Tax Insights

Have you ever needed copies of your tax information from prior years and for some reason you were unable to locate your records?  Did you know that it is possible to obtain this information directly from the IRS?  The process is quite simple and allows you a transcript copy of your return or other documents [...]

Have you been incurring legal fees?  They can add up fast… so the question is: are they deductible on your tax return?  The most important factor in determining deductibility of personal legal fees is the purpose of the legal fees – what are you paying the attorney for?
If your answer is, they are non-business expenses, [...]

Everyday the world is changing around us, and while some experience fame, fortune, happiness, or success, others may experience difficulty, sorrow, despair, and losses.  Taxpayers who find themselves a victim of theft or natural disasters should know that there are rules out there to help them in deducting their casualty losses on their Income Tax [...]

Some people have to pay federal income taxes on their Social Security benefits. This usually happens only if you have other substantial income (such as wages, self-employment, interest, dividends and other taxable income that must be reported on your tax return) in addition to your benefits.
No one pays federal income tax on more than 85 [...]

An individual or couple can qualify for the adoption tax credit if you adopted a child and paid out-of-pocket expenses relating to the adoption.  The adoption credit is calculated on Form 8839 (Qualified Adoption Expenses).  You may claim an adoption credit of up to $12,170 (for tax year 2010) per eligible child.
Adoption Tax Credit Amounts
  
2009: $12,150
2010: $12,170
2011:  $5,000 [...]

Part II of “Combating Your Tax Return” continues with several additional special tax rules for members of the U.S. Armed Forces:
• In order to be entitled to make contributions to an individual retirement account, an individual must have earned income that is includible in their adjusted gross income for tax purposes.  Previously, this income did not [...]

I always thought that one of the best names for anything in the tax law was the Hope Credit.  Really – who could take the other side of that argument?
Well, under current law, the Hope Credit has been replaced.  Not forever.  Just for now.  And the new credit is called the American Opportunity Credit.  It [...]

There is a new credit on the Form 1040 this year – computed on the new Schedule M (see prior post on Schedule L and Schedule M).  This credit is named the Making Work Pay and Government Retiree Credit and will be located on your 2009 Form 1040 on line 63.  This credit came about [...]

For those of us that have been around the federal tax forms for a long time – or even maybe just a wee bit of time – there was something that could always be counted on.  And that was if we were talking about a Schedule L, we meant the balance sheet of a business [...]

In anticipation of the 2009 tax filing season, here’s a look at what’s new with the 2009 Form 1040.  This summary will touch on many of the changes to pages 1 & 2 of the 1040, but not all.  I highly recommend you review the 1040 instructions for these and other changes.  Most of what [...]