Tax News

Where you live is a big factor in determining the amount of alternative minimum tax (AMT) you may owe. Generally, taxpayers living in states with high income taxes are more likely to be subject to th...

On July 23, the House passed an important measure to help avert foreclosure for more than 400,000 homeowners. The Senate will vote on it soon and the President has said he would sign it. In addition ...

Withdrawing funds in a qualified retirement plan or IRA before age 59-1/2 can result in a 10% early distribution penalty unless a special exception to the penalty applies. These exceptions include wi...

The top rate on most long-term capital gains and qualified dividends for regular tax purposes is 15%. But there's a trap: Taxpayers with such income who are subject to the alternative minimum tax...

The Office of the Taxpayer Advocate is an independent organization within the IRS that assists taxpayers who are experiencing economic harm and also advises the IRS on issues that need to be addresse...

In today's tough economy, investments in personal portfolios, 401(k) plans, and individual retirement accounts (IRAs) may be down. Fortunately, the tax law lets you ease your financial pain by claimin...

A homeowner can gain from the sale of a primary residence up to $250,000, or $500,000 on a joint return, if he or she has owned and lived in the home for at least two of the five years preceding the ...

As of June 20, the Treasury Department had sent out 9.071 million checks under the Economic Stimulus Act totaling $6.919 billion. However, some people who are eligible to receive a check have not app...

As you make your vacation plans for the summer, you might want to keep in mind some options that allow you to transform nondeductible personal expenses of the trip into a partially deductible expense....

If you can't pay your tax bill in full and want to arrange to pay it off in installments, you can use the IRS Online Payment Agreement (OPA) application. The OPA application can be used to obtain...

Interest on a tax deficiency (underpayment) generally runs from the due date of the return until the tax is paid. Interest is compounded (interest is charged on interest), so the longer the dispute g...

E-file is the IRS system for submitting tax returns electronically. E-filing can be done through a paid preparer or by using a home computer (through commercial software or the FreeFile program). Go...

The federal tax system is based on the idea of "pay as you go." You can't just wait until April 15 each year to pay the taxes you owe. The law requires you to make payments throughout the year-through...

Congress has overridden a presidential veto to enact the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008, creating $1.7 billion in tax incentives for farmers. Some key provisions that will help farmers an...

With summer around the corner and the real estate market ripe for the picking (because real estate prices and mortgage interest rates are both down), the number of owners of vacation property could gr...

Medical residents may receive stipends for work they perform in the course of their studies. Are these stipends treated as wages for the purposes of Social Security and Medicare (FICA) taxes? It depen...

Taxpayers who used direct deposit for their 2007 refunds automatically received their stimulus checks in the same way. Direct deposits of 2007 tax refunds could have been directed not only to checkin...

American citizens who work abroad remain taxable in the United States on their worldwide income. However, they can enjoy certain tax breaks designed to alleviate the burden of paying taxes to two cou...

Generally, the value of a deceased individual's property is determined on the date of death. However, the person's estate can opt to use an alternate valuation date, which is 6 months after t...

If you participate in a 401(k), 403(b), or 457 plan and leave your employer, you have a unique opportunity to profoundly impact your future retirement income. Instead of leaving the funds in the plan ...