In a last-minute push before a special enrollment begins Sunday, officials from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and Treasury Department Friday wanted to remind consumers to sign up for coverage and avoid fees seen in this year’s tax season. “We’re certainly not in the business of looking to collect fees or to penalize…
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The general rule for married taxpayers filing their tax returns is that they can only file Married Filing Jointly (MFJ) or Married Filing Separately (MFS). There is, however, a very important exception to this rule. If you are married and separated from your spouse, under tax law you may be considered unmarried if certain conditions…
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More than 40 tax provisions, including the tax rate schedules, and other tax changes are adjusted for inflation in 2015. Let’s take a look at the ones most likely to affect taxpayers like you. The tax rate of 39.6 percent affects singles whose income exceeds $413,200 ($464,850 for married taxpayers filing a joint return), up…
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(Bloomberg Business) States have been pushing taxpayers to get their refunds via direct deposit for years. Now people choosing that option may be surprised with a paper check instead. South Carolina informed residents this week that, in response to a recent spike in fraud, the state is converting some refunds for people who requested direct…
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Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ken., has re-introduced a bill to repeal certain provisions of the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act that he contends violate taxpayer privacy. Paul, who is widely expected to run for President, originally introduced the bill in 2013 (see Rand Paul Introduces Bill to Repeal Parts of FATCA). FATCA, which was included as…
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The IRS has issued nearly 40 million tax refunds worth almost $125 billion for this season as of February 20. The average refund is $3,120. Altogether, the IRS has processed almost 50 million returns, or about a third of the total individual federal income tax returns the agency expects to receive this year. Almost 83%…
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The Child Tax Credit may save you money at tax-time if you have a qualified child. Here are six things you should know about the credit. 1. Amount. The Child Tax Credit may help reduce your federal income tax by up to $1,000 for each qualifying child that you are eligible to claim on your tax…
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The Minnesota Society of Certified Public Accountants recently surveyed its CPA members in public accounting on the most outrageous tax deductions clients tried to take on their tax returns. Their responses included everything from pets and weddings to cars impounded by the police. Here are some examples of Outrageous Tax Deductions: Questionable Dependents Attempting to…
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A new report from the National Academy of Sciences explains how the U.S. is falling behind other nations, including Spain, the United Kingdom, Canada and the European Union, in combating illicit tobacco sales and tobacco tax abuse. The new report estimates that the share of illicit tobacco sales as part of the total U.S. tobacco…
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WASHINGTON — The Internal Revenue Service today warned taxpayers to be on the lookout for unscrupulous tax return preparers pushing inflated tax refund claims. This scam remains on the annual list of tax scams known as the “Dirty Dozen” for the 2015 filing season. “Every filing season, scam artists lure victims in by promising outlandish…
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