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1). Tax Returns - Should You Itemize? When you finally decide it is time to prepare your taxes, the first question is whether you should itemize your deductions or take the standard deduction provided by the IRS. Choices, Choices… Tax deductions are a very simple part of a theoretically simple tax reporting system. If you’ve ever prepared your own taxes, you ... 2). Small Business Tax Issues for Self-Employed Individuals The United States is a nation of entrepreneurs. There are literally tens of millions of self-employed individuals that enjoy pursuing their dream business. Of course, few of you enjoy the paperwork and confusing tax issues that arise from owning your own business. Many self-employed individuals are considered "sole proprietors" or "ind... 3). What to Do If You Can’t Pay Your Taxes The end of tax filing extensions is quickly approaching. What do you do if you can’t pay the amounts you owe? You should still file your return by the due date and pay as much as you can. There are, however, additional steps that might help. Credit Cards You can charge your taxes on your American Express, MasterCard, Visa ... 4). Help Me Prepare My Taxes Nothing leads to more gnashing of teeth than the thought of preparing your own taxes. Fortunately, there are people out there that do it for a living. Here Are My Receipts If the thought of preparing your own taxes makes you queasy, don’t worry. Preparing your taxes is a job that can be shipped out to others. These indivi... 5). Small Business Tax Deduction - Write-Off Bad Debts Practically every small business has receivables that it cannot obtain from clients. If your small business doesn't have any such receivables, consider yourself lucky. For those small businesses that suffer from uncollected receivables, solace can be taken from the fact you can claim a tax deduction. Bad Debt Tax Deduction ... 6). 1099-MISC Forms For Independent Contractors for 2005 As we begin 2005, you’re probably not thinking about taxes at all. This is a mistake as deadlines are approaching for issuing and filing 1099s to independent contractors. What is a 1099 MISC? Generally speaking, the IRS requires you to report certain payments you made during the year to independent contractors. The 1099-MI... 7). Tax Credit Amount for Lexus GS 450 Hybrid Issued By IRS Prior to January 1, 2006, you were restricted to claiming a $2,000 tax deduction if you purchased a hybrid car. Now you can claim a tax credit, which is much more valuable. Tax Credit Amount for Lexus GS 450 Hybrid Issued By IRS Conspiracy theorists often offer rather exotic arguments about how the government tries to cont... 8). Create Tax Savings And Transfer Wealth To Your Child With A Roth IRA Parents must give serious thought to protecting their family through estate tax planning. While life insurance and trusts should be a part of every plan, Roth IRAs can be a simple tool for passing money to your child on a tax-free basis. Roth IRA First, we need a quick summary of the Roth IRA. A Roth IRA is an after-tax re... 9). Using This Years Taxes to Save On Next Years Taxes You just got done paying taxes or filing an extension and are grumpy. If you are smart, you will use this miserable event to save some cash for next year. Using This Years Taxes to Save On Next Years Taxes For most people, preparing and filing taxes is the equivalent of sticking a pin in a body part. It simply is not fun.... 10). Identity Theft – Impacting Your Taxes? If your identity is stolen, your finances can quickly become a nightmare. A less obvious problem is the effect identity theft can have on your taxes. Identity Theft Generally, thieves steal your personal data for the purpose of running up credit card charges or opening and abusing new accounts. A developing trend in the id... 11). Employment Taxes – What Are They? If you have employees, you are responsible for paying a variety of taxes at the federal, state, and local levels. You must also withhold certain taxes from the paychecks of your employees. So, what are employment taxes? Employment taxes include the following. 1. Federal income tax withholding 2. Social Securit... 12). Self-Employed Tax Strategies Self-employed individuals always cringe at the amount of taxes the pay to the IRS and state. Here are tax strategies for self-employed individuals that reduce those tax amounts. Tax Strategies The good news is being self-employed is one of the best tax strategies out there. Unlike a salaried employee, the full scope of t... 13). Are You Overpaying Taxes If You Use Tax Preparation Software? For many business owners the answer to this quandary is tax preparation software. Fill out a fairly simple interview, click “print” and out comes a completed return that will pass muster with the IRS. The answer to all your problems…or is it? Can One Software Program Cover All Businesses? Take a moment to consider the wide... 14). Highlights of IRS List of 2005 Tax Scams Each year, the IRS lists various scams taxpayers get caught up in. The top 2005 scams include several that manipulate laws governing charitable groups, abuse credit counseling services or rely on refuted arguments to claim tax exemptions. The agency is warning taxpayers about the growth of identity theft schemes with some particularly bold thieves ... 15). IRS Obtains More Than 100 Injunctions Against Tax Scheme Promoters The IRS has obtained civil injunctions against more than 100 promoters of illegal tax avoidance schemes and fraudulent return preparers in an ongoing crackdown that began in 2001. Many of the injunctions, obtained in cooperation with the Department of Justice, also order the promoters to turn over client lists and to cease preparing federal income ... 16). 40 Million Credit Card Numbers Stolen – Failure To Encrypt CardSystems Solutions moronic security efforts have resulted in the potential theft of information for 40 million credit cards. Hackers were able to i 17). Google's Book Scanning and Copyright Laws As you may know, Google is making an effort to scan every book in the world. The goal is to create a giant online database of every book that can be s 18). A Lawyers Favorite Lawyer Jokes Lawyer JokesQ: How does a pregnant woman know she is carrying a future lawyer?A: She has an extreme craving for baloney.Q: Wha 19). Incorporating Tips – Capitalization Capitalizing a new business entity is a critical step of the formation process. Failing to take the step can lead to serious legal problems if the ent 20). Automobile Tax Expenses If you use a vehicle for conducting business, you can deduct certain automobile tax expenses from your tax bill. This is true even if you use the vehicle for personal and business needs. Automobile Tax Expenses The powers that be have historically written sections into the tax code promoting business activities. One of th... 21). Critical Business Procedure - Keep All Email Communications Businesses routinely maintain copies of correspondence and memos. Far to often, however, they do not extend this practice to email correspondence. Ema 22). Deducting Points On Home Refinances Any points that you pay in the refinancing of your residence are tax deductible over the length of the loan in question. The deduction is allowable only if the residence is your primary home and the new mortgage replaces a previous one and/or is used to improve the residence. To the extent that money is taken out to pay off credit cards and non-res... 23). S Corporation – What Is It? For many small businesses, the “S” corporation is the business entity of choice. The “S” in S corporation refers to a tax designation. All corporation 24). Employment Taxes – Depositing With The IRS If your business has employees, you must pay employment taxes. The payment system can be a bit confusing, so this article discusses how to go about depositing employment taxes with the IRS. Depositing Employment Taxes To pay employment taxes, you must deposit the money with the IRS. As is typical with tax situations, the p... 25). How to Check the Status of Your Tax Refund Online So, you were pleasantly surprised to learn that you are getting a refund on your taxes. Congratulations! The question for most taxpayers expecting a return is, "Where is my refund?" Check Your Refund Status Online The easiest way to check on your refund is to ask the IRS through IRS.gov. On the home page of the site, you w... 26). Giving To Charities – Tax Deductions and Such The tax code in the United States contains many provisions to promote certain behavior. One area of behavior is the promotion of giving to qualified charities. Giving To Charities – Tax Deductions and Such In the rush to get tax returns prepared and filed, many people absentmindedly forget to include deductions for contri... 27). Alternative Minimum Tax – Online Tool Hell hath no fury like a person who just found out the alternative minimum tax applies to them. The IRS has set up an online tool to figure out if you do. Alternative Minimum Tax The alternative minimum tax is a procedure that was set up to keep the richest of Americans from avoiding tax paying responsibilities. As is typ... 28). Tax Returns for the Deceased Two things in life are certain – death and taxes. Here’s what to do if the two are combined as far as filing a tax return. Tax Returns for the Deceased If a person dies, their finances are immediately converted into something called an estate. The estate is then responsible for filing a tax return covering the finances in... 29). Checking The Status of Your Tax Refund Online More than a few people are happy to learn they are due a tax refund after filling out their tax returns. If you are one of these people, here is how to check the status of your refund online. Checking The Status of Your Tax Refund Online Before getting into checking your refund status, I feel obligated to mention a few th... 30). Do You Own Your Web Site Design? Your web site has been up for a few months and you are making money hand over foot. While surfing sites one evening, you are shocked to f 31). Standard Mileage Deduction Rates – 2005 and 2006 If you’re in business, you’re interested in the IRS mileage deduction rates. The 2005 rates fluctuated because of high gas prices and now the 2006 rates have been released. Standard Mileage Deduction – 2005 In a move not seen for some time, the IRS actually issued two different mileage deduction rates in 2005. Mileage ded... 32). Gambling Income and Expenses - Tax Requirements Hit a big one? With more and more gambling establishments, keep in mind the IRS requires people to report all gambling winnings as income on their tax return. Gambling income includes, but is not limited to, winnings from lotteries, raffles, horse and dog races and casinos. Unfortunately, gambling income also includes the fair market v... 33). Giving Your Car to Charity – The New Tax Rules The IRS has changed the regulations on donating vehicles to charities. If you donated a car last year, you need to read the following to understand the new rules. Giving Your Car to Charity – The New Tax Rules Millions of people donate cars, boats, RVs, motorcycles and many other forms of transportation to charities each ... 34). Licensing Your Copyrighted Materials If you’ve taken the necessary steps to register your copyrighted works, you inevitably will have an opportunity to royalties off of them. To take adva 35). The History of Income Tax They say death and taxes are the only two certain things in life. Alas, this wasn’t always the case. Well, at least for the income tax. The History of Income Taxes Our great nation came into existence in fits and starts. Following the revolt against the British, a federal government was elected and the fun began. This “fu... 36). Tax Season – Time for Scams As tax season draws irresistibly closer, the scam artists are polishing their latest techniques. This article should help you keep an eye out for these nasty individuals. Tax Season – Time for Scams In a particularly cheeky move, scam artists have started posing in on form or another as the IRS in an effort to get you to t... 37). Getting a Tax Credit for Your Kids As you know, raising a family is a full time job and can put stress on your finances. Fortunately, you can claim a tax credit to help cut your IRS bill if you have kids. Getting a Tax Credit for Your Kids With a tax deduction, you are reducing the total amount of adjusted gross income you have. For instance, if you earned ... 38). Forming a Corporation – Investors You’ve come up with the best idea since sliced bread, figured out a business name and formed a corporation. There is, however, one small problem. You 39). Home Office Tax Expenses Self-employed individuals often work out of their own home. If this is the case with you, here’s a primer on home office tax expenses you can claim on your taxes. Home Office Tax Expenses America is a country built on small businesses. Yes, the big companies are the darlings of the media, but the guts of our economy are t... 40). Accounting Methods – Cash and Accrual When starting a business, you have to determine the method you are going to use for accounting and paying taxes. The two choices are the cash method and the accrual method. Cash Method If you are looking for simplicity, the cash method is probably your best accounting choice. Generally, income and deductions can be claimed... 41). Your IRS Tax Appeal Rights Are you in the middle of a disagreement with the IRS? One of the guaranteed rights for all taxpayers is the right to appeal. If you disagree with the IRS about the amount of your tax liability or about proposed collection actions, you have the right to ask the IRS Appeals Office to review your case. During their contact with taxpayers,... 42). 2006 List of Tax Scams Released by IRS Every year, the IRS issues a list of tax scams. The goal is to alert taxpayers to the lack of merit of certain strategies as well as letting everyone know the IRS will not accept them. 2006 Scams The IRS has kicked out its annual list of highly dubious tax scams for 2006. Promoters often make these strategies sound credibl... 43). Donating Cars To Charity - New Tax Rules On June 3, 2005, the IRS released guidance on charitable deductions for donated vehicles. The American Jobs Creation Act (AJCA) radically changed the amount of the deduction taxpayers can claim for their donated car. Fair Market Value v. Actual Sales Price When donating a car to charity, a taxpayer traditionally was allowe... 44). Fraudulent Tax Shelters – KMPG Goes Down Hard In the largest criminal tax case ever filed, KMPG has copped a plea to using fraudulent tax shelters to bilk the government out of 2.5 billion dollars. KMPG has agreed to pay a fine of $456 million dollars, but nine of its executives still are under indictment. Son of Boss Tax Shelters From 1996 to 2003, KMPG promoted a ta... 45). Doh! IRS Loses Taxes In San Francisco Bay On September 23, 2005, the Internal Revenue Service began sending notices to tax payers in thirteen states that there may be a problem with their tax payments. Here is the scoop. Traffic School? It seems one of the trucks carrying the payments was involved in a traffic accident and the payments were lost. The accident actu... 46). Gambling Income and Expenses - Taxes Hit a big one? With more and more gambling establishments, keep in mind the IRS requires people to report all gambling winnings as income on the 47). Capital Assets – Gains and Losses for Taxes Capital is a unique term when it comes to taxes. If it gains value, you pay a tax. If it loses it, you can write at least some of the loss off. Capital Assets – Gains and Losses for Taxes Practically everything you own is a capital asset. This is true whether you use it for business purposes or personal use. The internet ... 48). Non-Compete Agreements In Action – Microsoft v. Google Non-Compete Agreements are controversial documents that restrict a person’s right to work with competitors of a former employer. The effectiveness of 49). Privacy Rights - Big Brother's Bumbling The General Accounting Office has reported the federal government is ignoring individual privacy rights of citizens. Not only is it ignoring guideline 50). Anti-Phishing Bill Introduced To Congress Sen. Partick J. Leahy has introduced the Anti-Phishing Act of 2005 to Congress for consideration. The Act would allow federal prosecutors to Browse Pages: 1 [2] [3]