Archive for the Tax Category

The term “marriage penalty” in taxes refers to the situation that two people with the same income would pay more tax if they married and filed a joint return (MFJ) than if they stay single and file separately as single taxpayers. In order to avoid a marriage

There are many tax scams out there with the purpose of stealing your identity, stealing your money, or filing fraudulent tax returns using your private information. Tax scammers work year-round, not just during tax season, and target virtually everyone. Stay alert to the ways criminals pose as

Undergoing the scrutiny of an IRS audit is liable to put any taxpayer on edge. While it may seem like the IRS randomly hands out audit notices like candy to unlucky victims, there are some best practices you can put in place in order to avoid inadvertently

While many taxpayers plan for retirement by investing in retirement savings accounts, it is important for taxpayers to also plan on how to handle income during retirement as well. The timing of different retirement distributions could drastically affect the amount of taxes paid throughout retirement. To start,

Identity theft happens when someone uses your personal information without your permission. While this can include credit cards, banking information, and passwords, it’s your Social Security number that’s the biggest IRS-related identity theft problem.  An estimated 4 to 5 million taxpayers are currently affected by identity theft

While some may say that tax season in and of itself should be classified as a “federally declared disaster,” the phrase holds more weight this upcoming year as thousands of families have been devastated by the California wildfires and East Coast hurricanes. Beginning in 2018, the personal

This time of year and into April, we begin to hear a different vocabulary come to life: “Credit.”  “Exemption.”  “Adjusted Gross Income.”  It can seem as if your accountant speaks a different language from you. While we’ll do our best to explain the tax terms we use

Are you one of the thousands of people who are working gig-type jobs for Uber, Lyft, DoorDash, Grubhub, or companies like them? Whether you’re full time or just moonlighting a few hours a week, the paperwork for this part of your taxes will be a little different.

Collecting sales tax is one of those things that most businesses need to do on a regular basis.  It’s also a chore that is somewhat done by machines and administrative personnel. If the rules change and the procedures go out of date, business owners who are not

The IRS unveiled a draft of the new 2018 Form 1040 over the summer which consolidates Form 1040, 1040A, and 1040EZ into one supposedly simpler postcard-sized form. The only problem is there are now 2 pages of the postcard 1040 and six new schedules. Here’s a link