The Self-Employed and Retirement Savings

Self-employed people can still save for retirement – and benefit from valuable tax breaks – even if they don't have a job with a 401(k). Whether you're starting your own business, freelancing on the side to earn some extra income or you lost your job and are doing some consulting work, you can save for the future in a tax-advantaged retirement savings plan.

2020 Rules for Charitable Giving

People are facing tough financial situations, yet they are still finding ways to help those in need. There are new reasons to make charitable gifts this year – whether it's to support nonprofits that help people and communities with challenges from the coronavirus pandemic or to provide assistance after disasters such as the Beirut explosion or an active hurricane season.

2019 Tax News

The Internal Revenue Service today announced the tax year 2019 annual inflation adjustments for more than 60 tax provisions, including the tax rate schedules and other tax changes. Revenue Procedure 2018-57 provides details about these annual adjustments. The tax year 2019 adjustments generally are used on tax returns filed in 2020.

11 Tips to Make Your Charitable Donation Count!

Making a charitable donation is not only a chance to make a difference: it's also an excellent way to reduce your tax burden for the year. The tax benefit is considered a compelling reason for making charitable deductions: more than two-thirds of high-net-worth donors said they would decrease their giving if they did not receive a corresponding tax deduction.

2018 Tax Reform

The new tax reform bill has been passed and it will affect most of the population when filing your 2018 taxes. Reduced tax rates, higher standard deductions, and higher child tax credits for families are just a few of the perks that individual taxpayers will see next year.

However to pay for these tax breaks, lawmakers took away many deductions that millions of taxpayers had used every year to reduce their tax bills. The nine deductions discussed are just some of the popular provisions that will disappear, and taxpayers will have to look closely at their own personal situations to see whether other, less common deductions are also going away.

2017 Tax Changes

The tax changes for 2017 are small and there are only 5 changes that will affect you returns.

1. Standard deductions will increase.

Your standard deduction will go up a smidge in 2017. Individual filers and heads of household will receive a standard deduction of $6,350 and $9,350, respectively, in 2017, up $50 from 2016. Couples filing jointly get a $100 year-over-year lift to $12,700 in 2017. Although this change isn't liable to put a lot of extra money in your pocket, anything that can reduce your tax liability without having to lift a finger is good for you.

2018 Tax Filing Season Begins Jan. 29, Tax Returns Due April 17; Help Available for Taxpayers

The IRS strongly encourages people to file their tax returns electronically for faster refunds. The IRS set the Jan. 29 opening date to ensure the security and readiness of key tax processing systems in advance of the opening and to assess the potential impact of tax legislation on 2017 tax returns.

The New 2018 Federal Income Tax Brackets & Rates

It appears the GOP has settled on a final tax bill. While it ain't over till it's over, we're close enough that an article on the new 2018 federal income tax rates makes sense.

Representing a major tax-overhaul, the bill makes significant changes to the federal income tax brackets and deductions. Let's look at both, starting with the 2018 income tax brackets.

In 2018, Some Tax Benefits Increase Slightly Due to Inflation Adjustments, Others Unchanged

WASHINGTON — The Internal Revenue Service today announced the tax year 2018 annual inflation adjustments for more than 50 tax provisions, including the tax rate schedules and other tax changes. Revenue Procedure 2017-58 provides details about these annual adjustments. The tax year 2018 adjustments generally are used on tax returns filed in 2019.

National Tax Security Week Concludes; IRS, Security Summit Partners Continues Work to Protect Taxpayers in 2017

WASHINGTON — The Internal Revenue Service and Security Summit partners urged taxpayers to take immediate steps to protect their personal data to strengthen expanded efforts being taken this upcoming tax season by federal, state and tax industry leaders against identity theft and refund fraud.

The Security Summit, an unprecedented collaborative effort between the IRS, the states and the nation's tax industry, announced in November plans to improve identity theft and refund fraud protections for individual and business taxpayers for the 2017 filing season.

2017 Tax Filing Season Begins Jan. 23 for Nation’s Taxpayers, Tax Returns Due April 18

WASHINGTON ― The Internal Revenue Service announced today that the nation’s tax season will begin Monday, Jan. 23, 2017, and reminded taxpayers claiming certain tax credits to expect a longer wait for refunds.

The IRS will begin accepting electronic tax returns that day, with more than 153 million individual tax returns expected to be filed in 2017. The IRS again expects more than four out of five tax returns will be prepared electronically using tax return preparation software.

IRS Warns Taxpayers of Numerous Tax Scams Nationwide; Provides Summary of Most Recent Schemes

WASHINGTON — As tax season approaches, the Internal Revenue Service, the states and the tax industry reminded taxpayers to be on the lookout for an array of evolving tax scams related to identity theft and refund fraud.

Every tax season, there is an increase in schemes that target innocent taxpayers by email, by phone and on-line. The IRS and Security Summit partners remind taxpayers and tax professionals to be on the lookout for these deceptive schemes.