Warning! Your Tax Information May be Vulnerable to Identity Theft
March 18, 2007
A recent Computerworld article, Photocopiers: The newest ID theft threat, alerts us to the potential role photo copiers can play in identity theft, especially during tax season. Copying Your Identity Newer photo copiers contain hard drives that store the information we make copies of. Most people, myself included, don’t think twice about copying private information […]
Small Business Tax Tips for Rookie Entrepreneurs
March 16, 2007
I just formed my first small business at the end of last year and spent the last few days putting together my inaugural business tax return for my eBay and blogging income. Here are some things I learned: 1) Make Friends with a CPA One of my good friends is a tax guy and he […]
Flexible Spending Account Deadlines Approaching
March 10, 2007
Use it or lose it! The deadline to spend your flexible spending account balance for your 2006 contributions is March 15th. So fill your prescriptions, make your doctor’s visits, or buy over the counter cold medicine next week if you haven’t spent your balance yet. The deadline for submitting your receipts for 2006 purchases is […]
How to Avoid Paying Sales Tax
February 22, 2007
My niece asked a very good question the other day. “How come they charge you 54 cents for a candy bar when the sticker only says 50?” When I told her the extra money was for sales tax she wrinkled up her nose and said “I don’t like tax!’. Smart kid! Sales Tax Sucks Who […]
Taxes On My Mind
February 11, 2007
As tax season approaches and we can feel the breath of the IRS breathing down our neck the Carnival of Taxes seems more and more relevant. The latest edition lets us know why our Adjusted Gross Income is the most important number on our tax return, includes reviews of tax preparation software and a little […]
Unrealized Capital Gains – An Overlooked Cost of Mutual Funds
February 9, 2007
I received my 1099-DIV today from Oakmark Funds and was unpleasantly surprised when I saw $1,013 of total capital gain distributions. I always look at management fees when considering a fund but haven’t really examined tax implications, probably because most of our investments are in 401k, 403b, or IRAs. I’ll have to start paying more […]
Do You Shop Online? Say No to the State Simplification Tax Project!
February 2, 2007
What’s one of the big benefits of shopping online? No sales tax right? Well an initiative called the State Simplification Tax Project (SSTP) looks to put an end to these tax-free purchases. On a Mission to Tax The mission of the SSTP as stated on their website is to “develop measures to design, test and […]
Increase Your Tax Deductions, Don’t Give Cash at Church
January 15, 2007
The Pension Protection Act of 2006 gives the IRS the authority to disallow deductions of undocumented cash gifts to charities, including church offerings. If you put cash into the collection plate you can no longer write it off on your taxes. Document Your Donations Instead of putting dollars or coins into the offering plate, write […]
Flexible Spending Account Reimbursements Simplified
January 9, 2007
Thanks to changes made by the Internal Revenue Service, many of us are able to make claims against our 2006 Flexible Spending Account balance for health care expenses incurred up through March 15, 2007. If only we could find a way to simplify the process. Receipt Overload With a new baby the number of receipts […]
Phone Bills Too High? A Tax Refund Will Help Ease The Pain.
January 8, 2007
This is the one time that a big phone bill may work out to your advantage. The IRS is granting a tax refund to give back money collected for federal excise taxes on long-distance phone calls since 2003. It allows a standard refund you can claim on your tax return. According to an article in […]
