When it comes to filing your tax return, spending 39 cents could be the biggest mistake you ever make.
Millions of taxpayers make the mistake of putting their income tax return in a regular letter-sized envelope, sticking on a 39 cent stamp, and placing the envelope in the mailbox.
And millions of taxpayers “get away” with this [...]

A tax credit is a credit that reduces the amount of taxes you must pay the Federal Government. It can save you substantial money because, unlike a deduction, a tax credit reduces the amount of income subject to taxation. For example, if you purchased a more efficient water heater (AFUE 95), and a solar heating [...]

Do you think that Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) is only for Incentive Stock Options (ISO) and the wealthy?
You may be subject to the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) in 2006, even if you have the same income and deductions as 2005. The current AMT tax rules sunset and return to pre-reform levels, meaning that millions [...]

The word “tax” evokes different kind of responses from different people. While some see it as a yearly headache that they have now grown accustomed to, there are others who see it as something that unfairly eats way a big chunk of their salary. But why do we after all have to pay taxes? Actually, [...]

Well, if you have any tax problems or are cheating Uncle Sam in any way, you should be.
The Internal Revenue Service, once the butt of late-night television jokes, has changed. It’s now an aggressive agency with the tenacity and bite of a pit bull.
The IRS’s enforcement numbers in 2005 were up substantially compared to the [...]

Primary residence buyers and sellers understand the fundamental tax benefits of owning a home. Many though aren’t aware beyond the typical deductions of mortgage interest and real estate taxes what and when other home buying or selling expenses can be deducted. The second step in determining the timeline for claiming an expense is separating deductions [...]

If you received interest or dividend income, sold stock or worked as an independent contractor in 2005, you should receive some version of the IRS Form 1099 to help you in completing your tax return.
1099 forms are distributed to recipients by the end of January, just like W-2 statements. If you don’t receive an expected [...]

Online Tax Preparation makes it easy to ‘do it yourself’. With the simplified processes of online tax prep along with the information age of getting more info, you can actually file your income tax without a lot of pain and agony, but… If you file your taxes online, with the knowledge you gain from online [...]

Many self-employed people and small business owners make quarterly estimated tax payments at both the federal and state level. (Sigh!)
If you’re newly self-employed and perhaps unfamiliar with the government’s estimated tax payment schedule, here are the due dates for the Year 2006 quarterly estimated tax payments:
QTR 1: April 15, 2006QTR 2: June 15, 2006QTR 3: [...]

1. Throughout the Year, Keep Your Tax Records Organized. The time it takes to prepare your taxes is dramatically reduced for those who develop a system for organizing their documents, receipts and records. A good theme around which I use to organize my materials is, unsurprisingly, the income, deduction or tax credit items I listed [...]