We’re talking about the filing blunders that can increase your tax bill, raise the odds of unwanted IRS attention, or cost you if you get audited. Leaving aside obvious ones, such as forgetting to sign your return, here are some of the most common mistakes: The gift that ends up taking You probably know you … Read more Biggest screw-ups people make on their tax returns
What happens if you discover a mistake on your tax return? Mistakes are totally fixable. Here’s what you need to know: The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) may fix the mistake for you. The IRS will correct math errors and may even figure a capitulation for you (bringing a total from a schedule that you forgot … Read more Made A Mistake On Your Tax Return? Here’s What You Need To Know
In one of the great ironies, the great economist Milton Friedman–known for his pro-market, limited government views–helped to invent government withholding of income tax. It happened early in his career, when he was working for the U.S. government during World War II. Of course, the IRS opposed the idea at the time as impractical. Friedman … Read more How Milton Friedman Helped Invent Income Tax Withholding
In many cases, using a paid tax preparer will get you a larger refund than if you did your own taxes, but a Government Accountability Office survey suggests you might not be entitled to that money in the first place. With an estimated 56% of the 145 million U.S. tax returns filed in 2011 through … Read more Want your taxes done right? Do it yourself
If you need a little more time to get last year’s financial affairs in order, you’ll need to file for an extension. For an automatic six-month extension, use IRS Form 4868, which will require you to estimate your tax liability, based on the data available to you. (You won’t have to make a payment immediately, … Read more How do I file for an income tax extension?
Just like the income tax, most people can’t avoid paying Social Security taxes on their employment and self-employment income. There are, however, exemptions available to specific groups of taxpayers. If you fall under one of these categories, you can potentially save a significant amount of money. However, if you do take advantage of the exemption, … Read more Who Is Exempt from Paying Social Security Tax?
The home mortgage interest deduction was spared in the tax reform, but the amount of home mortgage allowable for purposes of the deduction was limited to $750,000 for new mortgages. Existing mortgages were grandfathered, but that didn’t appear to be the case for home equity debt, raising some questions for taxpayers. The Internal Revenue Service … Read more IRS Issues Guidance For Deducting Home Equity Loan Interest Under The New Tax Law
Around the world, tax authorities have tried to bring forth regulations on bitcoins. The US Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and its counterparts from other countries are mostly on the same page when it comes to treatment of bitcoins. The IRS said that the bitcoin should be treated as an asset or an intangible property and … Read more A guide to paying taxes on bitcoin
