Tax News

Employer payments for your health coverage are fully tax free. This rule does not change in 2014 when the health care mandates go into effect. But are cash payments that an employer pays to an employe...

It’s not easy to turn a foreign trip into a tax deduction. Just ask one taxpayer who tried to justify his travel costs as “research” for his writing activities. He was born in France but became ...

Health savings accounts (HSAs) are a viable way to obtain affordable health coverage. In order to make contributions to these accounts, you must be covered by a high-deductible health plan (HDHP). The...

The Affordable Care Act provides that a group health plan or health insurance issuer offering group health insurance coverage cannot have a waiting period of more than 90 days. The IRS, the Department...

If you purchase a vehicle this year for business use, you can depreciate the cost up to set dollar limits. The IRS announced the limits for passenger cars and for light trucks and vans. The limits for...

If you use a portion of your home for business so that you qualify for a home-office deduction, you now can use a safe harbor amount rather than figuring the actual expenses related to the office. The...

Your take-home pay this year is smaller because of the expiration of the payroll tax holiday. But you can increase your spendable dollars by taking advantage of certain fringe benefits. For example, i...

If you use your car, truck, or van for certain purposes other than personal reasons, you can deduct the related costs or use an IRS-set mileage rate. The mileage rate for 2013 is:56.5 cents per m...

As a general rule, all income “from whatever source derived” is taxable. Some taxpayers, however, fail to report some or even all of their income. Some taxpayers do so because of an oversight or m...

As a general rule, all income “from whatever source derived” is taxable. Some taxpayers, however, fail to report some or even all of their income. Some taxpayers do so because of an oversight or m...

Employees who can opt to donate their unused leave to organizations helping these victims will not be taxed on what would otherwise be taxable compensation. However, they cannot take a charitable cont...

The Social Security Administration announced changes for 2013. While Social Security beneficiaries will receive only 1.7% more in benefits in 2013, the wage base for purposes of the Social Security po...

Social Security benefits can be paid to disabled workers. Such benefits are taxable in the same manner as Social Security benefits paid to retirees. In some cases, the benefits received are reduced by...

If you are self-employed, or a more-than-2% S corporation shareholder, and obtain your health insurance through Medicare, you can treat your monthly premiums as a deduction from gross income. You don�...

The U.S. Supreme Court has decided that the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 is constitutional. The basis for its decision: that the penalty for not carrying health coverage starting...

If you receive stock from your employer in connection with the performance of services and such stock is not vested or subject to risk of forfeiture, you can make a special election. This election, ca...

The federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which was enacted in 1996, defines marriage for federal law purposes as between a man and a woman. Recently, a federal appellate court said that DOMA is unc...

An offer in compromise (OIC) is an arrangement with the IRS to pay less than the full tax amount owed for those suffering certain financial hardships. The IRS announced an expansion of the program to ...

Even a 15% capital gains tax is too much for some people.  At least that’s the view in Congress where a new law, called the Expatriation Prevention by Abolishing Tax-Related Incentives for Offshore...

More than 11 million people have health coverage through a combination of a high-deductible health plan and a health savings account (HSA). The number of people with HSAs continues to grow annually. T...