Tax News

More than 50 tax breaks that expired at the end of 2013 were extended for 2014 and can be used on 2014 tax returns. Many of our readers have expressed confusion about which breaks have been extended, ...

A new tax year is set to dawn shortly and recently released cost-of-living adjustments can help you plan for 2015. Due to low inflation, increases in the tax brackets and other tax items are minimal; ...

As a holiday gift to the nation, Congress passed the so-called extender bill. This extends retroactively to January 1, 2014, nearly all of the 55 provisions that expired at the end of 2013. The extens...

The Social Security Administration announced the 2015 wage base used for figuring the Social Security portion of FICA and self-employment tax. For 2015, this wage base is $118,500, up from $117,000 in...

The IRS reports that 13 million taxpayers are on extension for filing their 2013 returns. If you are one of them, don’t miss the filing deadline of October 15, 2014; returns filed after this date ar...

IRS interest rates are unchanged for the fourth quarter of 2014 (October 1, 2014, through December 31, 2014). These are the rates changed on underpayments and overpayments: 3% for overpayments (2%...

For the past 5 years, taxpayers with adjusted gross income up to a certain amount ($58,000 in 2013) have been able to prepare their federal income tax returns and file them electronically at no cost. ...

The numbers are out and they’re not comforting. Taxpayers spend an exorbitant amount of time and money filing their federal income tax returns each year, and this filing season had been no different...

Tax Freedom Day is April 21, which is three days later than last year. This is the day that the Tax Foundation computes as the time when the entire nation has paid enough to satisfy tax obligations fo...

The IRS is holding refunds totaling $760 billion for about 918,600 taxpayers who did not file their 2010 returns. The last day to file and claim the outstanding refunds related to these returns is Apr...

The president’s budget proposal for the government’s 2015 fiscal year contains a measure to expand the earned income tax credit (EITC). This credit is fully refundable, so low- and moderate-income...

The IRS’s annual list of the Dirty Dozen Tax Scams has been released. Taxpayers who use or fall victim to these scams expose themselves to additional taxes, penalties, and in some cases, criminal pr...

Income from whatever source derived is included in gross income unless there is a specific law treating the income as wholly or partially tax free. This means that the winnings awarded by the U.S. Oly...

With tax seasons comes the advent of tax scams by email and phone, including text messages. The IRS cautions taxpayers to be wary at this time of the year. Here are some pointers to help you: The ...

FreeFile is a no-cost way to figure your taxes online and submit your federal return electronically. FreeFile for 2013 returns opens on January 17, 2014 (although the IRS will not begin to process ind...

The National Taxpayer Advocate is an independent organization within the IRS to help taxpayers resolve problems with the IRS as well as to recommend changes that will prevent problems. Nina Olsen, the...

The U.S. Senate confirmed the appointment of John Koskinen as the next IRS commissioner. He starts his job during the week of December 23. He becomes the first commissioner since Douglas Shulman left ...

The IRS announced that the filing season for 2013 income tax returns will begin on January 31, 2014. This is about a week or two later than usual. The government shutdown in October limited IRS work o...

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 2014 is: 56 cents per mil...

IRS interest rates are unchanged for the first quarter of 2014 (January 1, 2014, through March 31, 2014). These are the rates changed on underpayments and overpayments: 3% for overpayments (2% for...