Tax Season Tips: The Dos And Don’ts When You’re Filing
Welcome to Tax Season 2013. New rules, regulations and stipulations have added a steeper learning curve this year for filers. Don’t worry, we’re here to help. With internet services leading more and more people to file for themselves, some less obvious rules and warnings have been overlooked. Here are a few things you might want to ask your accountant.
Affordable Care Act
In order to fund the new Affordable Care Act, individuals with an income of more than $200,000 or married couples filing jointly with over $250,000 will be responsible for a 3.8% surcharge. Sure, this is aimed at higher-income families but the relatively low threshold will certainly affect married couples or middle class income filing jointly.
Social Security Wage Ceiling
One of the most talked about changes of this year’s tax law is the raising of the taxable wage ceiling to $113,00
0 to fund Social Security. There is no limit to the taxable wages for Medicare; however, an additional .9% will be assessed for individuals making more than $200,000.
Relief for Low-Income Workers
As part of the new 2013 tax laws, eligible low-income workers and families will reap the benefits of a relief in place to help ease their financial woes. The earned income tax credit is a refundable credit that reduces or eliminates tax paid. In other words, double check to see if you qualify and you might not have to pay a dime in income tax this year.
Higher Rates for Higher Incomes
For one thing, high-income filers will see an increase in their obligation – raising the rate from 35% to 39.5% for single citizens earning $400,000 or more and married couples earning over $450,000. Also, our 2% Social Security reduction has expired, meaning we now pay 6.2% of our income as opposed to the 4.2% from the past two years.
Regardless
of your financial situation, these new tax laws will certainly alter your filing – either for better or for worse. Low income families might be able to take advantage of the earned income tax credit, while it seems high income individuals will be footing the bill to make up for it. Higher tax rates for Social Security, payroll and the Affordable Care Act will be hurting in the wallets of many Americans, and are reason to watch your return carefully. So if you are filing online, be smart. If you hire a personal accountant, ask the right questions. And most importantly, be sure to safeguard yourself against identity theft while you are sharing your vital personal information.
Featured images:
- License: Royalty Free or iStock source: http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/images/results.aspx?qu=taxes&ex=2#ai:MP900316868|
Jason Sherman is a former accountant and enjoys writing about financial news and offers money advice to his readers.
Categories: Federal Tax, Income Tax, State Tax Tags: earned income credit, filing taxes, tax advice, tax preparation, taxes
How To Appeal For Property Taxes
Every day there has to be a challenge in life, simple or complex, traditional or scientific, domestic or general, cooperate or health wise. The difference is how do you deal with it and face your challenge? The mechanisms used are simple sometimes complicated but thanks to technology life has never been this easier before. Paying tax can be very hectic, resource consuming and deplete the income we earn especially if it has to be paid in bulk or cumulative portion.
Technology makes life worth living
Real estates, plant and machinery, inventories, equipment, manufacturing goods and services, structures both business and personal properties. Most valuable assets are estimated and taxed by the assessors who are really mean. Their main aim is to maximize government revenue and the best they can do is getting your potential catch and ensure you pay the rated and estimated tax. You may not certainly be satisfied with their decision and the first step is to appeal your case through the country’s tax board or revenue collection authority.
Most assessments are based on opinion by the assessor on the market value of those particular assets which may just be perceived and not true in the reality. Therefore one has to produce evidence of different properties as per the assessment dates. This may include appraisals done by different independent valuator and auditor, or comparison from different assets of the same kind in the same geographical area at that specific period.
Do your duty
The body concerned with the appeal petitioned may decide to reduce your taxes based on enough evidence or order for a fresh valuator to carry out the process once again. The petition has to be filed within the specific given duration and stipulated time framework given by the authority. It has to be addressed to the right party and all conditions and rules followed, written in right terms and clauses.
Missing deadlines for filing may mean trouble on your side and case may be rejected by the magistrates and that can be a blow to the complainant. Such mistakes cannot be afforded when appealing so one has to be careful and not leaving out every bit of needed information and details to win such cases. Building your business empire is all initiated in your own hands, stepping forward for your right and taking or claiming what rightly belongs to you.
Tax can be reduced or waived through an appeal but never avoid to pay your taxes and exercise your duty as a patriotic citizen of a country. This contributes to economic growth through generation of income as a source of revenue. Making a difference in management and taking the country forward in earnings and thriving in most of the sectors.
Article written by Jet Russell. Jet is a full time blogger and Internet Entrepreneur and does a lot of outreach for a law firm called 1800LAWFIRM – which specializes in being “Easy Access to Legal Solutions.”
Categories: Federal Tax, Income Tax, State Tax, Tax Law Tags: law firm, tax deductions
Man in Clarksville Guilty of Tax Fraud
A man in Clarksville had pleaded guilty in a federal court for the crime of filing a false tax income on January 14, 2013.
The man’s name was James Robert Sanford, 53, and in addition to filing a false tax income he was also guilty for aiding and abetting a false claim for a federal income tax refund. Jerry E. Martin, an Attorney for Tennessee, officially announced the news.
Sanford had brushes with the law a couple of years before this incident. On November 30, 2011, Sanford had been indicted by a federal grand jury in Nashville, and was charged with 6 counts of filing false income tax returns. Based on the indictment filed, Sanford had prepared and filed 2006 and 2007 federal income tax returns for him and his wife, knowing full well that the returns were fraudulent. The 2006 tax return claimed refunds of $5,774 and the 2007 tax return claimed refunds of $4,276.
Not only has Sanford filed false income tax returns for himself, but he did it for others as well, making a profit through his schemes. The returns that he claimed for these refunds for others were from $3,490 to $7,128.
Sanford will be sentenced on April 8, and he is likely to face a maximum penalty of 5 years imprisonment, in addition to a $250,000 fine for each false income tax return he made. He has come clean for all the false income tax returns he has claimed, and will be sentenced by Chief Judge William J. Haynes, Jr.
Categories: Federal Tax, Income Tax, Tax Evasion, Tax Law Tags: federal income tax, federal tax, federal tax fraud, income tax, tax crime, tax evasion, tax fraud