Understanding Tax Withholding The federal income tax is a pay-as-you-go tax. Taxpayers pay the tax as they earn or receive income during the year. You can avoid a surprise at tax time by checking your withholding amount. You should perform a Paycheck Checkup early in 2019, even if you did one in 2018. This includes… Read More

You Must Start Receiving Retirement Plan Payments By April 1 If you turned 70½ in 2018, in most cases you must begin receiving payments from Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs) and workplace retirement plans by Monday, April 1, 2019. Two Payments In The Same Year The payments, called required minimum distributions (RMDs), are normally made by the end… Read More

Did you know you are required to report health care coverage on your 2018 tax return? As you are gathering information for your tax preparer for your 2018 tax return, remember you must include the information related to health care. If you are preparing the return yourself, you must complete the lines related to health… Read More

There are various reasons why people change their names. The more common are: Taking their spouse’s last name after a marriage Hyphenating their last name with their spouse’s after getting married Going back to their former name after a divorce Giving an adopted child the last name of their new family Other reasons people change… Read More

Owing Federal Taxes Could Create An Issue The Internal Revenue Service has reiterated its warning that taxpayers may not be able to renew a current passport or obtain a new passport if they owe federal taxes. To avoid delays in travel plans, taxpayers need to take prompt action to resolve their tax issues. What Does… Read More

If you are a low to moderate income taxpayer, you could benefit from the Earned Income Tax Credit. The credit could lower the tax you owe or perhaps mean a refund for you. Here are three things you can do to determine if you qualify for the EITC and make claiming it easier: Review your eligibility… Read More

Beware Of “Ghosts” (Unethical and Fraudulent Tax Preparers) Before we get to the ten tips to consider, it is important to discuss one critical thing to avoid: “ghost” preparers. More on that in a minute. Since it’s the time of the year when you may be choosing a tax professional to help file your tax… Read More

As a U.S. taxpayer preparing to file your 2018 taxes, there are a few things you should consider. First, you will want to determine if you need to file and, if so, the best way to file for your situation. First, Some Changes to Note For the tax year 2018, all individual taxpayers will file using… Read More

Despite extensive changes to tax law plus the recent government shutdown, the IRS expects refunds to be paid on schedule with previous years. The Internal Revenue Service opened the 2019 tax-filing season on Monday, January 28, as the agency started accepting and processing federal tax returns for the tax year 2018. Despite the major tax… Read More

The New Qualified Business Income Deduction The Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service have issued final regulations and three related pieces of guidance, implementing the new qualified business income (QBI) deduction. The new QBI deduction, created by the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), allows many owners of sole proprietorships, partnerships, S corporations,… Read More