Do Undocumented Workers File Tax Returns? The mention of undocumented workers always generates an emotional reaction. However, the IRS has a pretty cool, straightforward attitude toward the subject. As far as the IRS is concerned, there are only two kinds of aliens: resident aliens and nonresident aliens. Either way, if you earn income in the [...]
Tax Issues for Parents: Coordinate with Your Kids A woman I know told me she tried to efile her tax return, only to have it rejected. Someone had already filed a tax return using her daughter’s Social Security number. No, it wasn’t an ex. Nor was it identity theft. It was nothing bad. Her sixteen-year-old [...]
Payroll Withholding Tax: Reevaluating Withholding for 2011 January dawns all fresh and clean. All our financial errors, oversights, and misjudgments from last year can be swept away (though we may still have to pay for our ills…), and we get to start this year with a clean slate. What’s the best way to start off [...]
In terms of taxes, 2010 was quite a roller coaster. More tax acts, encompassing more laws, were passed in 2010 than in any other year, except perhaps 1986—the year the United States Internal Revenue Code was overhauled in the Tax Reform Act. Did you have a good tax year? Did you get back as much [...]
Tax Schemes and Tax Turkeys: Stay Away from Too-Good-to-Be-True Tax Advice Several years ago, an attorney asked me to handle an IRS audit of a trust for one of his clients. His explanation of the trust was confusing at first (and I’m a tax professional!), but I finally understood it. The trust was brilliant in [...]
New Tax Laws for 2011 Over the last decade, dozens of tax acts have been passed, filled with hundreds of changes to the tax law. But this year alone, there have been nearly a dozen new tax acts. Ironically, nearly all of the new laws that affect individuals like you and me expire at the [...]
Open-Enrollment and FSAs: A Bonanza of Tax Advantages November is here, that magical time when my husband’s employer has open enrollment, when employees can register for or make changes to their benefits. Working for one of the biggest school districts in the country affords him lots of options for benefits (although they’re getting reduced these [...]
Are You Optimizing Your Retirement Contributions? We all know two facts of old age: Social Security won’t be able to support us when we retire. We will be living longer. What will you do to ensure your retirement is financially secure? Let’s start with a few definitions. Definitions: Deferred-Tax and After-Tax Contributions Deferred-tax contributions reduce [...]
Small-Business Owners: Here Are 9 Ways to Update Your Bookkeeping Skills Recently, a group of enrolled agents (EAs) discussed the most lucrative areas of billing in our tax practices. Do you want to know the one area guaranteed to generate a solid stream of fees for us? It’s cleaning up your bookkeeping. Yup. We can [...]
Tax Filing Deadline: Last-Minute Tax Mistakes To Avoid You’re sitting there gloating, aren’t you? You filed your tax return ages ago—and already have your refund, right? Well, some people are just a bit slower, perhaps for good reason. There is one tax benefit you can get only by waiting until the last minute—a final big [...]
