRS used monster trucks? Instead of "Grave Digger", the truck must have been called "Every last penny you have Digger."
Anyway, taxpayers located in Alaska, Arizona, California, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Ohio, Oregon, Utah, Virginia, Washington and Wyoming may have seen there tax payments deep sixed. In a particularly cheeky announcement, the IRS wishes to assure taxpayers that it will help make sure the tax snafu is fixed up.
Anyone up for a dive?
Check Your Debits
If you think you might be a victim of the IRS traffic accident, just check any estimated tax payments made to see if processing occurred. If all else fails, rest assured the IRS will let you know if there is a problem.
While the above article may seem like a bad Saturday Night Live skit, it is real. I can't wait to see the next notice from the IRS about an agent's dog eating 50,000 or so tax returns.
Professional Tax Preparation Requires The Right Professional For Your Specific Needs
(category: Taxes, Word count: 487)
Share this article on: Facebook, Twitter, Whatsapp
Preparing taxes is one of the least enjoyable tasks a person faces each year. While many single or multiple income households feel that they can prepare their taxes on their own each tax season, it is a good idea to think about taking advantage of professional tax preparation services. In fact, if you've ever found yourself wondering if you could take a specific deduction, if you could take advantage of other deductions you don't know about, if you could be paying less or getting a larger refund, or even if you simple wonder if you are preparing your taxes properly, you should consider professional tax preparation.
When you are thinking about using professional tax preparation services, it is important to think about what you are looking for from your accountant. If you would like to have your taxes done as fast as possible, it is probably best to have them done by a nationally recognized service that specializes in quick professional tax preparation. This type of professional tax preparation is designed to have your taxes done as quickly and as thoroughly as possible.
If you are looking to make a tax plan for the future, a licensed tax professional is the best option for professional tax preparation. You can choose from either a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) or an Enrolled Agent. A CPA is an accountant who has passed certain examinations and met all other statutory and licensing requirements of a United States state to be certified by that state. This usually includes 150+ hours of business and accounting related college education in addition to a CPA exam that usually runs about 14 hours. Many corporate and small businesses use CPAs for their professional tax preparation as well as special tax circumstances like tax audits.
An Enrolled Agent is someone who has successfully completed an IRS test that encompassed all facets of taxation as well as passed a background check. Enrolled Agents must also complete an 8-hour exam over the course of two days. Unlike CPAs or tax lawyers, Enrolled Agents undergo testing by the IRS without intervention from a third party. Enrolled Agents can also have their earned title removed by the IRS for wrongful conduct.
If you are considering professional tax preparation because of a specific problem, you will want to find a professional who is trained to handle your specific issue. As with any other product or service, professional tax preparation is available at a number of different prices and you should compare to find a fee that suits your budget. Not every professional tax preparation service will be able to schedule an immediate appointment, so your tax needs and urgency should be taken into consideration. Most importantly, when you are using professional tax preparation services, you want to make sure that your accountant offers you a guarantee for his or her work.
Your Tip Earnings And Taxes
(category: Taxes, Word count: 366)
Share this article on: Facebook, Twitter, Whatsapp
If you work in a service where you get tips, guess what? The IRS expects you to report them and pay taxes on them.
Your Tip Earnings and Taxes
The internal revenue service takes a very simple approach to tips. It views all tips you make in your job as taxable income that must be reported and for which taxes must be paid. Put another way, the IRS has a simple but brutal view towards taxes
Now tips come in different forms. Some are received directly from customers while others are automatically added to the customer's bill. The IRS takes the position you must report and pay taxes on both amounts. This also includes taxes you earn through any group splitting where all tips are collected together and then split amongst the employees. On top of this, the IRS also takes the view that any non-cash tips such as tickets to something are also income that should be reported and taxes paid on. Put another way, the internal revenue services gets you coming and going.
To make things a little more brutal, the internal revenue service requires you to take some steps in reporting tips. If your tips total $20 or more in any calendar month from a single job, you are supposed to report the total to the employer by the 10th day of the next month. The employer is then supposed to withhold federal income tax, social security and Medicare taxes from your paycheck. Keep in mind that the failure to do so can lead to the placement of a 50 percent penalty on your taxes. Obviously, the IRS is fairly serious about getting its money.
Tips paid to waitresses, bartenders, barbacks and so on are a hot spot with the IRS and always have. Since tips tend to be given in cash form, the potential for forgetting to report them is particularly high. The IRS seems to think so and has shown a generally aggressive attitude on the subject. If you indicate you are a waitress or bartender on your tax return, but fail to report any tip income, it could be audit time.
Deducting Alimony Payments
(category: Taxes, Word count: 279)
Share this article on: Facebook, Twitter, Whatsapp
Over 50% of marriages end in divorce in the United States. Many divorce decrees include provisions for the payment of alimony. The IRS takes the position that such payments constitute a form of income and create an alimony tax deduction for the person making payments.
According to the IRS, alimony payments are taxable to the recipient in the year received. In turn, the person paying the alimony can claim a deduction for the payments if the following tests are met:
1. You and your spouse or former spouse do not file a joint return with each other,
2. You pay in cash (including checks or money orders),
3. The divorce or separation instrument does not say that the payment is not alimony,
4. If legally separated under a decree of divorce or separate maintenance, you and your former spouse are not members of the same household when you make the payment,
5. You have no liability to make any payment (in cash or property) after the death of your spouse or former spouse; and
6. Your payment is not treated as child support.
If you are receiving or paying alimony, you must use Form 1040 for your personal taxes. Regardless of income levels, deductions or miscellaneous tax issues, you cannot use Form 104A or Form 1040EZ.
In preparing your tax return, the person receiving alimony will report the information on line 11 of Form 1040. That person must also provide their social security number to their former spouse or face a fine of $50. The person paying the alimony can claim the deduction on line 34a of Form 1040.
Small Employers Rejoice Irs Simplifies Filings
(category: Taxes, Word count: 360)
Share this article on: Facebook, Twitter, Whatsapp
One of the largest burdens on very small employers is dealing with taxes. Fortunately, the IRS has taken a major step to reduce this burden.
Quarterly Federal Tax Returns - Not!
There are millions of small businesses that labor under the burden of filing federal tax returns each quarter of the calendar year. These quarterly returns have been a major gripe of business owners who often feel they see their CPAs more than their families. The IRS is finally listening. Well, sort of.
Beginning January 1, 2006, the quarterly federal tax return will go the way of the dodo bird for some small businesses. Instead of being required to file every three months, these small business will be allowed to just file an annual federal tax return with the IRS.
When it comes to taxes and the IRS, there is always a catch. So, what is it in this situation? The annual tax return procedure will only be available to very small businesses, often just sole proprietorships.
Under the new regulations, small businesses will only be eligible for the annual filing if their estimated annual employment tax is $1,000 or lower. Put another way, this equates to paying roughly $4,000 in wages in a calendar year. That is a significant catch.
Ostensibly, this new annual tax return procedure is designed to help mom and pop businesses or businesses that are barely running. Depending on the specifics of the regulations, however, a significant loophole may let a lot more people through the door. The IRS, for instance, categorizes a single member LLC as a sole proprietorship. As a result, the LLC doesn't technically pay employment taxes. Instead, the member can simply draw money from the business and then report it on his or her personal taxes.
To find out if you qualify for the annual return option, just sit and wait. The IRS is going to send out notices to qualifying small businesses during the first two weeks of February 2006. If you don't receive one, you can contact your CPA to see if there are any options for your business.
Reload this page to get new content randomly.
More Categories
Time-Management | Loans | Credit | Weather | Finance | Weddings | Trucks-Suvs | Home-Family | Cars | Self-Improvement | Reference-Education | Insurance | Vehicles | Mortgage | Home-Improvement | Gardening | Society | Parenting | Debt-Consolidation | Womens-Issues | Relationships | Acne | Interior-Design | Nutrition | Fashion | Baby | Legal | Religion | Fishing | Clothing | Holidays | Product-Reviews | Personal-Finance | Auctions | Communications | Misc | Supplements | Marriage | Currency-Trading | Politics | Goal-Setting | Taxes | Ecommerce | Movie-Reviews | Recipes | Traffic-Generation | College | Cooking | Computer-Certification | Success | Motivation | Depression | Stress-Management | Site-Promotion | Outdoors | Home-Security | Book-Reviews | History | Entrepreneurs | Hair-Loss | Yoga | Consumer-Electronics | Stock-Market | Email-Marketing | Article-Writing | Ppc-Advertising | Science | K12-Education | Crafts | Environmental | Elderly-Care | Fitness-Equipment | Cruises | Coaching | Domains | Spirituality | Mens-Issues | Happiness | Leadership | Customer-Service | Inspirational | Diabetes | Attraction | Security | Copywriting | Language | Data-Recovery | Muscle-Building | Aviation | Motorcycles | Coffee | Landscaping | Homeschooling | Ebooks | Cardio | Psychology | Celebrities | Pregnancy | Ebay | Mesothelioma | Extreme | Ezine-Marketing | Digital-Products | Fundraising | Martial-Arts | Boating | Divorce | Book-Marketing | Commentary | Current-Events | Credit-Cards | Public-Speaking | Hunting | Debt | Financial | Coin-Collecting | Family-Budget | Meditation | Biking | Rss | Music-Reviews | Organizing | Breast-Cancer | Creativity | Spam | Podcasts | Google-Adsense | Forums | Ethics | Buying-Paintings | Gourmet | Auto-Sound-systems | After-School-Activities | Adsense | Dieting | Education | Dance | Cigars | Astronomy | Cats | Diamonds | Autoresponders | Disneyland | Carpet | Bbqs | Dental | Criminology | Craigslist | Atv | Excavation-Equipment | Buying-A-boat | Auto-Responders | Auto-Navigation-Systems | Autism-Articles | Atkins-Diet | Aspen-Nightlife | Fruit-Trees | Credit-Card-Debt | Creating-An-Online-Business | Breast-Feeding | Contact-Lenses | Computer-Games-systems | Colon-Cleanse | College-Scholarship | Golden-Retriever | Anger-Management | American-History | Bluetooth-Technology | Alternative-Energy | Closet-Organizers | Elliptical-Trainers | Electric-Cars | Black-History | Air-Purifiers | Diesel-Vs-Gasoline-Vehicles | Christmas-Shopping | Choosing-The-Right-Golf-Clubs | Dental-Assistant | Decorating-For-Christmas | Beach-Vacations | Cd-Duplication | Bathroom-Remodeling | Bargain-Hunting | Candle-Making | Backyard-Activities | Auto-Leasing | Skin-Cancer | Recreational-Vehicle | Mutual-Funds | Boats | Leasing | Innovation | Philosophy | Grief | Colon-Cancer | Prostate-Cancer | Dating-Women | Audio-Video-Streaming | Forex | Digital-Camera | Cell-Phone | Car-Stereo | Car-Rental | Running | Sociology | Multiple-Sclerosis | Leukemia | Dogs | Ovarian-Cancer