Tax Law Blog | IRS Tax Attorneys
TAX LAW NEWS - TAX LITIGATION
From the category archives:
1. Tax “custody” is different.
These days, family courts often award “joint” custody of a child–joint legal custody and sometimes joint physical custody too. In the tax world there is no such thing. Custody, meaning the $3,650 dependent exemption for a child and the $1,000 child tax credit belongs to the parent in whose home the [...]
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Now that you’ve vacuumed the confetti off the floor and finished washing all those champagne flutes, it’s time to start preparing for the year we just rang in – and the taxes we’ll all have to pay on April 15.
These five tips come from Gregg Semanick, Delaware’s IRS spokesman, and ought to start even a [...]
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If you’re unemployed, your tax bill will probably decline:
Deduction for medical expenses. Co-payments, deductibles and other unreimbursed medical expenses are deductible only if they exceed 7.5% of your adjusted gross income.
The income cut-off prevents most people with jobs and employer-provided health insurance from deducting medical expenses. But if your income has declined and you’re paying [...]
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Many people discover that too much tax has been paid when they complete the required information or tax return. For example, when you complete your personal income tax return – after taking into account the available exclusions, exemptions, deductions and credits – you may discover that more tax has been paid than what was due [...]
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Under current law, age no longer matters. If the property sold was your principal residence for at least two out of the last five years, then you can exclude from tax as much as $250,000 in gain (and $500,000 on a joint return).
Your age is irrelevant, and you can take the gain exclusion every two [...]
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Do you need help preparing your tax return, or should you try to do it yourself? The following quiz can help give you an idea of how well you understand tax concepts and current tax laws. There are 25 questions, and each question is worth four points.
When you finish, you’ll see your score and the [...]
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Charity, as I hope everyone remembers, begins with a tax deduction. If you didn’t have the cash to contribute in 2007, I hope you charged it. And, likewise, if you don’t have the cash when it comes time to contribute in 2008, go ahead and charge it. The deduction is allowed in the year of [...]
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Nontaxable Interest
Interest earned on bonds issued by a state, territory, municipality or any political subdivision is free from federal taxes. These are generically called municipal bonds, and their tax benefit increases in value as your marginal tax rate goes higher. (In other words, the bonds are worth more to you as your overall income rises.)
Assume [...]
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Hard Money is the Informal term referring to contributions to political campaigns, committees and parties that are regulated by federal election law, limited in scope, and subject to public disclosure. Individuals are permitted to contribute a maximum of $2,000 to a federal candidate per election, $5,000 to a political action committee per year, and up [...]
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The Internal Revenue Service is adept at using leverage to intimidate, coerce and bluff taxpayers and their representatives into adverse collection and examination determinations based upon weak legal authority and incomplete or insufficient facts. The IRS will “roll-over” taxpayers and weal representatives who are not familiar with taxpayer rights and lack of knowledge about the [...]
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