Amendments are not for the faint of heart.  They’re a bit confusing, particularly if you’re adding or subtracting dependents.  This is one form where you really should seek the help of a professional.  I believe you should always seek the help of a professional, but this one in particular is confusing.  There are lots of [...]

My wife and I had a semi-heated discussion about the Cash for Clunkers program.  Her argument is that it’s good for the economy and good for the environment.  I countered that it’s bad for the economy long-term and that the accountability and oversight of the program is lax.  Congress is getting set to approve another [...]

The Cash for Clunkers program is a smashing success (pun intended because the clunkers have to be scrapped).  Here’s the problem.   The program is approximately one week old and has run out of money.  The program has $1 Billion earmarked for it.  Being a tax weenie, I ran the numbers through my calculator.  $1 Billion [...]

Every year we get at least newlywed that is confused about how to file their return.  The rules are simple - your filing status is determined as of 12-31.  If you’re married on the last day of December, your filing status is Married Filing Joint/Separate.  It doesn’t matter about the previous 364 days.
If you change [...]

Day camps such as Leif Ericson count as child care IF you are working or looking for work.  Overnight camps do NOT count.  Much as you might want to ship off your kid for the summer and write it off - you only get the credit if they’re home every night.

The IRS is publishing a list of tax tips three times a week during the summer.  They’re pretty good so I thought I’d fill up the blogosphere with more bits and bytes.  They’re a bit hard to find on the IRS.gov website plus I’ll editorialize as I condense/paraphrase them.

The first $2,400 of unemployment benefits received in 2009 are tax free for most taxpayers.  If you figure that most folks are in the 10 or 15% bracket, this represents a savings of up to $360.

The cash for clunkers program will officially start in late July after the government issues its regulations.  If you trade in a car with an EPA rating of 18 miles per gallon or less, you will receive a $3,500 credit from the dealer to buy or lease a car rated at 22 mpg or more.  [...]

Okay - I’ll admit it, this has nothing to do with taxes, but it is worrying me.  By way of a disclaimer, I have a number of friends who work in the newspaper industry, so I may be a bit biased.  Here’s the problem as I see it.  One of the hallmarks of democracy in [...]

I recently returned from a retreat with a number of businesses  similar to myself (www.wiseowlstax.com).  One of the main points of interest was the on-going attempts by the IRS to drive taxpayers to the IRS website.  Aside from the self-serving interest of feeding my family by charging folks to have their taxes prepared, I’m a [...]