When selling a rental home, understand the tax implications of selling the rental home and the 1031 exchange rules if you buy a new home. Q: I was wondering if you would be so kind and clarify something for me. I have a rental home that I have rented out for the past 18 months. [...]
Have you ever seen those announcements from the IRS saying it has millions of dollars in unclaimed tax refunds? Earlier this year, the IRS announced that over $1 billion was unclaimed. How can that be? Many people haven’t gotten around to filing taxes or have made tax mistakes. But the IRS isn’t heartless. You can [...]
There are four categories of people who should be paying estimated payments: People who are self-employed People whose nonwage income is increasing (or expected to increase) in the current year People who have done well on the stock market People who have gotten a healthy inheritance (or other windfall), with assets that produce income Anyone [...]
Small business owners can take a tax deduction with the standard mileage rate. Excerpt from Small Business Taxes Made Easy by Eva Rosenberg. Autos, trucks, vans, minivans, trailers, SUVs, whatever you’re using, it’s probably one of your most costly assets. It’s also your best source of business deductions, since you’ve got to have a set [...]
Tax tips for small business owners. Excerpt from Small Business Taxes Made Easy by TaxMama Eva Rosenberg. Get more advice for filing taxes from TaxMama’s posts on the Equifax Finance Blog. Keep all tax returns forever. Ignore what anyone else tells you. There have been too many times that the IRS or the state has [...]
You sent off your tax return last month, expecting to be done filing taxes. But what do you do when you receive a letter back from the IRS? Don’t panic. Often, communication from the IRS can be resolved quickly. However, there are some people who don’t even open mail from the IRS. They are so [...]
During the last two weeks of tax season, TaxMama got some heartbreaking requests for information from people who had done things in 2011 that couldn’t be fixed when filing taxes. Perhaps these are things you’re also thinking of doing right now? Let’s learn from their mistakes. First-time homebuyer credit errors The first-time homebuyer credit had [...]
Women are caring and nurturing creatures, but we can sometimes be taken advantage of. Read on to learn about two ladies who fought their own tax battles and the lessons we can learn from the mistakes they made in filing taxes. Crazy cat lady takes on the IRS Ms. Jan Elizabeth Van Dusen is a [...]
It’s bad enough having to face paying a fortune in taxes—there’s no reason to also get stuck paying penalties when filing taxes. Yet many people just don’t review their financial status or withholding during the year—and they end up coming up short over and over again. Although the IRS offers a delicious menu of penalties [...]
A good friend once told me, “Free is worth the paper it’s written on.” You’ve likely heard all the warnings about how there’s no such thing as a free lunch. Is this equally true when it comes to free tax preparation and tax filing services? Let me give you some good news—there really are some [...]
