Taxes

August 16, 2016 

To help ease the burden of hard-working parents, employers may institute a dependent care assistance plan for employees. Under such a plan, payments made to third parties like babysitters and day care centers are excluded from income if the costs ...

Ken Berry, JD

August 16, 2016 

The email scheme is the latest in a series of attempts by fraudsters to use the IRS or other tax issues as a cover to trick people into giving up sensitive information such as passwords, Social Security numbers or credit card numbers or to make ...

August 16, 2016 

Currently available as a free trial version, the cloud-based system offers early access to the brand-new TaxWise Online interface, the comprehensive bilingual TaxWise forms library, and complete calculations so that preview users can prepare sample ...

August 10, 2016 

If taxpayers have an expired ITIN and don’t renew before filing a tax return next year, they could face a refund delay and may be ineligible for certain tax credits, such as the Child Tax Credit and the American Opportunity Tax Credit, until the ITIN is r

August 10, 2016 

One of the biggest and best fringe benefits often isn’t technically thought of as a “fringe benefit.” It’s the matching contributions made to a 401(k) plan account by an employer on behalf of participating employees. Witt this add-on, an employee’s ...

August 10, 2016 

Suppose that your personal residence is substantially damaged and will cost you tens of thousands of dollars to fix. Is the repair cost deductible on your tax return as a casualty loss? It doesn’t always seem fair, but it depends on whether the ...

August 9, 2016 

Trying to reclaim some momentum in his presidential election campaign, Donald Trump, the Republican candidate, is tweaking his tax plan. In a far-ranging speech on economic policies on August 8, Trump proposed cuts in individual tax rates, although not as drastic as in previous proposals. The billionaire also advocated tax reforms in line with the...…

August 8, 2016 

Normally, you can deduct the full amount of mortgage interest you’re required to pay on your principal residence and one other home such as a vacation home. But sometimes you might bump up against these two tax law limits, especially if you’re a ...

August 8, 2016 

National Taxpayer Advocate Nina E. Olson and U.S. Rep. Jim Renacci, a member of the House Ways & Means Committee, will hold a public forum to discuss what taxpayers want and need from the IRS to comply with their tax obligations. Rep. Renacci is ...

August 4, 2016 

Generally, the tax exclusion applies to reimbursements covering costs that would have been deductible as job-related moving expenses paid or incurred by employees on their personal tax returns. And those requirements are somewhat convoluted.

August 3, 2016 

Tax compliance automation provider Avalara, Inc. has added new features to its CertCapture solution, enabling businesses to securely capture, manage, and analyze tax compliance documents in real-time. These new features include: A simplified user interface (UI), for use in point-of-sale systems, which was designed with feedback from one of the top “big box” home improvement chain...…

August 3, 2016 

For employees who live a fair distance from work, commuting can be costly and time-consuming, not to mention a hassle. At least employers may provide some relief by offering certain tax-free transportation benefits. The three main benefits are ...