Find the Right Tax Accountant

When looking for a professional to handle your taxes, you need to make sure that you make the right choice. There are many benefits of having a tax accountant handle your taxes, but you should ask plenty of questions before you place all of your most important information in a stranger's hands.

Useful Tips on Selecting a Tax Return Preparer

According to the IRS, only attorneys, CPAs and enrolled agents can represent taxpayers before the IRS in all matters including audits, collection actions and appeals. While other return preparers are limited to representing taxpayers only in audits regarding a return they signed as a preparer

What You Should Know About Kiddie Tax

The new kiddie tax change, which was approved by congress, is good only until a child turns 18, as apposed to the old law where it was done away with on the child's 14th birthday. For 2006 and 2007, a child's investment income that exceeds $1,700 is taxed at the parent's rate. To earn $1,700 of income, the invested principal would have to be at least $21,250, assuming an 8 percent annual yield. The first $850.00 of a child's investment earnings will remain tax-free, whereas, the next $850.00 is taxed at the child's rate, which is 10% for interest income and 5% for qualified dividends, and long-term capital gains. The parent's rate can go as high as 35%.

Preparing 1099-MISC Forms

The 1099 tax designation refers to what are known as information returns. The IRS collects them to track revenues paid to individuals. Here is how you fill out the form.

Seniors Receive Service From Volunteer Tax Preparers

Qualifying Seniors age 60 and over may receive face-to-face tax return preparation at no cost from IRS-certified volunteers. The IRS estimates that as many as half the older people who do their own tax returns overpay, because they are not aware of credits and exclusions to which they are entitled. They do not get the overpayment back if there is nothing on their return to indicate they are entitled to some credit.

The Primary Residence Exclusion

One of the greatest tax gifts is the principle residence rules for capital gains on the sale of your home. So great is the principle residence tax exclusion that even married couples filing jointly are benefited to the same, if not greater, extent as single taxpayers.

European Union VAT

As of 1 January 2007 Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom are members of the European Union and are required to abide by the laws regarding VAT, or Value Added Tax.

New Tax Rules for the Poor

According to the Census Bureau, the number of tax-filers that earn less than $15,000 in 1980 dropped from $33,400 to $15,300 ten years later. Statistics confirm that in the year 2000 there was $11,900 tax-filers category

Tax Return Online is a Hassle Free Way of Calculating Taxes

Tax return online is a simple method through which one can calculate the amount of money that they will have to pay as a tax to the government. Paying taxes in time is vital if you want to avoid any hassles from the income tax department.

Home Based Business Tax Deduction Topic - Home Office

If you are self-employed and run you business from a space in your home, you may qualify for a home office tax deduction. This article will cover the requirements to qualify for a home office deduction.

Taxes: How To Dramatically Reduce Your Taxes With One Simple Step

The federal government may keep up to 65.9% of every W2 check. It’s called withholding tax. What you never see you may never really miss. If you had to pay that same amount in a lump-sum for taxes on tax day each year, you might personally lead the irate crowd in another Boston Tea Party. There is a way to dramatically reduce your taxes and give yourself a raise in one easy step.

Refund Loans Can Affect Tax Refunds

According to Consumer Federal of America and the National Consumer Law Center, recent data has shown that in 2004 refund anticipation loans cost 12 million taxpayers $1 billion in loan fees, with pay stub loans most likely making a big contribution to the increase of that total.

Real Estate Property Scams Used by Assessors as Comparables Hurt Taxpayers

Artificially high real estate comparables inflate the assessment for your home. Most don't know the tax assessor seems to cherry pick the higher priced homes when coming up with your assessment value. If he doesn't, the blanket assessment seems to bench mark, lending for the more expensive. But what about out and out fraud?