Article Highlights: CARES and COVID Tax Relief Acts Unemployment Benefits American Rescue Plan Tax-Exempt Portion of Unemployment Bogus Forms 1099-G Kiddie Tax and Unemployment States’ Taxation of Unemployment With the passage of the CARES Act stimulus package early in 2020, the federal government began supplementing the normal state weekly unemployment benefits by adding $600 […]
Article Highlights: Single Married Filing Jointly Surviving Spouse Married to a Nonresident Alien Head of Household Married Filing Separate Filing status is determined on the last day of the year and most often is based on marital status. The two most prevalent are as follows: Single – Unmarried individuals without dependents. Married Taxpayers Filing […]
Article Highlights: CARES Act Moratorium RMD Resumptions Age Considerations Figuring out the RMD Amount Penalty for Not Taking an RMD No Maximum Limit IRA-to-Charity Transfers As part of the CARES Act, the requirement for older taxpayers to take required minimum distributions (RMDs) from their retirement plans was waived for 2020. This primarily was due to […]
As if this past year with all of its pandemic perils has not been stressful enough, the Office of the Inspector General for the Department of Labor has just added to our anxieties by announcing that at least at least $36 billion and possibly as much as $63 billion has been lost to improper unemployment […]
Article Highlights: Charitable Contributions Educator Expenses Performing Artist Expenses State and Local Government Officials’ Expenses Health Savings Account Contributions Moving Expenses for Members of the Armed Forces Student Loan Interest Deduction Tuition and Fees Deduction Deduction for Early Withdrawal of Savings Deductible Part of Self-employment Tax Self-employed Health Insurance Deduction Alimony Deduction (pre-2019 divorce agreements) […]
Article Highlights Prior Filed Returns with Unemployment Income American Rescue Plan’s $10,200 Exclusion IRS Automatic Adjustment Refund Application When an Amended Return Might Be Required The IRS announced on March 31, that it will take steps to automatically refund money this spring and summer to people who filed their tax return reporting unemployment compensation before […]
Article Highlights: Employment (Earned) Income Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) Child Tax Credit (CTC) 2019 or 2020 Earned Income Credit Qualifications Because of the pandemic, many individuals have seen their employment (earned) income plummet. In that situation, two very important tax credits, the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and the Child Tax Credit […]
April 2021 Individual Due Dates April 12 – Report Tips to Employer If you are an employee who works for tips and received more than $20 in tips during March, you are required to report them to your employer on IRS Form 4070 no later than April 12. April 15 – Taxpayers with Foreign Financial Interests […]
Article Highlights: Non-refundable vs. Refundable Credit Childcare Credit Earned Income Tax Credit Child & Dependent Tax Credit Saver’s Credit Vehicle Tax Credits Adoption Credit Residential Energy-Efficient Property Credit Tax credits are a tax benefit that offsets your actual tax liability, as opposed to a tax deduction, which reduces your income. Congress provides tax credits to […]
Article Highlights: Phone Scams E-Mail Phishing What’s in Your Purse or Wallet? What You Should Never Do Fake Charities Protecting Against Identity Theft Thieves use taxpayers’ natural fear of the IRS and other government entities to ply their scams, including e-mail and phone scams, to steal your money. They also use phishing schemes to trick […]