Tax News

Those who were in contract by April 30, 2010, to purchase a home that would qualify them for a tax credit as a first-time buyer or long-term resident now have more time to complete the sale. Originall...

Gain on the sale of a principal residence can be excluded up to $250,000 ($500,000 for joint filers). This exclusion applies only if the homeowner has owned and used the residence for at least 2 of th...

Receiving cash or property at no cost to you is a good thing. But not all of the bounties you receive in this way are tax free. Here are some gifts or other no-cost items that you may receive that wil...

When things go bad, causing personal injury or even death, there often is monetary compensation from some source. Fortunately, the receipt of certain types of compensation arising from bad events is t...

Each year, more and more individuals use tax preparation software to complete and file their tax returns. However, a recent case demonstrates that failing to properly report taxes is not necessarily e...

When you withdraw funds from a time-deposit savings account or similar deposit account before the maturity date, the bank penalty imposed on the withdrawal is deductible from gross income. This penalt...

The gambling industry in the United States generates more than $92 billion in revenue. The revenue comes from such activities as commercial casinos operating in 12 states, casinos on Indian tribal lan...

Gain on the sale of a principal residence can be excluded up to $250,000 if single, or $500,000 on a joint return as long as the seller has owned and used the home as his or her principal residence fo...

Summertime for many people means vacation time and travel opportunities. As summer rapidly approaches, recognize that the type of vacation you schedule can produce favorable tax results. Combine Busin...

If you send your child to camp or summer school, can you obtain a tax benefit? It depends on your child's age and other factors. For Children under Age 13 If your child is under age 13 and you work, l...

Identity theft results when someone uses another person's name, Social Security number, or other identifying information without permission, to commit fraud or other crimes. It can take a victim month...

The economy in general and the housing marketing in particular may get you thinking about disposing of a second home. It may be too costly to keep, you may need the funds for other purposes, use of th...

The IRS reported in its latest Statistics of Income Bulletin that the number of taxpayers making noncash charitable contributions increased between 2006 and 2007. More specifically, for 2007, 23.8 mil...

The tax law allows married persons to file joint tax returns, which enables them to use the standard deduction amount and tax rates exclusively for joint filers. Whether a person is "married" for purp...

Some states give payments to a parent to look after his or her disabled child. These payments may fall under a foster care system. The tax law excludes from income the amount of foster care payments. ...

The Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001 (EGTRRA) created numerous tax breaks that are scheduled to expire at the end of this year. Expiration, or "sunsetting," means that the tax...

In tough economic times, more people are filing for bankruptcy protection. According to the American Bankruptcy Institute, in 2009 there were more than 1.4 million filings for consumer-type bankruptci...

Taxpayers have a duty to file an accurate tax return. But errors occur nonetheless. There can be mathematical errors or omissions of income and overstatements of deductions. When the errors are the re...

Americans are kind-hearted people who reach out to those in need. Taxpayers who itemize their personal deductions can claim a write-off for charitable contributions. But not every example of generosit...

When couples divorce, they settle financial matters between themselves. For instance, one spouse may receive the family home and agree to make all future mortgage payments for this home. How do these ...