Tax planning
IRS to refund a ‘very welcome’ $1.2 billion in late-filing fees for nearly 1.6 million taxpayers
Ekaterina Goncharova | Moment | Getty Images The IRS on Wednesday announced it will waive penalties for many Americans who late-filed tax returns during the pandemic. Nearly 1.6 million filers will automatically receive a collective $1.2 billion-plus in penalty refunds or credits, according to the federal agency, with many payments expected to come by the […]
Read More
With 87,000 new agents, here’s who the IRS may target for audits
Jeffrey Coolidge | Photodisc | Getty Images As the Democrats’ spending plan moves closer to a House vote, one of the more controversial provisions — nearly $80 billion in IRS funding, with $45.6 billion for “enforcement” — has raised questions about who the agency may target for audits. IRS Commissioner Charles Rettig said these resources […]
Read More
Embryos can count as dependents on Georgia state tax returns: For many families ‘there is no benefit at all,’ says analyst
Anti-abortion activists demonstrate outside the Supreme Court of the United States in Washington, June 13, 2022. Evelyn Hockstein | Reuters Residents of Georgia may now claim embryos as dependents on their state income tax returns. Any “unborn child with a detectable human heartbeat” may qualify for a $3,000 state income tax deduction for 2022, effective […]
Read More
Employee stock purchase plans can carry ‘a big risk,’ says advisor. What to know before buying in
How employee stock purchase plans works Typically offered to all employees, ESPPs may allow you to purchase company stock at a discount of up to 15%, capped at $25,000 per year for tax-qualified plans. The plan collects after-tax contributions from each paycheck during an “offering period,” and uses the funds to buy company stock on […]
Read More
These midyear tax strategies can trim next year’s bill from the IRS and reduce ‘unwelcome surprises’
seksan Mongkhonkhamsao | Moment | Getty Images 1. Review tax withholdings When starting a new job, you fill out Form W-4, covering how much your employer withholds from your paychecks for federal taxes. But you need to revisit those withholdings, especially for major life changes such as marriage, having children or starting a side business. […]
Read More
There’s a growing interest in direct indexing as the investing trend becomes ‘democratized’
As demand grows for specialized portfolios, a trend known as direct indexing is quickly becoming an option for more investors. Rather than owning a mutual or exchange-traded fund, direct indexing is buying the stocks of an index to achieve goals like tax efficiency, diversification or values-based investing. Traditionally used by institutional and high-net worth investors, […]
Read More
Tax return backlog is still ‘crushing the IRS’ — and taxpayers — as pileup exceeds 21 million, agency watchdog reports
IRS Commissioner Chuck Rettig testifies before the Senate Finance Committee on April 7, 2022. Kevin Dietsch | Getty Images News | Getty Images The IRS backlog of tax returns has swelled over the past year, despite efforts to clear the pileup, according to an agency watchdog. There were 21.3 million unprocessed paper returns as of […]
Read More
Tax pros ‘very skeptical’ about expanded IRS voice bots for payments plans
Westend61 | Westend61 | Getty Images If you get a tax bill and want help from the IRS to set up a payment plan, newly expanded voice bots may make for faster phone service, according to the agency. But some tax professionals are doubtful about the new plan to reduce wait times. Artificial intelligence-driven IRS […]
Read More
One key problem has 1 in 4 expats ‘seriously considering’ or ‘planning’ to renounce U.S. citizenship
Valentyn Semenov / Eyeem | Eyeem | Getty Images While many filers dread tax season, Americans living abroad face even bigger yearly burdens — and those are frustrating enough that some want to ditch their U.S. citizenship. Roughly 1 in 4 American expatriates is “seriously considering” or “planning” to renounce their U.S. citizenship, according to […]
Read More
Here’s how to fight a higher-than-expected property tax bill
Momo Productions | Digitalvision | Getty Images If the value of your home ballooned during the Covid pandemic, you may receive an inflated property tax assessment in the mail. There are ways, however, to combat a higher bill, experts say. Despite double-digit growth in single-family home prices, property taxes only increased by 1.8% in 2021, […]
Read More