Each U.S. person who has a financial interest in or signature or other authority over any foreign financial accounts (including bank, securities, or other types of financial accounts in a foreign country) must report that relationship by filing a FinCEN Form 114 (more commonly known as FBAR) electronically with the Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement [...]
Normally, when a business acquires an asset, it must be capitalized and depreciated over its useful life. However, tax law includes some provisions that allow the entire asset or some portion of it to be written in the first year it is placed in service, providing the opportunity for very large first-year write-offs. The following [...]
Late on Dec. 6, President Obama announced that the Administration and the Republicans had arrived at a "framework for a bipartisan agreement" that would extend the Bush-era tax cuts and give workers a two-percentage-point reduction in Social Security tax for 2011. How this agreement will be received by Congressional Democrats is uncertain at this time. [...]
If you give someone money or property during your lifetime, you may be subject to the federal gift tax. The following tips will help you determine if your gift is taxable or if you are required to file a gift tax return. Most gifts are not subject to the gift tax. For example, there is [...]
A number of lucrative individual tax incentives originally introduced in the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001 (EGTRRA) are scheduled to expire after December 31, 2010. If Congress does not act to extend the lower rates and enhanced tax breaks under EGTRRA, these popular tax cuts will expire and will be replaced [...]
If You Receive an IRS Notice: Letter May Be In Error Let Your Tax Professional Respond Procrastination Leads to Bigger Problems Change of Address Complications If it is not your refund check in the mailbox, that letter from the IRS will probably increase your heart rate a little. Don’t panic; many of these letters can [...]
Scammers disguise e-mails to look legitimate. Legitimate businesses and the IRS never request sensitive personal and financial information by e-mail. Don’t become a victim. Stop – Think - Delete While you are thinking about the start of the football season, your children’s soccer games, and the no- too-distant holiday season, the scammers are out there [...]
While the majority of Americans get a tax refund each year, there are many who owe tax and some who can’t pay what they owe all at once. Though with the IRS Fresh Start Program, paying off taxes has become much easier for a certain number of people. It may be worth finding out some [...]
In the year you reach 70½, you become subject to the required minimum IRA distribution rules. Failure to take the required minimum distribution can result in a 50% penalty. The penalty can be waived under certain circumstances. IRA-to-charity transfers are possible in 2013. The IRS does not allow IRA owners to indefinitely keep funds in [...]
As part of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (new health care law), employee contributions to health flexible spending arrangements (health FSA) are now being limited to a maximum pre-tax contribution of $2,500. Employers are able to establish what is referred to as cafeteria plans for their employees. These arrangements allow employees to allocate [...]
