Archive for Taxes

Important Reminder For Purchasing Your Health Insurance Through The Government Marketplace

Article Highlights: Determining Household Income The Advanced Premium Tax Credit Marketplace Estimate of Income Modified Adjusted Gross Income Who Is Family For Health Insurance Purposes? When applying for insurance through a state or the federal health insurance marketplace, you will be asked to provide an estimate of your household income for 2016. Your household income […]

Unpaid Debt Can Take Your Refund

Article Highlights: Bureau of the Fiscal Service Allowable Refund Offsets Disputing an Offset Injured Spouse Claim As the 2015 tax season approaches, you may be getting excited about your potential tax refund. However, that excitement may be premature if you have outstanding federal or state debts. The Treasury Department’s Bureau of the Fiscal Service (BFS) […]

Get Credit for Generating Your Own Home Power

Article Highlights Solar Heating System Solar Electric System Fuel Cell Plant Wind Energy Geothermal Heat Pump Through 2016, taxpayers can get a tax credit on their federal tax return equal to 30% of the costs for installing certain power-generating systems on their homes. The credit is non-refundable, which means it can only be used to […]

Gifting Money or Property Can Have Serious Tax Consequences

Article Highlights: Gift and Inheritance Tax Lifetime Exclusion Annual Exclusion Gift and Inheritance Basis Issues Additional Tuition & Medical Exclusion Gift and inheritance taxes were created long ago to prevent an individual’s assets from being passed on to future generations free of tax. Congress has frequently tinkered with these taxes, and currently the gift and […]

Should You Keep Home Improvement Records?

Many taxpayers don’t feel the need to keep home improvement records, thinking the potential gain will never exceed the amount of the exclusion for home gains ($250,000 or $500,000 if both filer and spouse qualify) if they meet the 2-out-of-5-year use and ownership tests. Here are some situations when having home improvement records could save […]

Is Your Refund Too High or Do You Owe Taxes? You Probably Need to Adjust Your W-4

If your income is primarily from wages and you received a very large refund—or worse, if you owed money—then your employer is not withholding the correct amount of tax (but it probably isn’t your employer’s fault). Sure, you like a big refund, but you have to remember you are only getting your own money back […]

Are You Leaving Tax Money On The Table?

Each year the IRS reports about $1 billion in unclaimed refunds for individuals who did not file a tax return. The IRS estimates that approximately half of the unclaimed refunds are for amounts greater than $600. You may not have filed, thinking that because you don’t itemize and your employer is withholding tax that you […]

Do I Have to File a Tax Return?

This is a question many taxpayers ask during this time of year, and the question is far more complicated than people believe. To fully understand, we need to consider that there are times when individuals areREQUIRED to file a tax return, and then there are times when it is to individuals’ BENEFIT to file a return even if […]

Don’t Overlook the Spousal IRA

One frequently overlooked tax benefit is the “spousal IRA.” Generally, IRA contributions are only allowed for taxpayers who have compensation (the term “compensation” includes: wages, tips, bonuses, professional fees, commissions, alimony received, and net income from self-employment). Spousal IRAs are the exception to that rule and allow a non-working or low-earning spouse to contribute to […]

Tuition for School to Treat Learning Disabilities is Deductible

IRS has privately ruled that for a child diagnosed with multiple learning disabilities, tuition paid to attend a school designed to assist students in overcoming their disabilities and developing appropriate social and educational skills was a deductible medical expense. Treating a child’s learning disabilities can place a heavy financial burden on parents. As the ruling […]