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Deadline Approaching for 2006 Refunds

Mar 8, 2010 5:10pm

Individuals have until April 15, 2010, to file an original or amended tax return for 2006 and receive a refund from that year. The IRS says it has about $1.3 billion in reserve for people who still need to file their 2006 returns. Additionally, taxpayers had a special one-time-only tax credit...

Overview of the IRS's Whistleblower Program

Mar 8, 2010 4:22pm

The Internal Revenue Service operates a whistleblower program whereby the agency will issue monetary awards to individuals who provide information that results in the collection of significant un-reported tax dollars. This program has undergone significant changes since 2006. The agency can award commissions, so to speak, of up to 30%...

What to Do With Form 1099-A?

Feb 27, 2010 9:15am

When a house is foreclosed upon by the bank, the owners typically receive Form 1099-A from the lender showing several pieces of relevant information. The information on Form 1099-A will likely be needed to report the foreclosure properly on your tax return. A foreclosure is treated as the sale of...

Using Tax Rates and the Tax Tables

Feb 22, 2010 7:30pm

Tax software is great for calculating how much taxed is owed to the government. But there's something to be said about being able to calculate the same answer by hand, just to check to see if the answer is right. For most financial situations, people can use the 2009 marginal...

Deadline for Haitian Charity Donations as 2009 Deduction

Feb 21, 2010 3:53pm

Are you considering making a donation to charity to help provide relief to Haiti? You may want to donate by February 28th, 2010. Haitian relief donations made by the end of February can be deducted either on your 2009 tax return or on your 2010 return. This is a special...

Preparing a Dependent's Tax Return

Feb 15, 2010 12:33pm

High-school and college students sometimes need to file their own tax returns based on money they've earned from part-time or summer jobs. However such students are usually dependents, and their parents claim the personal exemptions for their kids on the parents' tax returns. So how does a dependent go about...

How Soon Can One Amend a 2009 Tax Return?

Feb 10, 2010 2:08pm

Imagine this situation. No sooner did you put all the finishing touches on your 2009 tax return and e-filed it, you discovered some new information. Perhaps an extra W-2 or 1099 comes in the mail. Or perhaps, a brokerage firm or employer sends you a corrected W-2 or 1099. Or...

TurboTax

Feb 10, 2010 4:33am

TurboTax is very quick and easy for simple tax returns, and provides plenty of added features for those purchasing a premium version of the software product. Intuit has several versions of the software, ranging from a bare-bones free version for the simplest tax returns to their top-of-the line Home &...

Reviewing AMT Calculations

Feb 7, 2010 2:55pm

Most tax software programs will skip over the calculations for the alternative minimum tax if this does not apply to you. While this is fine for preparing your tax return, you might want to take a look at the calculations to help you plan ahead for 2010. That's because the...

Comparing the Standard Deduction to Itemized Deductions

Feb 3, 2010 5:10am

For 2009 tax returns, people can take a standard deduction plus additional deductions for property taxes, sales tax on purchasing a new car, or additional amounts if the person is elderly or blind. This new "expanded" standard deduction can add new ways to optimize your tax return, especially if your itemized...