Tax News

Are your personal and business emails private? Last week the IRS indicated to members of Congress that it had the authority to read them. In a statement issued on April 22, 2013, the IRS clarified the...

Taxpayers who adopt children may qualify for a federal tax credit to cover their adoption expenses. The adoption credit in 2013 is up to $12,970. The full credit amount can be claimed for special need...

The bomb blasts in Boston went off on April 15, the deadline for filing 2012 returns. However, in view of this event, the IRS has given affected taxpayers 3 additional months to timely file 2012 retur...

As part of President Obama’s 2014 budget, there are proposals to increase federal taxes and fees by more than $1 trillion over 10 years. The increases would result from: Capping all itemized ded...

The IRS has noted that tax refunds are down from last year. As of March 22, the average refund was $2,985; it was $3,030 as of March 23, 2012. The IRS paid $187.7 billion in refunds as of March 22, 20...

The IRS’s annual list of the Dirty Dozen Tax Scams has been released. Taxpayers who use or fall victim to these scams expose themselves to additional taxes, penalties, and in some cases, criminal pr...

The IRS’s 2012 Data Book, released on March 25, 2013, reveals that audit rates on individuals declined somewhat in the government’s fiscal year ending September 30, 2012. The overall audit rate fo...

Usually, a filing extension does not give you more time to pay your taxes. But this is a different year. Because the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012, enacted on January 2, 2013, delayed the issua...

The Affordable Care Act provides that a group health plan or health insurance issuer offering group health insurance coverage cannot have a waiting period of more than 90 days. The IRS, the Department...

Taxpayers who are owed refunds but have not yet filed 2009 returns have until April 15, 2013, to do so. If they don’t file by this date, they lose the refund forever. The IRS estimates that nearly 9...

Are your taxes going up or down? It depends on which tax plan you read. Both sides of the political aisle have proposed sweeping but dramatically different tax reform packages for Congress to consider...

Alimony payments are deductible by the payer spouse and income to the recipient spouse. In contrast, child support is neither deductible nor treated as income. When a single payment is made to the spo...

The IRS has released facts and figures on 2011 income tax returns for individuals. The number of returns filed for 2011 was 145.6 million (a 1.9% increase from the 142.9 million returns filed for 2010...

If you purchased a home in 2008, 2009, or 2010 and claimed a first-time homebuyer credit, you may have to “repay” some or all of it on your 2012 return. Repayment effectively means including the r...

Income tax returns for 2012 that included any of 29 forms and schedules (www.irs.gov/uac/Newsroom/List-of-IRS-forms-that-1040-filers-can-begin-filing-in-late-February-or-into-March-2013) impacted by t...

The interest rate that individuals will pay on underpayments remains at 3% for the second quarter of 2013. The interest rate that the IRS will pay on overpayments (tax refunds) will also be 3%. These ...

If you purchase a vehicle this year for business use, you can depreciate the cost up to set dollar limits. The IRS announced the limits for passenger cars and for light trucks and vans. The limits for...

You may be familiar with federal income tax rules on capital gains. If you’re in the bottom 2 tax brackets (10% and 15%), you pay no tax on your long-term capital gains. If you’re in the next 4 br...

The earned income tax credit (EITC) is a federal program started in 1975 that is designed to encourage low-income individuals to work by reducing their tax burden. Taxpayers eligible for the credit ca...

The term Swiss bank account conjures up visions of wealthy individuals stashing cash where no one would know about it. Things have changed with the recent signing of an agreement of cooperation betwee...