The ex-banker in me cringes at this one but as a tax preparer, it’s a great way to save a lot of $$.  When a bank writes off a debt they give you one last present in the form of a 1099-C.  The amount of the 1099-C is then added to your income.  The thinking [...]

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.

Okay - this is one of those goofy tax code provisions that sounds good on paper, but in reality few people qualify for it.
First - You must be able to itemize AND get over the 2% hurdle for unreimbursed employee expenses.
Second - Generally speaking, you only qualify for the deduction if you’re looking for a [...]

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.