tax preparation

Starting in 2011, the IRS will be making it harder for consumers to get their hands on a quick income tax refund. The popular refund anticipation loans, which are short-term loans based on the anticipated amount of a tax refund. The loans are given to consumers who do not want to wait several weeks for [...]

Not everyone has the time or inclination to master the subject of personal finance. Luckily, it is not always necessary to master it. In the same way you can hire an electrician without understanding the inner workings of home wiring, you can hire a financial advisor to get your money in order. There are all [...]

Tax season just ended. Do you really want to think about taxes already? You do if you are interested in reducing your tax liability and saving money more efficiently. What you do now can result in tax savings when April rolls around again. A tax deduction is an expense that can lower your taxable income, [...]

April 15 looms on the horizon. There may be any number of reasons that you are not prepared to file a tax return, from not having your dividend statements back, to waiting to get a home buyer tax credit, to straightforward procrastination. No matter your reasons, you can actually file for an extension. Any taxpayer [...]

To help you make the most of your 2009 taxes, here are some tax tips to help you organize, prepare, and take advantage of the available tax deductions and tax credits for 2009 tax year. Instead of trying to compile my own list, I reached out to a few personal finance bloggers to share their [...]

Understanding the many tax deductions can be nothing short of a minefield, and many taxpayers are unaware of the many deductions that can be used to legally reduce your tax bill. This article highlights just a few of the tax deductions that you can claim if your circumstances lend themselves. Standard Deductions A standard deduction [...]

It’s a great feeling to be your own boss and make money at it. At least, until you discover that you are now responsible for paying self-employment tax and may be required to make estimated tax payments. I have been paying self-employment tax over the last few years; however, I have not made an estimated [...]

Our family vacation, which started last Saturday, finally concluded this past Sunday at 7:00 PM. Before I give you a brief overview of our vacation, I’d like to say thank you to the five guest authors by highlighting a recent article from each of their blogs: Doing it like strippers do by Keith of Be [...]

I am finally done with my tax returns, and my parents too, but haven’t send them in yet because I like to print them out and go over everything one more time. There’s something about computer screen that doesn’t lend itself to careful error checking. As per my earlier review of TurboTax, I decided to [...]

In my TurboTax Online Review, I mentioned that I owe some federal income tax and is thinking about opening a SEP IRA, or a Simplified Employee Pension Plan. Aside from reducing my tax liabilities, I want to maintain my safe harbor from having to pay quarterly income taxes in 2009. Since I am already doing [...]