Taxes Update

“The hardest thing in the world to understand is the income tax.” - Albert Einstein, physicist. Well! It may be connected to his theory of relativity but, being a physicist that he was, he didn't think of the U.S. tax system in reverse. It would have been a lot easier for him if he understood two things:

The more you make, the less you pay - ever heard of loopholes?
The less you make, the more you pay - never heard of loopholes?

Filing tax returns, for some, is like going to the dentist. If you have flossed once a day and brushed twice a day regularly, then going to the dentist should be a breeze and not something to dread upon. So keep records of all your income and expenses. Figuring out your tax returns should be a breeze as well.

Millions will have to repay part of tax credit

Sun Nov 22, 2009 | | Posted in Taxes

Washington Post reported on November 16: “Millions will have to repay part of tax credit.” Excerpts from the report More than 15 million taxpayers may owe the government $250 or more because of how the IRS last spring set up President Barack Obama’s tax break that was designed to help consumers spend the U.S. economy … Continue Reading »

The IRS is coming after the filthy rich

Fri Oct 30, 2009 | | Posted in Taxes

Direct from the horse’s mouth. IRS Commissioner Doug Shulman said on Monday “A new Internal Revenue Service enforcement unit targeting the very wealthy will help the tax agency decode partnerships, offshore trusts and other complex techniques used to hide income.” If you think you are filthy rich, watch out. The IRS is coming to your … Continue Reading »

IRS touts its amnesty, trains sights on evaders

Thu Oct 15, 2009 | | Posted in Taxes

This report is published on nytimes.com. Excerpts The Internal Revenue Service said more than 7,500 U.S. taxpayers with undeclared offshore accounts had stepped forward under its limited amnesty program, and the agency announced a new push to stop tax evaders from moving funds between foreign countries. The accounts ranged in size from just above $10,000 … Continue Reading »

Get Out Of The Bucket Full Of Ponzi Schemes

Wed Jun 24, 2009 | | Posted in Taxes

If you have lost money by giving it to a schmuck to invest it for you, help may be on the way especially if you are a victim of the biggest schmuck of them all known as Bernie Madoff. The IRS of the good old U.S. of A. has announced it will treat investment theft … Continue Reading »

States’ budget crack being filled with tax hikes

Tue Jun 16, 2009 | | Posted in Taxes

These days, we, the American people, seem to be responsible for almost everything. If the Federal or State needs to fill their treasury, the authorities look up to us. I don’t know about you guys, but I have not felt so important in my life of 6 decades as I do now, even though the … Continue Reading »

Tips For Eligibility To Get $8000 As First-Time Homebuyer

Wed Apr 29, 2009 | | Posted in Taxes

There is a nice windfall for some home buyers in the economic stimulus bill signed into law first week of April by President Obama. First-time buyers can claim a credit worth $8,000 – or 10% of the home’s value, whichever is less – on their 2008 or 2009 taxes. This is refundable tax credit, not … Continue Reading »

Tips How To Spend Tax Refund

Thu Apr 16, 2009 | | Posted in Taxes

More than 70% of tax filers typically receive a refund. So far this year, the average refund is $2705, 11% higher than last year, according to data from the Internal Revenue Service. Now, the question is what would you do with it? There are many ways you can deal with it. In the previous years, … Continue Reading »

A Paralyzing Fear of Filing Taxes

Sun Apr 12, 2009 | | Posted in Taxes

New York Times Online ran a story “A Paralyzing Fear of Filing Taxes” By Charles DelaFuente Published: April 11, 2009. Charles states that Call it fear of filing. It afflicts normal-looking people who function well in other facets of their lives. The symptoms include failing to file tax returns for years on end and squirreling … Continue Reading »

U.S. Tax Code Can Be So Confusing

Sun Apr 5, 2009 | | Posted in Taxes

I sure don’t. I know it’s confusing but I don’t know the reason why it’s confusing. I have not counted how many pages the good old IRS has on their website and how many they have printed out. But I keep reading that there are more than 10,000 – that’s ten thousand – pages out … Continue Reading »

Do-It-Yourself or Hire Tax Preparer – Be Honest

Mon Mar 2, 2009 | | Posted in Taxes

Always be honest when you do taxes whether you do them yourself or hire a tax preparer. The government has been targeting sleazy tax preparers. It goes after them in court and then audits their clients. Recently, the government got an injunction against a Connecticut tax preparer who not only inflated taxpayers’ business expense deductions … Continue Reading »