Getting mail from the IRS is rarely something to celebrate. If it's a bill, consider yourself lucky — at least you can just pay it and be done. If it's a "CP 2000" notice proposing a change to your taxes, get ready for a ride on the paperwork tilt-a-whirl. If it's an...
Here in America, most of our tax debates center on "income." How do we define it? How do we count it? What do we get to exclude from it, deduct from it, or credit towards it. And finally, how much of it do we take, to make sure everyone pays their "fair" share. The...
Way back in 1963, the singer Andy Williams introduced one of the most popular Christmas songs of all time: "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year." Decades later, the office-supply store Staples repurposed it to sell school supplies, and Miller recycled it once...
Most of us don't get to choose our parents. And while we're usually grateful for the ones we have, we've also dreamed of lives that might have been. What little girl hasn't dreamed of growing up a princess, living in a palace, riding in a horse-drawn carriage, wearing...
The Imitation Game is the critically acclaimed story of Alan Turing, a British mathematician who is widely credited as being the father of computer science and artificial intelligence. Benedict Cumberbatch plays Turing, whose work in cracking Nazi Germany's "ENIGMA"...
Sitting on a piece of investment property that you would like to sell? By structuring the transaction as a tax-deferred exchange, you can delay paying taxes on the full amount of the gain realized. Also known as a "like-kind exchange" or a "1031 exchange," these...
You can enjoy a vacation home and cut your taxes - with some careful planning and a little discipline. The IRS rules can be complex and potentially restrictive, so a word of caution is in order as you plan the use of your vacation home. Owners of vacation homes often...
If you're an officer or on the board of a community organization, you may wonder about the tax requirements that apply to your group. Generally, an organization will not owe taxes if two things are true: * It has registered as an exempt nonprofit organization with the...
If you're receiving a tax refund this year, the IRS reminds you that you can use it to buy U.S. savings bonds directly from the IRS. Here are the details. * You may purchase up to $5,000 in U.S. Series I savings bonds. * The total amount of bonds you purchase must be...
If you do volunteer work for a charitable organization and have not kept track of your out-of-pocket expenses, you might be passing up an excellent opportunity to lower your tax bill. To qualify, your unreimbursed expenses must relate directly to the charity, and you...
