by steve | Feb 9, 2012 | IRS Tax Advice, Tax News, Uncategorized
Each year Tax Law changes are made and in many cases help the taxpayers. Before filing your tax return check on any and all changes that may effect your tax return.
Stay out of a IRS tax audit and by all means take advantage of all tax credits.
Should you have any questions, call us today. As former IRS Agents we can help navigate you through this process
Tax Law Changes for 2011 Federal Tax Returns
Due date of return.
You can file your federal tax return by April 17, 2012. The due date is April 17, instead of April 15, because April 15 is a Sunday and April 16 is the Emancipation Day holiday in the District of Columbia. Thanks DC!
New forms.
In most cases, you must report your capital gains and losses on the new Form 8949, Sales and Other Dispositions of Capital Assets. Then, you report certain totals from that form on Schedule D (Form 1040). If you had foreign financial assets in 2011, you may have to file the new Form 8938, Statement of Foreign Financial Assets, with your return.
Standard mileage rates.
The 2011 rates for mileage are different for January 1 through June 30 than for July 1 through December 31. For business use of your car, you can deduct 51 cents a mile for miles driven the first half of the year and 55 ½ cents for the second half. Medical and moving mileage are both 19 cents per mile for the early half of the year and 23 ½ cents in the latter half.
Standard deduction and exemptions increased, finally!!!
The standard deduction increased for some taxpayers who do not itemize deductions on IRS Schedule A (Form 1040). The amount depends on your filing status.
The amount you can deduct for each exemption has increased $50 to $3,700 for 2011.
Self-employed health insurance deduction. This deduction is no longer allowed on Schedule SE (Form 1040), but you can still take it on Form 1040, line 29.
Alternative minimum tax (AMT)
This years exemption amount increased. The AMT exemption amount has increased to $48,450 ($74,450 if married filing jointly or a qualifying widow(er); $37,225 if married filing separately).
Health savings accounts (HSAs) and Archer MSAs.
The additional tax on distributions from HSAs and Archer MSAs not used for qualified medical expenses increased to 20 percent. Beginning in 2011, only prescribed drugs or insulin are qualified medical expenses.
Roth IRAs.
If you converted or rolled over an amount from a traditional IRA to a Roth IRA or designated Roth in 2010 and did not elect to report the taxable amount on your 2010 return, you generally must report half of it on your 2011 return and the rest on your 2012 return.
Alternative motor vehicle credit.
This year you can claim the alternative motor vehicle credit for a 2011 purchase only if the vehicle is a new fuel cell motor vehicle.
First-time homebuyer credit.
The credit expired for most taxpayers for 2011. Sadly!
Some military personnel and members of the intelligence community can still claim the credit in 2011 for qualified purchases.
Health coverage tax credit.
Recent legislation changed the amount of this credit, which pays qualified health insurance premiums for eligible individuals and their families. Participants who received the 65 percent tax credit in any month from March to December 2011 may claim an additional 7.5 percent retroactive credit when they file their 2011 tax return.
Should you need tax help or tax preparation by Former IRS agents call us today.
by steve | Feb 8, 2012 | IRS Tax Advice, Tax News
This is one of the common questions we are asked at our Tax Firm. There is much misunderstanding about this issue. I hope these answers may help you.
By the way, if you are looking for former IRS Agents to prepare your tax returns call us today.
Top Tax Tips to Help You Determine if Your Social Security Benefits are Taxable
Many people may not realize the Social Security Benefits they received in 2011 may be taxable.
All Social Security recipients should receive a Form SSA-1099 from the Social Security Administration which shows the total amount of their benefits. You can use this information to help you determine if your benefits are taxable.
Top tips:
1. How much , if any , of your Social Security Benefits are taxable depends on your total income and marital status.
2. Generally, if Social Security benefits were your only income for 2011, your benefits are not taxable and you probably do not need to file a federal income tax return.
3. If you received income from other sources, your benefits will not be taxed unless your modified adjusted gross income is more than the base amount for your filing status (see below).
4. Your taxable benefits and modified adjusted gross income are figured on a worksheet in the Form 1040A or Form 1040 Instruction booklet. Your tax software program will also figure this for you.
5. You can do the following quick computation to determine whether some of your benefits may be taxable:
a. First, add one-half of the total Social Security benefits you received to all your other income, including any tax-exempt interest and other exclusions from income.
b. Then, compare this total to the base amount for your filing status. If the total is more than your base amount, some of your benefits may be taxable.
6. The 2011 base amounts are:
$32,000 for married couples filing jointly.
$25,000 for single, head of household, qualifying widow/widower with a dependent child, or married individuals filing separately who did not live with their spouse at any time during the year.
$0 for married persons filing separately who lived together during the year.
Hope this helps. Call us for the finest tax prep services.
by steve | Feb 6, 2012 | Tax Help, Tax News
Are you Eligible for the Earned Income Tax Credit?
Find out right now by reading the information below or calling our firm today.
Check your Eligibility for Earned Income Tax Credit
The Earned Income Tax Credit is a financial boost for workers earning $49,078 or less in 2011.
Four of five eligible taxpayers filed for and received their EITC last year. The IRS wants you to get what you earned also, if you are eligible.
Here are the top things the IRS wants you to know about this valuable credit EITC, which has been making the lives of working people a little easier since 1975.
1. Always check the new tax law changes each year. As your financial, marital or parental situations change from year to year, you should review the EITC eligibility rules to determine whether you qualify. Just because you did not qualify last year does not mean you won’t this year.
2. If you qualify, this credit could be worth up to $5,751.
EITC not only reduces the federal tax you owe, but could result in a large refund.
The amount of your EITC is based on your earned income and whether or not there are qualifying children in your household. The average credit was around $2,240 last year.
3. If you are eligible for EITC, you must file a federal income tax return and specifically claim the credit – even if you are not otherwise required to file. Remember to include Schedule EIC, Earned Income Credit when you file your Form 1040 or, if you file Form 1040A, use and retain the EIC worksheet.
4. You do not qualify for EITC if your filing status is Married Filing Separately.
5. You must have a valid Social Security number for yourself, your spouse – if filing a joint return – and any qualifying child listed on Schedule EIC.
6. You must have earned income.
You have earned income if you work for someone who pays you wages, you are self-employed, you have income from farming, or – in some cases – you receive disability income.
7. Married couples and single people without children may qualify. If you do not have qualifying children, you must also meet the age and residency requirements, as well as dependency rules.
8. Special rules apply to members of the U.S. Armed Forces in combat zones. Members of the military can elect to include their nontaxable combat pay in earned income for the EITC. If you make this election, the combat pay remains nontaxable.
9. It’s easy to determine whether you qualify. The EITC Assistant, an interactive tool available on the IRS website, removes the guesswork from eligibility rules.
Just answer a few simple questions to find out if you qualify and estimate the amount of your EITC.
10. Free help is available at Volunteer Income Tax Assistance sites to help you prepare and claim your EITC. If you are preparing your taxes electronically, the software will figure the credit for you. To find a VITA site near you, visit the IRS.gov website.
Contact our tax firm today for immediate tax help or tax preparation.
by steve | Feb 6, 2012 | IRS Tax Problem, Representation
We are a specialty tax firm specifically equipped for IRS Tax Representation. We are comprised of:
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We have a combined 205 years of professional tax experience and over 60 years of direct IRS experience in the local South Florida district and regional offices of the Internal Revenue Service.
If you are dealing with the IRS there are certain internal procedures, policies and internal manuals that the public and other practitioners are completely unaware of. Because of our 60 years of IRS experience we know all of these internal procedures and settlement policies.
Many of these procedures deal with IRS tax settlements, IRS audit procedures, IRS levies and liens. Because of vast amount of tax direct tax experience with the IRS we can completely and permanently resolve these issues.
How to chose a tax firm for IRS Tax Representation.
Before choosing any professional tax firm check out the FIRM experience on their website. Do not be fooled by website advertisement. Make an appointment and have a face to face meeting with the tax professional,
Make sure you can speak directly to the person that will be working your case,
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by steve | Feb 6, 2012 | Tax Help, Uncategorized
Did you recently change your name?
Here are some tax tips to help you through the process.
Tips for Recently Married, Divorced Taxpayers or others who recently had a Name Change
If you changed your name after a recent marriage or divorce, the IRS reminds you to take the necessary steps to ensure the name on your tax return matches the name registered with the Social Security Administration. A mismatch between the name shown on your tax return and the SSA records can cause problems in the processing of your return and may even delay your refund.
Here are tips from the IRS for recently married, divorced taxpayers or other individuals who have a name change.
1. Hyphenated Names – If you took your spouse’s last name — or if you hyphenated your last names, you may run into complications if you don’t notify the SSA.
When newlyweds file a tax return using their new last names, IRS computers cannot match the new name with their Social Security number.
2. If you recently divorced and changed back to your previous last name, you’ll also need to notify the SSA of this name change.
3. Informing the SSA of a name change is easy. Simply file a Form SS-5, Application for a Social Security Card, at your local SSA office or by mail and provide a recently issued document as proof of your legal name change.
4. Form SS-5 is available on SSA’s website at http://www.socialsecurity.gov/, by calling 800-772-1213 or at local offices.
Your new card will have the same number as your previous card, but will show your new name.
5. If you adopted your spouse’s children after getting married and their names changed, you’ll need to update their names with SSA too. For adopted children without SSNs, the parents can apply for an Adoption Taxpayer Identification Number – or ATIN – by filing Form W-7A, Application for Taxpayer Identification Number for Pending U.S. Adoptions with the IRS.
The ATIN is a temporary number used in place of an SSN on the tax return. Form W-7A is available on the IRS.gov website or by calling 800-TAX-FORM (800-829-3676).
