It’s the start of a new year, and that means it’s time to do last year’s taxes. Are you going to do them yourself, or will you hire a tax professional to do them for you? If you’d prefer to prepare your own tax return, you might want to use an online program to help you. There are lots of different programs available, such as TurboTax and H&R Block. All will help you complete your federal and state tax returns from the comfort of your own home. There are many benefits to using online tax software, and here’s a … Read more at 2009 Taxes

Individuals that pay alimony (also known as “spousal support” or “spousal maintenance”) to a former spouse can deduct these payments on their personal federal income tax returns. In turn, the alimony recipient is required to claim the payments as income.

Before a payor takes an alimony deduction they should make sure that their payments meet the IRS qualifications for alimony. Ideally, this was addressed and discussed in detail with their divorce attorney to ensure that the alimony was structured in a way that would allow a deduction. If you are not sure whether your payments are deductible you should consult … Read more at 2009 Taxes

Many people get nervous when it comes to thinking about retirement investing. It can be a very confusing process with complicated terms and options available. However, it is vitally important to save for your future. The earlier you start the better when it comes to saving for retirement. The successful investors are the ones who consistently put money away no matter what the markets are doing. To reach your financial retirement goals there are a couple of options available to most people.

401(k)

If you work for an employer who offers a 401(k), or similar plan, it is quite easy … Read more at 2009 Taxes

According to emerging news reports, Romney has a vast amount of wealth invested in funds through Bain Capital LLC.  This powerhouse is one of the offshore tax havens often used to help lower the 2012 taxes.  Several of the Bain funds have connections offshore that are allowing the financial elite to take advantage of tax breaks.

These news sources are interested in dissecting Romney’s tax returns to see how his use of offshore strategies has allowed him to avoid taxes.  Investments by Romney and others in Bain funds, have money scattered from Delaware, to Bermuda, the Cayman Islands, Ireland … Read more at 2009 Taxes

The career of a freelance writer can be very rewarding. However, the career can quickly lose its appeal when tax time arrives and you owe several thousand dollars. Thankfully, there are things you can do to reduce your tax bill and prevent owing such a large sum at once. The following are just five essential tax tips for freelance writers.

Pay Your Estimated Taxes

This cannot be stressed enough. Freelance writers need to pay estimated taxes in April, June, September and January of the following year. These payments will ensure that you don’t get penalized for paying your taxes late … Read more at 2009 Taxes

While many financial experts claim you should avoid borrowing from your 401k as much as possible, it may be your only financial life line in certain situations.  Because so many people often don’t have enough or anything at all saved toward retirement, financial experts claim you could be setting yourself up for financial disaster when you are ready to retire.  On the other hand, depending on your situation, it may make sense to borrow.

If you have considered other financial options such as borrowing from friends, family or home equity line of credit, a loan against your 401k may be … Read more at 2009 Taxes

Today many people have become very skeptical about the current market and economy when it comes to saving for retirement.  In fact the market seems to have become very volatile over the last few years and some are wondering what they could do to protect themselves today.  While you can’t control what the market is going to do you can control where you invest your money and the fees that you pay and in this article we’re going to see which is better fee based investing or traditional investing.

The Traditional Way To Invest

For most people we invest our … Read more at 2009 Taxes

Welcome to the October 25, 2011 edition of Tax Carnival Ecstasy. In this edition of the Tax Carnival Ecstasy we have a number of great articles from different financial blogs. Roger White starts us off with 401k Contribution Limits in 2011 and 2012, for those looking to max-out their retirement savings. SteveR has a good post with What to Expect after Receiving an IRS Certified Letter, if you just discovered that you are being audited. And finally, Al Peters presents 4 Things You Should Know About Your Self Assessment Tax Return 2011. Hope you enjoy the material, bookmark, share, tweet,

Innocent Spouse Relief has always been available as a way for taxpayers who file joint tax returns and who were not aware, nor had any kind of reason to be aware, that her or his spouse had underpaid or understated their liability for income taxes. It was designed to offer the innocent taxpayer some protection from the faults of their partners and spouses and details of how it works were to be found in Publication 971 which was entitled Innocent Spouse Relief.

The regulations detailed in Publication 971 state that innocent spouse requests that are seeking relief from liability need … Read more at 2009 Taxes

More and more consumers are choosing to make purchases online today. Retailers lure them on line with web sites or even mobile apps for smart phones that compare prices and features on items from diverse sources. One selling point is that such transactions are usually free of state sales tax. In Massachusetts, though, that may not be the case for long.

Even as members of most committees of the legislature leave town for the summer break, the Committee on Revenue quietly sent legislation that would let Massachusetts start collecting sales tax on transactions that take place on the Internet. Supporters … Read more at 2009 Taxes