http://www.taxact.com/tax-tips/daily-tax-tip.xml Everyone wants to get as much back in their tax refund as possible, but tax laws are constantly added, changed, or updated. The J.K. Lasser Daily Tax Tip, brought to you by TaxACT, provide some insight into complex tax situations and offers helpful advice and guidance. Now that's something everyone can use! The Daily Tax Tip content is provided by America's all-time best selling tax guide, J.K. Lasser's Your Income Tax Guide by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Tax advice provided by The Daily Tax Tip shall not be construed as a substitute for the advice obtained or given by a certified tax professional. en-us Copyright 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Fri, 24 May 2013 06:00:00 GMT 5 http://www.taxact.com/tax-tips/daily-tax-tip.xml http://www.taxact.com/images/jk-lasser-rss.gif 88 21 Everyone wants to get as much back in their tax refund as possible, but tax laws are constantly added, changed, or updated. The J.K. Lasser Daily Tax Tip, brought to you by TaxACT, provide some insight into complex tax situations and offers helpful advice and guidance. Now that's something everyone can use! http://www.taxact.com/tax-tips/index.asp?tid=3331 "A suit for damages may also be brought in federal district court against the IRS if IRS employees improperly fail to release a lien on your property. Before you sue, you must file an administrative claim for damages. The lawsuit must be filed within two years after your claim arose. You may sue for actual economic damages plus costs of the action; the types of damages that may be recovered are similar to those discussed for suing the IRS for unauthorized collection actions." http://www.taxact.com/tax-tips/index.asp?tid=3331 Thu, 2 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT http://www.taxact.com/tax-tips/index.asp?tid=3330 Attorneys' fees include the fees paid by a taxpayer for the services of anyone who is authorized to practice before the Tax Court or IRS. http://www.taxact.com/tax-tips/index.asp?tid=3330 Wed, 1 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT http://www.taxact.com/tax-tips/index.asp?tid=3329 "With the support of the Administration and the National Taxpayer Advocate, proposals have been made in Congress to repeal the 2006 law requiring nonrefundable payments to be made with the OIC application but Congress has not acted on the proposals." http://www.taxact.com/tax-tips/index.asp?tid=3329 Tue, 30 Apr 2013 00:00:00 GMT http://www.taxact.com/tax-tips/index.asp?tid=3328 "If you bring a case to the Tax Court that the Court concludes is frivolous or brought primarily for delay, or you unreasonably failed to pursue IRS administrative remedies, the Tax Court may impose a penalty of up to $25,000. Furthermore, if you appeal a Tax Court decision and the federal appeals court or the Supreme Court finds that the appeal was frivolous or brought primarily for delay, the Court may impose a penalty." http://www.taxact.com/tax-tips/index.asp?tid=3328 Mon, 29 Apr 2013 00:00:00 GMT http://www.taxact.com/tax-tips/index.asp?tid=3327 "Before deciding whether to sign the Form 870, consider that, by signing, you are giving up your right of appeal to both the IRS Office of Appeals and the Tax Court. However, you may still file a refund suit in a federal district court or in the Court of Federal Claims unless you have agreed not to do so on the Form 870." http://www.taxact.com/tax-tips/index.asp?tid=3327 Sun, 28 Apr 2013 00:00:00 GMT http://www.taxact.com/tax-tips/index.asp?tid=3326 "In response to complaints that the fixed-dollar penalty for failure to disclose reportable transactions could be excessive in light of the tax benefit received, the Small Business Jobs Act of 2010 changed the penalty to 75% of the tax benefit, subject to a minimum and maximum amount." http://www.taxact.com/tax-tips/index.asp?tid=3326 Sat, 27 Apr 2013 00:00:00 GMT http://www.taxact.com/tax-tips/index.asp?tid=3325 "If you claim a deduction, credit, or exclusion on your return that would seem to a reasonable person to be too good to be true¯ under the circumstances, the IRS is likely to consider you negligent unless you show you made an attempt to verify the correctness of the position." http://www.taxact.com/tax-tips/index.asp?tid=3325 Fri, 26 Apr 2013 00:00:00 GMT http://www.taxact.com/tax-tips/index.asp?tid=3324 "Make sure that the examination is scheduled far enough in advance for you to get ready. Do not let the IRS hurry you into an examination until you are prepared. In some localities, particularly rural areas, the IRS may give short notice in scheduling a field audit. An agent may even appear at your home or place of business and try to begin the audit immediately. Resist this pressure and reschedule the meeting at your convenience." http://www.taxact.com/tax-tips/index.asp?tid=3324 Thu, 25 Apr 2013 00:00:00 GMT http://www.taxact.com/tax-tips/index.asp?tid=3323 "Generally, a person authorized to practice before the IRS may discuss your tax return issues with the IRS only if you sign a power of attorney on Form 2848. However, just above the signature section of your 2011 Form 1040, 1040A, or 1040EZ, you may consent to contacts between the IRS and your designee to resolve return processing issues such as mathematical errors, missing return information, or questions about refunds or payments. The designee can be a friend or relative and need not be a tax professional. A power of attorney will still be needed to handle an audit, underreported income issues, appeals within the IRS, and collection notices." http://www.taxact.com/tax-tips/index.asp?tid=3323 Wed, 24 Apr 2013 00:00:00 GMT http://www.taxact.com/tax-tips/index.asp?tid=3322 "For IRS publications outlining taxpayer rights, notices, examinations of tax returns, appeal rights, and collection procedures, go to the Individuals¯ page of the IRS website, www.irs.gov, and click on the link for Taxpayer Rights.¯ From there, you can link to the Taxpayer Advocate Service¯ page. The Taxpayer Advocate Service may help you resolve a problem that could not be settled through normal IRS channels." http://www.taxact.com/tax-tips/index.asp?tid=3322 Tue, 23 Apr 2013 00:00:00 GMT http://www.taxact.com/tax-tips/index.asp?tid=3321 "If you are due a refund on a joint return, your financial institution may reject a request to have a direct deposit of the joint refund made to an individual account or IRA. If the direct deposit is rejected, the IRS will mail you a refund check." http://www.taxact.com/tax-tips/index.asp?tid=3321 Mon, 22 Apr 2013 00:00:00 GMT http://www.taxact.com/tax-tips/index.asp?tid=3320 "You can get an automatic six-month extension to file your 2011 return by filing Form 4868 by April 17, 2012. The extension is for filing only and does not extend the time to pay your taxes for 2011." http://www.taxact.com/tax-tips/index.asp?tid=3320 Sun, 21 Apr 2013 00:00:00 GMT http://www.taxact.com/tax-tips/index.asp?tid=3319 "Even though you can exclude from gross income your foreign earned income of up to $92,900 in 2011, you are subject to self-employment tax on all of your earnings." http://www.taxact.com/tax-tips/index.asp?tid=3319 Sat, 20 Apr 2013 00:00:00 GMT http://www.taxact.com/tax-tips/index.asp?tid=3318 "For 2011 only, the self-employment tax rate reflects a reduction of two percentage points in the employee share of Social Security taxes." http://www.taxact.com/tax-tips/index.asp?tid=3318 Fri, 19 Apr 2013 00:00:00 GMT http://www.taxact.com/tax-tips/index.asp?tid=3317 "If you are a trader in securities, gains or losses from your trading business are not subject to self-employment tax." http://www.taxact.com/tax-tips/index.asp?tid=3317 Thu, 18 Apr 2013 00:00:00 GMT http://www.taxact.com/tax-tips/index.asp?tid=3316 "The owner of one office building who holds it for investment (rather than for sale in the ordinary course of business) is not a real estate dealer, but a real estate investor. If the only tenant services provided are heat, light, water, and trash collection, report the rental income and expenses on Schedule E. The activity is not a Schedule C business subject to self-employment tax." http://www.taxact.com/tax-tips/index.asp?tid=3316 Wed, 17 Apr 2013 00:00:00 GMT http://www.taxact.com/tax-tips/index.asp?tid=3315 "Fees you earn for freelance work as an independent contractor are business earnings reportable on Schedule C, and if you have a net profit, they are subject to self-employment tax on Schedule SE." http://www.taxact.com/tax-tips/index.asp?tid=3315 Tue, 16 Apr 2013 00:00:00 GMT http://www.taxact.com/tax-tips/index.asp?tid=3314 "Recapture rules affect gifts, charitable donations, and inheritances of depreciable property, as well as like-kind exchanges and involuntary conversions." http://www.taxact.com/tax-tips/index.asp?tid=3314 Mon, 15 Apr 2013 00:00:00 GMT http://www.taxact.com/tax-tips/index.asp?tid=3313 "If in 2011 you leased a car, truck, or van for at least 30 days and you deduct the lease charges as a business expense, you generally must reduce the deduction by an income inclusion amount¯ based on an IRS table. If you claim the standard mileage allowance, the income inclusion rule does not apply. See IRS Publication 463 for details." http://www.taxact.com/tax-tips/index.asp?tid=3313 Sun, 14 Apr 2013 00:00:00 GMT http://www.taxact.com/tax-tips/index.asp?tid=3312 The trade-in adjustment is not used for determining gain or loss on the disposition of the new car when it is later sold. It is used solely for depreciation purposes. http://www.taxact.com/tax-tips/index.asp?tid=3312 Sat, 13 Apr 2013 00:00:00 GMT