Income

Identifying what income is taxable and what is tax-free and how to report income on your tax return is fundamental to maximizing your tax savings and minimizing your tax bill.

Taxable Wages, Salary, and Other Compensation

Reporting compensation, disability and workers' compensation, stock plans and options

Fringe Benefits

Insurance benefits, dependent care and adoption benefits, company cars, meal and lodging, and more

Dividend and Interest Income

Reporting dividends, reporting interest income, premiums and discounts on bonds, and more

Reporting Property Sales

Figuring capital gains and losses, holding period for capital assets, figuring your profit or loss, and more

Tax Pointers for Investors in Mutual Funds

Investing in mutual funds, timing your investment, tax-exempt bond funds, and more

Tax Savings for Investors in Securities

Security transactions, savings bonds, trading in securities

Tax-Free Exchanges of Property

Trades of "like-kind" property, personal property held for business or investment, time limits for deferred exchanges, and more

Tax Savings for Residence Sales

$250,000/$500,000 exclusion, selling your home at a loss

Tax Guidelines for Real Estate Investments

Exchanging real estate without tax, timing your real estate property sales, foreclosures and abandonments of mortgage property, and more

Retirement and Annuity Income

Retirement distributions on Form 1099-R,
401(k), 403(b), and government tax-deferred savings plans, reporting commercial annuities, and more

IRAs

Starting and contributing to a Traditional IRA, taking money out of a Traditional IRA, Simplified Employee Pension plans (SEPs), and more

Income from Rents and Royalties

Checklist of rental deductions, how to report rentals of residential and vacation homes, reporting royalty income

Loss Restrictions: Passive Activities and At-Risk Limits

Passive activity restrictions, at-risk rules

Special Tax Rules for Senior Citizens

Social Security benefits, tax credit for the elderly or disabled, continuing care communities

Reporting a Gift

Gifts of appreciated property, filing a gift tax return, gift tax credit, and more

Other Income

Prizes, lottery winnings, and gambling winnings, state tax refunds and other recovered deductions, damages and debt cancellation, and more

How to Treat Foreign Earned Income

What is foreign earned income, qualifying for the foreign earned income exclusion, how to treat housing costs, and more