Taxpayer asks:
I haven’t seen the 2010 standard mileage rates that the IRS usually puts out at the end of November. Do you know if there was an announcement on this?
Taxgirl says:
You have super timing! I received this email at 8:53 a.m. today. At 2:36 p.m., an email [...]
Taxpayer asks:
I am a single mom. My ex-husband did not pay support for his daughter for more than 5 years. He just came into some money and has recently paid almost all of his back support to me.
Now I’m worried because my mom says I have to [...]
Can Williams get a tax break for her tirade?
Following on the heels of my Belichik post last year… can Serena Williams properly deduct her record fine for bad behavior?Similar Posts: None Found
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Taxpayer asks:
I own a number of buildings that I rent out. One of my tenants bounced a bunch of checks so I made him pay it all back to me in cash. My accountant told me that I should report the cash payments separately to the IRS [...]
I was pretty psyched to find out that I’ve been nominated by the ABA Journal as one of the Top 100 Legal Blogs for the second year in a row (insert lots of girly screaming here).
Many thanks to the ABA Journal for including me [...]
I, for one, am just reeling about the possibility that the House may vote on legislation to extend current estateâtax rates. Shocked. I mean, there are, what, four weeks left until the end of the year? That’s just crazy.
Tax professionals have just gotten comfortable with the [...]
I start the week off with an apology: I have missed many of your collective parties, happy hours and other social occasions. I was under the impression that I needed to be invited to these events in order to attend. Thank goodness for Tareq and Michaele Salahi, [...]
California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) is not having the best holiday weekend. On Black Friday (which may take on a completely different meaning for the “Governator”), TMZ.com posted information about a federal lien filed by the IRS [...]
I am (gasp) taking a few days off to enjoy the holidays with my family. I wish you and yours the best. I’ll be back before you know it.Similar Posts: None Found
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Okay, maybe love is a bit much said.
But the whole audit/examination process is over (at least for now, yes, yes, we know that 2008 is coming). It was oddly informative. While I’ve dealt with the IRS tons of times before, including related to audits, there’s [...]
About 500 families may have a little bit less to be thankful for this morning: Swiss tax authorities have announced that they have notified the first UBS 500 clients whose names will be turned over to US government officials.
The 500 clients are the first of 4,450 names [...]
It’s nearly time to go shopping! On Friday, retailers will offer bargains on all kinds of holiday gifts just in time for the season.
South Carolina is going one better: a sales tax holiday on Black Friday. [...]
Earlier this month, I posted on WalletPop that tax audits were on the rise. I know – not just because the IRS has admitted as much (they have) or because I’m seeing an increase in audits at my practice and with my colleagues (I am) – [...]
Remember this post about taxing plastic surgery? Well, it appears that the Senate, in its effort to tax everything possible to pay for health care reform (you’re right, I’m exaggerating, not everything… health insurance companies will make out okay) is forging ahead with its plan to [...]
It’s Fix the Tax Code Friday! This week, there has been a lot of discussion across the internet about “going Dutch” a la the pay-per-kilometer system recently passed in Amsterdam.
So today’s Fix the Tax Code Friday question is:
Should the US consider a pay-per-mile tax system to [...]
Great piece by Joe Kristan at Roth & Company PC about FBAR reporting…
Tax Update Blog: ‘Cheat’? I don’t think the word means what they think it means.: “”
Similar Posts: Ask the taxgirl: Foreign Accounts and FBAR Ask the taxgirl: Oh [...]
Taxpayer asks:
Several elderly friends have asked me to help them with administratrive work in there home. I would probably do this on an ongoing basis and I am sure each would end up paying me more that $600 a year. I would report all of this money [...]
And here I thought my days of reporting on Joe Francis were over…
It turns out that the Girls Gone Wild founder hasn’t quite put his tax woes behind him. After [...]
It was a question posed to US taxpayers by the IRS in the wake of the UBS scandal: do you feel lucky?
The US offered US taxpayers the opportunity to voluntarily disclose offshore bank accounts as part of an amnesty program earlier this year. The choice? Come forward [...]
The Dutch are well known for Delft pottery, wooden shoes, legalized prostitution and windmills. Perhaps not surprisingly, many of those things haven’t caught on in all areas of the world (oh c’mon, [...]
Who says that a little pressure doesn’t work these day? Singapore and Liechtenstein have both apparently decided that they wanted to be one of the cool kids after all. This week, both countries received word that they are slated to be removed from the dreaded gray list [...]
The woman who claims that she “never hated a man enough to give him diamonds back” may have to change her mind when it comes to Bernie Madoff. Zsa Zsa Gabor claims to have lost between $7-$10 million as [...]
IRS Commish Doug Shulman has not been shy about talking about targeted enforcement. Targeted enforcement – the idea of cherry picking certain target groups to investigate or examine – is nothing new: it’s happened for years. In fact, as a young lawyer, I remember FLPs (Family Limited [...]
As part of the continuing discussions about health care reform, the spectre of how to pay for it has risen again. Yeah, cause that’s how it apparently works in Congress. Much like college students, the plan is to figure out how to pay for all the binge-spending [...]
The IRS announced that it has awarded nearly $8 million in matching grants to support its Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program. The funds will be divided between 147 organizations in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.
Richard Byrd, Jr., the Commissioner for the IRS Wage [...]
Suddenly, it’s not so fashionable to have your money in Swiss banks. That’s sooo February 2009. This season, all of the trendy tax evaders are heading somewhere else.
In the wake of increased activity by IRS to track down previously undisclosed assets (joined by the taxing authorities in [...]
I just received a notice last week from my health insurance provider that rates at my office would be increasing an average of more than 25%. It’s not unexpected. Apparently, health insurance is one of the few industries which can regularly raise their prices by double digits [...]
Don’t get too excited. It’s not a huge tax break – but it’s not a bad one either. A bill that was rushed through recently passed in Congress, known as The Worker, Homeownership and Business Assistance Act of 2009, will allow businesses to apply losses retroactively.
The bill, [...]
I get a number of bankruptcy-related questions submitted via ask the taxgirl. That’s why I was intrigued when I was asked to write a piece on Wallet Pop about how Chapter 13 payments affect your taxes. You can check out what I had to say here: [...]
When it comes to economics, the US and UK tend to find themselves on the same page. A recent example is their consolidated front over the need for banking transparency – both countries took a tough approach with respect to the banking secrecy laws of in Switzerland [...]
“Girls Gone Wild” founder Joe Francis feels he finally got a break when a federal judge okayed a deal that Francis struck with prosecutors. Under the agreement, Francis was credited with 301 days already [...]
I’m going all Clairee from Steel Magnolias on you. I’m on the radio!
You can check out my interview with Jeff Horwich on Minnesota Public Radio about “sneaky rich people” here (I’m right after the vaccine report):
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If you’re opposed to extending the first time homebuyer’s credit (I am), you’re probably in the minority. And you’re definitely not in the Senate. The Senate voted unanimously to approve the bill and the House is expected to follow suit (at least the approval bit).
Under the new [...]
If you ask a Mainer about taxes, you’re liable to get an earful: Mainers have one of the highest tax burdens in the nation. Nonetheless, on election day, Maine voters turned down proposals to cut taxes.
In a slow economy, Maine voters were leery of a proposal that [...]
Despite three campaign appearances by President Obama, Governor John Corzine lost his gubernatorial seat in New Jersey to GOP challenger Chris Christie last night. Exit polls showed that the top two concerns for New Jersey voters were the economy and the state’s high property taxes.
How high [...]
What challenges are the IRS facing this year? Apparently not the complexity of the Tax Code.
The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) released its perspective two weeks ago on the most serious management and performance challenges confronting the IRS. The top 10 challenges in order of [...]
And here’s their evidence:
Of course more folks are e-filing. It’s fast, it’s easy. And with more folks than ever with internet and computer access, it’s to be expected.
But.
And you knew there would be a but.
Here’s my cynical take… You’ll note fewer taxpayers filing generally, [...]
The Tax Justice Network has recently released its list of the most secretive financial jurisdictions in the world. And who topped the list? Luxembourg? Switzerland? Hong Kong? Caymans?
Nope, it’s the United States. Yeah, of America.
But don’t get too excited with your finger pointing. It has little [...]
Jeffrey Chernick, a toy salesman out of New York, was sentenced on Friday to three months in prison for hiding millions of dollars from the IRS. Upon his release, Chernick will serve six monthsâ house arrest and six monthsâ [...]
It looks like 2010 likely won’t be all that different from 2009 – at least when it comes to taxes.
Each year, by law, the dollar amounts for certain tax provisions are indexed for inflation. But inflation hasn’t budged all that much (that’s good, right?) which means that [...]
Get ready for it… $10.8 billion.
This is an estimate for the extension portion only – the initial credit cost just over $8 billion.
Call it welfare, a bailout, an “incentive plan” – I call it bad policy.Similar Posts: First-time Homebuyer Credit Viewed As a [...]
You know what they say in Congress, if it’s not broke (enough), keep trying until it is…
So, with that in mind, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) has announced an extension of the first time homebuyer’s credit.
Despite evidence that the credit has been used inappropriately – [...]
Taxpayer asks:
Hi Tax Girl!
I got rid of the husband and now I would love to get rid of the engagement ring. I have thought about donating it to a non-profit animal rescue group for them to auction at one of their charity events. What kind of [...]
Taxpayer asks:
Hi Taxgirl,
Like many women this year, I got married and now I would like to donate my dress to charity. What do I need to do for tax purposes? I paid 1000 for it new and only wore it once. It is in good condition. Do [...]
About a year ago, I was notified by the ABA Journal that my blog was nominated as one of the top 100 legal blawgs for 2008. I was, needless to day, extremely honored.
One of my colleagues in Pennsylvania, Neil Hendershot, wrote about my nomination, including some [...]
Times are tough in Chicago. You can only tax the citizenry so much – and Chicago already shares the distinction of being one of the most taxed cities in America.
The solution? Enforcement. No big surprise there.
But enforcement costs money. What if you could get your [...]
So, who among us didn’t see this coming? IRS Commish Doug Shulman has announced the establishment of a new enforcement unit targeting the very wealthy. The group, called the Global High Wealth Industry, will specifically investigate partnerships, offshore trusts and other techniques used by the wealthy to [...]
Here’s a novel way to avoid paying tax: kidnap the tax collectors.
In what may be the oddest tax news I’ve read recently, the online paper, Sindh Today, has reported that an Indian man may be charged with kidnapping after he allegedly attempted to abduct two [...]
Israeli tax authorities have acknowledged a raid on the management offices of the Maccabi Tel Aviv basketball team. The team, known as ×.×. ×××× ××ק××¨× ×Ş×-×××× in Hebrew is a professional basketball team based in Tel Aviv, playing in the Israeli and European basketball First league. It [...]
That yellow ball in the sky this morning threw me for a loop. They say it’s called the sun. At any rate, I was thrilled to see it. I grabbed a cup of coffee and cozied up to the computer for another edition of “Sunday Mailbag.” Here’s [...]
