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	<title>Finance Gourmet &#187; income taxes</title>
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	<link>http://financegourmet.com/blog</link>
	<description>Personal Finance, Investing, Banking, Credit Cards, Savings, and More</description>
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		<item>
		<title>Higher Tax Audit Chances?</title>
		<link>http://financegourmet.com/blog/taxes/higher-tax-audit-chances/</link>
		<comments>http://financegourmet.com/blog/taxes/higher-tax-audit-chances/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 30 Jan 2012 04:54:52 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Finance Gourmet</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Taxes]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[audit]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Deductions]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Federal Income Taxes]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[income taxes]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[IRS]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://financegourmet.com/blog/?p=1297</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[<p>Shortly after publishing my post about your odds of being audited by the IRS, a reader sent me a message with a link to a CBS News article suggesting that your chances of being audited were actually much higher than previously thought. That is what the bold type headline screams, at least. In reality, if [...]</p><p><a href="http://financegourmet.com/blog/taxes/higher-tax-audit-chances/">Higher Tax Audit Chances?</a> originally published at <a href="http://financegourmet.com/blog">Finance Gourmet</a></p>]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Shortly after publishing my post about your <a title="IRS Audit Odds" href="http://financegourmet.com/blog/taxes/irs-audit-odds/" target="_blank">odds of being audited by the IRS</a>, a reader sent me a message with a link to a <a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-500395_162-57367455/chance-of-being-audited-is-greater-than-you-think/" target="_blank">CBS News article</a> suggesting that your chances of being audited were actually much higher than previously thought. That is what the bold type headline screams, at least.</p>
<p><a href="http://financegourmet.com/blog/taxes/higher-tax-audit-chances/attachment/irs/" rel="attachment wp-att-1298"><img class="alignleft size-full wp-image-1298" title="irs-audit" src="http://financegourmet.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/irs.gif" alt="" width="191" height="149" /></a>In reality, if you read the entire article, you&#8217;ll find that the odds of triggering an IRS audit are pretty much right in line with what I said in my article. What this other news article points out is that there are ways for the IRS to contact you that aren&#8217;t really audits. If you include these not-audits in the count of actual audits, then you get, not surprisingly, a much higher number of audits. In particular, the article focuses on ominous letters that IRS sends out to taxpayers, which are very much not audits. In fact, the letters cited in the article are about as far from an audit as you can get.</p>
<p>One of the letters informs taxpayers of a math error in their tax returns. This is not an audit. This is a notice that you messed up your math and therefore need to pay your taxes based upon the correct math. This scenario in no way results in anyone questioning your deductions or asking you to prove anything on your tax return with financial records. An audit is a re-examination of your tax return, not a request for you to fix a math error. Assuming you use tax software and take the <a href="http://financegourmet.com/blog/taxes/2011-standard-deduction-and-2011-tax-brackets/">2011 standard deduction</a>, there is a small chance of filing a return with a math error in it.</p>
<p>Another of the letters mentions the electronic system the IRS has to match reported data with the amounts listed on a tax return. I did allude in my post to the fact that the IRS matches information reported directly to it by your employer and other financial relationships with the amounts you actually report on your income tax forms. I even mentioned that this is an are where only a fool tries any funny business. Again, the result of this scenario is a letter in which the IRS in no way re-examines your return except to change the results of your calculations based upon the numbers that are reported to the Internal Revenue Service directly. This is not an audit either.</p>
<p>The point of my article about the low chances of being audited was not to encourage people to cheat on their taxes, nor to suggest that anyone cheat because the risk of audit is so low. Rather, I hoped to make filing income taxes a little less tense. People get so worked up about getting audited that they don&#8217;t take <a href="http://financegourmet.com/blog/2011-tax-tricks-tips-advice/">tax deductions</a> or credits that they qualify for, for risk of being audited. That isn&#8217;t <a href="http://financegourmet.com">smart personal finance strategy</a>, but neither is cheating.</p>
<p>Go into doing your taxes realizing that they can be a bit complicated, although there are tax prep software packages that help, but there is no need to walk around in fear of a potential audit. It might happen, but chances are it won&#8217;t. Just don&#8217;t freak out about it for no reason.</p>
<p>Related posts:<ol>
<li><a href='http://financegourmet.com/blog/taxes/irs-audit-odds/' rel='bookmark' title='IRS Audit Odds'>IRS Audit Odds</a></li>
<li><a href='http://financegourmet.com/blog/news/google-earnings-predicting-economy/' rel='bookmark' title='Google Posts Higher Than Expected 3rd Quarter Numbers &#8211; Is The Recession Over'>Google Posts Higher Than Expected 3rd Quarter Numbers &#8211; Is The Recession Over</a></li>
</ol></p><p><a href="http://financegourmet.com/blog/taxes/higher-tax-audit-chances/">Higher Tax Audit Chances?</a> originally published at <a href="http://financegourmet.com/blog">Finance Gourmet</a></p>]]></content:encoded>
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		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>IRS Audit Odds</title>
		<link>http://financegourmet.com/blog/taxes/irs-audit-odds/</link>
		<comments>http://financegourmet.com/blog/taxes/irs-audit-odds/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 27 Jan 2012 21:41:20 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Finance Gourmet</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Taxes]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[audit]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[filing taxes]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[income taxes]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[IRS]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://financegourmet.com/blog/?p=1292</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[<p>As tax season approaches, America&#8217;s thoughts turn to the required filing of income taxes. Theoretically, America&#8217;s tax system is a voluntary reporting system, however, that voluntary part is backed up by a pretty big stick, IRS audits. Odds of Being Audited According to IRS statistics, the chances of being audited by the IRS is about [...]</p><p><a href="http://financegourmet.com/blog/taxes/irs-audit-odds/">IRS Audit Odds</a> originally published at <a href="http://financegourmet.com/blog">Finance Gourmet</a></p>]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>As tax season approaches, America&#8217;s thoughts turn to the required filing of income taxes. Theoretically, America&#8217;s tax system is a voluntary reporting system, however, that voluntary part is backed up by a pretty big stick, IRS audits.</p>
<h2>Odds of Being Audited</h2>
<p><a href="http://financegourmet.com/blog/taxes/irs-audit-odds/attachment/irs-tax-day/" rel="attachment wp-att-1294"><img class="alignleft size-full wp-image-1294" title="IRS-audit-chances" src="http://financegourmet.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/irs-tax-day.jpg" alt="" width="200" height="145" /></a>According to IRS statistics, the chances of being audited by the IRS is about one in 100, or one percent. A deeper look, however, reveals the the IRS audits certain tax returns much more often than other returns. IRS audit statistics suggest that high-income taxpayers and those who own small businesses are more likely to be audited that middle and low income taxpayers who earn the majority of their income from wages and salary or brokerage-style investments.</p>
<p>The reasons certain groups get audited more than others are two-fold. First, and foremost, there is more money to be gained by auditing higher income taxpayers. For example, consider a middle income wage earner, who is married filing jointly, bringing down a salary of $70,000 with no other income. Taking the <a href="http://financegourmet.com/blog/taxes/2011-standard-deduction-and-2011-tax-brackets/">standard deduction for 2011</a>, of $11,600 for married couples filing joint, that leaves $58,400 of taxable income.</p>
<p>Do the math and that taxpayer isn&#8217;t going to pay any more than around $7,500 and likely much less if there are any kids. Assuming that our fearless taxpayer files his income taxes and fudges a child care credit or student loan interest deduction, he might shave a few hundred bucks off his total. If he is caught and audited, then the IRS can recover that and penalties and interest (particularly if it is proven to be fraudulent). Either way, the sum total of collection by that IRS audit won&#8217;t be more than a $1,000. That&#8217;s hardly worth the time and effort.</p>
<p>Don&#8217;t get me wrong, the IRS can and does audit returns like this all the time, primarily to avoid the appearance of &#8220;never&#8221; auditing certain kinds of tax returns. All it takes is one person getting audited to scare-straight dozens of their friends and acquaintances. However, at the end of the day, this taxpayer isn&#8217;t really &#8220;worth&#8221; the cost of an audit.</p>
<h3>Who Gets Audited By the IRS?</h3>
<p>A high-income taxpayer on the other hand can generate a significant tax recovery. When someone&#8217;s total tax liability is $5,000, even a big cheater won&#8217;t owe too much extra if audited. However, when someone&#8217;s total tax liability is $25,000, $50,000 or more, a successful audit might recover $10,000 or more, especially if there are penalties and interest involved.</p>
<p>The other reason higher earning taxpayers get audited more often is that they have more ways to cheat. Someone who earns a salary and takes the standard deduction has very little room to be sneaky. After all, their salary is reported to the IRS as well as the taxpayer. Trying to cheat on that number is flat-out stupid, considering a computer will crosscheck each and every one of those.</p>
<p>On the other hand, higher salaried taxpayers tend to itemize their deductions. Many of those <a href="http://financegourmet.com/blog/2011-tax-tricks-tips-advice/">tax deductions</a>, such as mortgage interest are also reported to the IRS and thus not likely to be underreported. However, there are plenty of deductions that can be exaggerated very easily. Catching these things is the bread and butter of audits.</p>
<p>For the same reason, small business owners are frequent audit targets. There are many deductions for small business owners and other than the requirement to keep receipts and records, many are completely undocumented directly to the IRS. The <a href="http://financegourmet.com/blog/taxes/2011-section-179-deduction-limits/">2011 Section 179 tax deduction</a> alone is worth up to $250,000 this year. That&#8217;s some real money worth collecting.</p>
<p>Related posts:<ol>
<li><a href='http://financegourmet.com/blog/taxes/mortgage-tax-deduction-end-of-year/' rel='bookmark' title='Mortgage Tax Deduction End of Year'>Mortgage Tax Deduction End of Year</a></li>
<li><a href='http://financegourmet.com/blog/taxes/2009-end-of-year-tax-strategies-calculate-dollar-amount-taxes-savings/' rel='bookmark' title='2009 End of Year Tax Strategies &#8211; Calculate Dollar Amount of Tax Moves'>2009 End of Year Tax Strategies &#8211; Calculate Dollar Amount of Tax Moves</a></li>
</ol></p><p><a href="http://financegourmet.com/blog/taxes/irs-audit-odds/">IRS Audit Odds</a> originally published at <a href="http://financegourmet.com/blog">Finance Gourmet</a></p>]]></content:encoded>
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		<item>
		<title>Mortgage Tax Deduction End of Year</title>
		<link>http://financegourmet.com/blog/taxes/mortgage-tax-deduction-end-of-year/</link>
		<comments>http://financegourmet.com/blog/taxes/mortgage-tax-deduction-end-of-year/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 28 Nov 2011 19:59:10 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Finance Gourmet</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Taxes]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Deductions]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[income taxes]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[IRS]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Tax Tips]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://financegourmet.com/blog/?p=1226</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[<p>Every year a plethora of financial articles come out telling people how to save money on their taxes at the end of the year. It&#8217;s a fine idea, and frankly, no stone should go unturned. However, the best tax planning takes happens year round. That being said, there are numerous last-minute ways to cut income [...]</p><p><a href="http://financegourmet.com/blog/taxes/mortgage-tax-deduction-end-of-year/">Mortgage Tax Deduction End of Year</a> originally published at <a href="http://financegourmet.com/blog">Finance Gourmet</a></p>]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Every year a plethora of financial articles come out telling people how to save money on their taxes at the end of the year. It&#8217;s a fine idea, and frankly, no stone should go unturned. However, the best tax planning takes happens year round. That being said, there are numerous last-minute ways to cut income taxes by making last minute moves in December. Today, we examine one of the most common end of year tax moves, paying your mortgage early.</p>
<p>Check here to learn <a title="How To Deduct Mortgage Interest on Income Taxes" href="http://financegourmet.com/blog/taxes/deduct-mortgage-interest-2010/">how to deduct mortgage interest</a> on your taxes.</p>
<h3>Make Mortgage Payment Early to Deduct More</h3>
<p>One of the biggest <a href="http://financegourmet.com/blog/tag/tax-decuctions/">tax deductions</a> that is available to ordinary taxpayers is the mortgage interest deduction. Simply put, the 2011 mortgage interest deduction is the ability to deduct whatever amount you pay in mortgage interest from your income taxes. There are several rules and exclusions, but they don&#8217;t apply to most taxpayers unless you have more than $1 million in mortgages or several houses. This is one of those tax deductions with no income limits.  You do need to itemize your deductions in order to claim the mortgage interest deduction. For many people, the amount of their mortgage interest deduction determines whether it is best to itemize or claim the<a title="2011 Standard Deduction and 2011 Tax Brackets" href="http://financegourmet.com/blog/taxes/2011-standard-deduction-and-2011-tax-brackets/"> 2011 standard deduction amount</a>.</p>
<p>In a normal year, you make 12 mortgage payments. Add up the total amount of interest paid, and that is how much you get to deduct. Your mortgage company will actually do it for you because they are required to submit a 1099-INT to both you and the IRS. This means the IRS knows how much money you actually paid on your mortgage, so this isn&#8217;t a good place to get creative. You can find the 2011 1099-INT forms on the <a href="http://www.irs.gov">IRS website</a>. (Update: The 2011 1099-INT forms are now also available.)</p>
<p>However, as with most tax deductions, you get to claim the amount amount you pay during the year regardless of when it is actually due. Thus, if you pay your January mortgage payment in December, you get to deduct it on this year&#8217;s taxes. That means you get to deduct the amount of interest paid on 13 payments instead of just 12.</p>
<p>For example, let&#8217;s assume for the ease of math that you pay $1,000 per month in interest on your mortgage. (Keep in mind that only the <strong>interest</strong> part of your payment is deductible. The amount that goes to principal and the escrow payment is NOT deductible.) If you made all the payments at the regular time during 2011, then your 2011 mortgage interest deduction would be $12,000.</p>
<p>That&#8217;s not too shabby. But, if you pay your January 2012 payment during December 2011, then you have made 13 payments during the 2011 tax year instead of 12. That means that on your <a href="http://financegourmet.com/blog/2011-tax-tricks-tips-advice/">2011 taxes</a> you can deduct $13,000 instead of just $12,000. That extra $1,000 deduction can be very valuable especially at higher tax brackets. In the 30 percent tax bracket, making your payment just a few days early saves $300 on your taxes.</p>
<h3>The Catch to Paying Your Mortgage Early</h3>
<p>There is, of course, a catch to using the <a href="http://financegourmet.com/blog/2011-tax-tricks-tips-advice/">tax trick</a> of paying off your mortgage early.</p>
<p>By making your January 2012 payment in 2011, you have eliminated one of the payments you would normally make during 2012. That means that you can only deduct 11 mortgage payments worth of interest in 2012 because the January payment was not made during 2012, it was paid in 2011.</p>
<p>In our example above, by paying the January 2012 payment early, you got to deduct $13,000 in 2011. But, that means you will only be able to deduct $11,000 on your 2012 taxes. There is a way around this. If you make your January 2013 payment during December 2012, then you can deduct the full-year of interest of $12,000. However, there is no way to get that extra deduction again until you bite the bullet and take only 11 months worth of interest payments as your mortgage deduction in some year.</p>
<h2>Mortgage Interest Deduction Audits</h2>
<p>Here is the mistake that many taxpayers accidentally make.</p>
<p>In 2011, they read about this really great idea to make their January mortgage payment early in order to get a bigger interest deduction. So, they pay 13 months worth of payments during 2011 and they deduct 13 months worth of interest. So far, so good.</p>
<p>However, in 2012, they forget that they did that. The mortgage company sends them a 1099-INT that shows a full 12 months of interest payments for 2012 and they deduct the full 12 months of interest, even though they can only legally deduct 11. Then, are those who try and use the trick again in 2012 by paying their mortgage early and deducting 13 months of interest when they only qualify for 12 months of interest payments.</p>
<p>Remember those 1099-INT forms that the mortgage company sends to both you and the IRS?</p>
<p>That is how you get caught. The IRS computers run the numbers on the forms against the numbers you claim and sometime in 2013 or 2014, a letter shows up in the mail saying that a routine examination of your return has discovered a possible error. If you are really unlucky, your return will get flagged for a full-scale audit. Typically, however, you&#8217;ll just be subject to an &#8220;information audit&#8221; where the IRS will require you to provide documents to support your deductions.</p>
<p>It won&#8217;t take long for cancelled checks and mortgage statements to reveal that you claimed too many deductions in 2012 and owe back taxes and interest on the amount. Theoretically, if the IRS can prove you did it on purpose, you can also be on the hook for fraud and additional penalties, but this kind of mistake happens all the time and non-accountants routinely fall victim so they probably won&#8217;t go after you for that.</p>
<h3>How To Maximize Tax Deductions by Paying Mortgage Early</h3>
<p>Paying your mortgage early to increase your mortgage deduction amount in 2011 works best for people who either have income that varies from year to year, or people who know that they are going to get hit with a big tax bill and will adjust for it on their <a href="http://financegourmet.com/blog/2012-tax-tricks-tips-advice/">2012 taxes</a>.</p>
<p>If your income varies because you earn commissions, own your own business, or you get bonuses that are different sizes each year, then you want to pay your mortgage early in a year where your income will be high. Even if it is high the next year, you can pay early again and keep your full-year interest deduction. Eventually, when you have an off year or your bonus is smaller than usual, you can not pay early and only deduct 11 months of payments. This &#8220;reloads&#8221; this tax deduction increase trick for another year when your income is higher.</p>
<p>For people who get an unexpected windfall during the year that may result in a higher tax bill, that extra $300 deduction will give you some extra room when filing in 2012 for your 2011 taxes. Just be sure to adjust your withholding for 2012 so that you don&#8217;t come up short again.</p>
<p>Paying your mortgage early is a <a title="Top 10 Last Minute Tax Tips" href="http://financegourmet.com/blog/taxes/top-10-last-minute-tax-tips/">good end of year tax tip</a>. However, be sure you fully understand what you are doing and how it affects your future taxes. If you pay early this year, you have to pay early for every other year until you are ready to take the smaller 11-month size deduction.</p>
<p>Subscribe to the Finance Gourmet Feed to get all of our coming 2011 end of year tax tips.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>Related posts:<ol>
<li><a href='http://financegourmet.com/blog/taxes/2012-standard-deduction/' rel='bookmark' title='2012 Standard Deduction Amount Set'>2012 Standard Deduction Amount Set</a></li>
<li><a href='http://financegourmet.com/blog/taxes/2009-end-of-year-tax-strategies-calculate-dollar-amount-taxes-savings/' rel='bookmark' title='2009 End of Year Tax Strategies &#8211; Calculate Dollar Amount of Tax Moves'>2009 End of Year Tax Strategies &#8211; Calculate Dollar Amount of Tax Moves</a></li>
</ol></p><p><a href="http://financegourmet.com/blog/taxes/mortgage-tax-deduction-end-of-year/">Mortgage Tax Deduction End of Year</a> originally published at <a href="http://financegourmet.com/blog">Finance Gourmet</a></p>]]></content:encoded>
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		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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		<title>2012 Standard Deduction Amount Set</title>
		<link>http://financegourmet.com/blog/taxes/2012-standard-deduction/</link>
		<comments>http://financegourmet.com/blog/taxes/2012-standard-deduction/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 14 Nov 2011 04:25:52 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Finance Gourmet</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Taxes]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Deductions]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[income taxes]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[IRS]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[standard deduction]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Tax Decuctions]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://financegourmet.com/blog/?p=1221</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[<p>The standard tax deduction allowed for Americans is set each year in late October. The standard deduction is indexed for inflation, so it can increase or decrease in a given year depending upon how the cost of living index changes over time. Standard Deduction 2012 The 2012 standard deduction is the amount that taxpayers will [...]</p><p><a href="http://financegourmet.com/blog/taxes/2012-standard-deduction/">2012 Standard Deduction Amount Set</a> originally published at <a href="http://financegourmet.com/blog">Finance Gourmet</a></p>]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>The standard <a href="http://financegourmet.com/blog/2011-tax-tricks-tips-advice/" target="_blank">tax deduction</a> allowed for Americans is set each year in late October. The standard deduction is indexed for inflation, so it can increase or decrease in a given year depending upon how the cost of living index changes over time.</p>
<h3>Standard Deduction 2012</h3>
<p><img style="background-image: none; margin: 10px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: left; padding-top: 0px; border: 0px;" title="irs-logo-graphic" src="http://financegourmet.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/irs-logo-graphic.jpg" alt="irs-logo-graphic" width="145" height="121" align="left" border="0" />The 2012 standard deduction is the amount that taxpayers will use to file their taxes before April 15, 2013. For taxes to be filed before April 15, 2012, taxpayers need to use the <a href="http://financegourmet.com/blog/taxes/new-2011-standard-deduction-and-2011-tax-brackets/">standard deduction 2011 amount</a> set in the fall of 2010.</p>
<p>The amount of the standard deduction for 2012 for taxpayers who are married filing jointly is $11,900. This amount is up $300 from the <a href="http://financegourmet.com/blog/taxes/new-2011-standard-deduction-and-2011-tax-brackets/">2011 standard deduction</a> amount of $11,600. For taxpayers who are filing single, or who are married filing separately, the 2012 standard deduction is $5,950 which is an increase of $150. For those taxpayers who file as head of household, the standard deduction in 2012 is $8,700.</p>
<p>Various other tax credits and income tax deductions are also indexed for inflation. For the 2012 tax year, the maximum earned income tax credit, or EITC, increased to $5,891, which is up form the 2011 maximum of $5,751. Accordingly, the maximum income limit for the EITC increased from $49,078 in 2011 to $50,270 in 2012.</p>
<h3>IRS Annual Gift Limit 2012</h3>
<p>The IRS permits tax-free gifts to any persons up to a certain limit each year. The annual gift limit is per person, so a couple who is married filing jointly can actually give double the amount of the IRS gift limit each year. Additionally, when giving to a married couple that files jointly, each spouse can receive the full gift amount. For parents looking to give a tax-free annual gift to their married children, that means that a full four times the amount of the limit can be given tax-free.</p>
<p>The 2012 gift limit is $13,000. The annual gift exclusion is unchanged from 2011.</p>
<p>Therefore, a married couple can give $26,000 to a single person, or a full $52,000 to another married couple without triggering gift taxes or any estate tax issues.</p>
<p>Speaking of estate taxes, the 2012 estate tax exclusion is $5,120,00. That is an increase from the estate tax deduction in 2011 of $5 million.</p>
<h3>IRS Tax Updates</h3>
<p>Although the IRS releases updated tax numbers, deduction amounts and tax credit eligibility throughout the year, the release of widespread numbers like new 2012 tax brackets and other widely claimed tax deductions happens in October of the previous year to allow for official publication of IRS manuals and rules to be completed in time for the start of the tax filing season on January 1st of the following year.</p>
<p>You can subscribe to emails from the IRS or just check the Internal Revenue Service website in late October or early February each year.</p>
<p>No related posts.</p><p><a href="http://financegourmet.com/blog/taxes/2012-standard-deduction/">2012 Standard Deduction Amount Set</a> originally published at <a href="http://financegourmet.com/blog">Finance Gourmet</a></p>]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>Standard Deduction 2011 and 2011 Tax Brackets</title>
		<link>http://financegourmet.com/blog/taxes/2011-standard-deduction-and-2011-tax-brackets/</link>
		<comments>http://financegourmet.com/blog/taxes/2011-standard-deduction-and-2011-tax-brackets/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 12 Jan 2011 21:01:19 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Finance Gourmet</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Taxes]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[2010 taxes]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[2011 taxes]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Deductions]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[income taxes]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[IRS]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[itemized deductions]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[standard deduction]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://financegourmet.com/blog/taxes/new-2011-standard-deduction-and-2011-tax-brackets/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[<p>The IRS has announced new 2011 tax numbers regarding the standard deduction for single filers and for those married filing jointly, as well as the 2011 value of the personal and dependent deduction. By law, these standard tax numbers are adjusted for inflation each year. As a result, these tax deductions can increase or decrease [...]</p><p><a href="http://financegourmet.com/blog/taxes/2011-standard-deduction-and-2011-tax-brackets/">Standard Deduction 2011 and 2011 Tax Brackets</a> originally published at <a href="http://financegourmet.com/blog">Finance Gourmet</a></p>]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>The IRS has announced new 2011 tax numbers regarding the standard deduction for single filers and for those married filing jointly, as well as the 2011 value of the personal and dependent deduction. By law, these standard tax numbers are adjusted for inflation each year. As a result, these tax deductions can increase or decrease depending upon how prices change.</p>
<h2>What Is the Standard Deduction for 2011</h2>
<p>There was a small adjustment higher in most IRS tax numbers due to inflation. That means that most taxpayers should benefit from higher income limits and wider tax brackets than they had on their <a href="http://financegourmet.com/blog/2010-tax-tips-tricks-advice/">2010 income taxes</a>.</p>
<h2>Standard Deduction 2011</h2>
<p><img style="background-image: none; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: left; padding-top: 0px; border-width: 0px;" title="taxes-info" src="http://financegourmet.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/taxes-info.jpg" alt="taxes-info" width="129" height="87" align="left" border="0" />Taxpayers must choose whether to itemize their deduction or take the standard deduction on their income taxes. For most taxpayers whose income comes primarily from a job as a regular employee, the decision about whether it is better to itemize or claim the standard deduction on income taxes comes down to how much mortgage interest they pay. Basically, if the <a href="http://financegourmet.com/blog/taxes/deduct-mortgage-interest-2010/">mortgage interest deduction</a> available is higher than the standard deduction amount, then itemizing makes sense.</p>
<p>The new standard deduction amount for 2011 is $11,600 for married couples filing jointly. That is an increase in the <a href="http://financegourmet.com/blog/2010-tax-tips-tricks-advice/">standard deduction from 2010</a> of $200. The 2011 standard deduction for single filers is $5,800, up from $5,700 in 2010.</p>
<p>Those checkboxes on IRS Form 1040 that ask whether you are blind or over age 65 increase the standard tax deduction for each taxpayer. Blind people and senior citizens qualify for an extra $1,150 in their standard deduction for married filers and $1,450 for singles and heads of household.</p>
<h3>2011 Tax Brackets Widen</h3>
<p>The income tax brackets for 2011 have also widened due to inflation adjustments. For example, the 15 percent tax bracket now goes up to $69,000 for married filing jointly, while the 15 percent tax bracket for single filers goes up to $34,500.</p>
<p>Here is a 2011 Tax Bracket Table for Single Filers</p>
<ul>
<li>$0 to $8,500 = 10% bracket</li>
<li>$8,500 to $34,500 = 15% bracket</li>
<li>$34,500 to $83,600 = 25% bracket</li>
<li>$83,600 to $174,400 = 28% bracket</li>
<li>$174,400 to $379,150 = 33% bracket</li>
<li>$379,150 and up = 35% bracket</li>
</ul>
<p>The Tax Bracket 2011 for Married Filing Jointly table is</p>
<ul>
<li>$0 to $17,0000 = 10% bracket</li>
<li>$17,000 to $69,000 = 15% bracket</li>
<li>$69,000 to $139,350 = 25% bracket</li>
<li>$139,350 to $212,300 = 28% bracket</li>
<li>$212,300 to $379,150 = 33% bracket</li>
<li>$379,150 and up = 35% bracket</li>
</ul>
<p>The upper ends of each tax bracket are higher for 2011 because the brackets are adjusted for inflation each year.</p>
<h2>2011 Tax Deductions Limits Raised</h2>
<p>Like other tax numbers, the ceilings and maximum income limits for various tax deductions and tax credits in 2011 have been increased as well.</p>
<p>Although most of the 2011 IRS Publication have not been finalized and posted online at irs.gov yet, many of these higher deduction limits have been published in other locations on the website. You can use the search box below to search IRS.gov for other tax forms or publications.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
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<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>Related posts:<ol>
<li><a href='http://financegourmet.com/blog/taxes/2011-mileage-rate-irs-standard-deduction-amount-set/' rel='bookmark' title='2011 Mileage Rate IRS Standard Deduction Amount Set'>2011 Mileage Rate IRS Standard Deduction Amount Set</a></li>
<li><a href='http://financegourmet.com/blog/taxes/2012-standard-deduction/' rel='bookmark' title='2012 Standard Deduction Amount Set'>2012 Standard Deduction Amount Set</a></li>
</ol></p><p><a href="http://financegourmet.com/blog/taxes/2011-standard-deduction-and-2011-tax-brackets/">Standard Deduction 2011 and 2011 Tax Brackets</a> originally published at <a href="http://financegourmet.com/blog">Finance Gourmet</a></p>]]></content:encoded>
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		<slash:comments>2</slash:comments>
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		<title>Should I Convert My IRA to a Roth IRA In 2010?</title>
		<link>http://financegourmet.com/blog/retirement/should-i-convert-my-ira-to-a-roth-ira-in-2010/</link>
		<comments>http://financegourmet.com/blog/retirement/should-i-convert-my-ira-to-a-roth-ira-in-2010/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 27 Nov 2010 16:02:48 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Finance Gourmet</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Retirement]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Taxes]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[2010 tax advice]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[end of year]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[income taxes]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[IRA]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[ira conversion]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[roth conversion]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[roth ira]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[roth ira conversions]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[tax strategies]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[traditional ira]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://financegourmet.com/blog/?p=1048</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[<p>As the end of the 2010 tax year comes to a close, an interesting question is coming up more often. Should I convert my IRA to a Roth in 2010? There is a special 2010 tax trick that allows you to convert your traditional IRA to a Roth IRA and spread the taxes from the [...]</p><p><a href="http://financegourmet.com/blog/retirement/should-i-convert-my-ira-to-a-roth-ira-in-2010/">Should I Convert My IRA to a Roth IRA In 2010?</a> originally published at <a href="http://financegourmet.com/blog">Finance Gourmet</a></p>]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>As the end of the 2010 tax year comes to a close, an interesting question is coming up more often.</p>
<ul><strong>Should I convert my IRA to a Roth in 2010?</strong></ul>
<p>There is a special <a href="http://financegourmet.com/blog/2010-tax-tips-tricks-advice/">2010 tax trick</a> that allows you to convert your traditional IRA to a Roth IRA and spread the taxes from the IRA conversion out over the next two tax years. That little tax secret expires at the end of 2010, which means that unless you convert your IRA to a Roth before year-end, you can&#8217;t lower your taxes with that tax loophole.</p>
<p><a href="http://financegourmet.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/roth-ira-conversion-taxes.jpg"><img style="background-image: none; margin: 10px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: left; padding-top: 0px; border-width: 0px;" title="roth-ira-conversion-taxes" src="http://financegourmet.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/roth-ira-conversion-taxes_thumb.jpg" border="0" alt="roth-ira-conversion-taxes" width="129" height="95" align="left" /></a>Roth IRA conversions are open to everyone regardless of income from now on. However, there are still <a href="http://www.brighthub.com/money/investing/articles/47724.aspx" target="_blank">Roth IRA income limits for contributions</a>.</p>
<h3>Is It A Good Idea To Convert IRAs in 2010?</h3>
<p>Normally, making a big tax move like a Roth conversion late in the year is not a good tax strategy for most people because it doesn&#8217;t give you any time to compensate for it.</p>
<p>For example, if you were to convert an IRA to a <a href="http://financegourmet.com/roth-ira.htm" target="_blank">Roth IRA</a> in 2011, you will owe income taxes on the amount of money converted, minus any non-deductible IRA contributions you made to the traditional IRA or 401k you are converting to a Roth. Without the special tax rules for 2010, all of those taxes are due when you pay your 2011 taxes (filed by April, 2012). If you converted your IRA early in 2011, you could adjust your tax withholdings on your W-2 at work, or increase your estimated quarterly tax payments if you are a small business owner. Over several months, those small changes would blunt the tax hit of the conversion.</p>
<p>On the other hand, if you converted your IRA near the end of 2011 and generated a $10,000 tax spike, there isn&#8217;t much you can do about it. You can adjust your withholdings, but unless it is a big change, it won&#8217;t add up to much. Adjusting your W2 to withhold an extra $300 a month starting in February adds up to $3,000 by December. Doing the same thing in November adds up to just $600.</p>
<h3>Best Tax Move For 2010 End of Year</h3>
<p>For 2010, however, there are special tax rules for IRA conversions that make this year the right time to convert your traditional IRA to a Roth IRA. In fact, few <a href="http://financegourmet.com/blog/taxes/lower-your-taxes-increase-tax-deductions-2010/">2010 year-end tax moves can save you more on your taxes</a>.</p>
<p>For 2010 only, you can report the conversion income from your Roth IRA on your 2011 and 2012 tax returns. Spreading the Roth conversion taxes out over two years means you only have to pay half in 2011, and the other half in 2012.</p>
<p>Even if you have the money laying around to pay for your conversion, this is still a <a href="http://financegourmet.com/blog/">smart financial move</a>.</p>
<p>If your Roth conversion generated income taxes of $10,000, you could put $5,000 in a 1-year CD or a high-interest money market account to pay the taxes in 2011, and put the other $5,000 in a 2-year CD or MMA to pay the taxes in 2012. Not only do you not have to worry about the Roth IRA conversion taxes, you can make money on your tax liabilities by deferring them for a year.</p>
<p>If you are planning to convert your IRA in the near future, convert it now before the 2010 tax-year ends. You&#8217;ll have plenty of time to plan for the taxes thanks to the special tax treatment you get in 2010.</p>
<p>No related posts.</p><p><a href="http://financegourmet.com/blog/retirement/should-i-convert-my-ira-to-a-roth-ira-in-2010/">Should I Convert My IRA to a Roth IRA In 2010?</a> originally published at <a href="http://financegourmet.com/blog">Finance Gourmet</a></p>]]></content:encoded>
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		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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		<title>New 2010 Tax Numbers Released By IRS For Filing 2010 Income Taxes in 2011</title>
		<link>http://financegourmet.com/blog/taxes/2010-tax-numbers-mileage/</link>
		<comments>http://financegourmet.com/blog/taxes/2010-tax-numbers-mileage/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 20 May 2010 12:27:00 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Finance Gourmet</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Taxes]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[2010 tax numbers]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Business]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Deductions]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[income taxes]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Mileage]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[mileage rate]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://financegourmet.com/blog/taxes/2010-tax-numbers-mileage/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[<p>Now that the April 15th deadline is behind us, the best personal finance advice you can take is to start planning for your 2010 Income Taxes now. That way, you will be ready to take advantage of all the 2010 tax tricks, tips and deductions you can. Sure, last minute tax advice and finding those [...]</p><p><a href="http://financegourmet.com/blog/taxes/2010-tax-numbers-mileage/">New 2010 Tax Numbers Released By IRS For Filing 2010 Income Taxes in 2011</a> originally published at <a href="http://financegourmet.com/blog">Finance Gourmet</a></p>]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; margin: 10px 10px 10px 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="2010-mileage-rate-cars-drive-business" border="0" alt="2010-mileage-rate-cars-drive-business" align="left" src="http://financegourmet.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/MP9004004731.jpg" width="160" height="244" /> Now that the April 15th deadline is behind us, the <a href="http://financegourmet.com/blog/">best personal finance advice</a> you can take is to start planning for your 2010 Income Taxes now. That way, you will be ready to take advantage of all the <a href="http://financegourmet.com/blog/2010-tax-tips-tricks-advice/">2010 tax tricks, tips and deductions</a> you can.</p>
<p>Sure, last minute tax advice and finding those hidden tax deductions during crunch time is great, but to really save money on taxes, you have to plan all year long. Start watching now for expenses that you can deduct from your taxes and start keeping records and receipts for all of those possible tax deductions that might be usable to lower your taxes if you meet certain requirements or minimum thresholds. Most importantly, start keeping your contemporaneous records of important deductible expenses like business mileage, unreimbursed expenses, training and education expenses, and medical expenses.</p>
<h2>IRS 2010 Standard Mileage Deduction Rate</h2>
<p>The <strong>standard mileage rate for 2010 is 50 cents per mile</strong> for business reasons. The 2010 standard mileage rate for miles driven for charitable purposes is 14 cents per mile.</p>
<p>You can deduct all unreimbursed mileage driven for business reasons and most charitable reasons as long as you have written documentation of the miles driven. These records must be &quot;contemporaneous,&quot; which basically means that you need to create the record as it happens. In other words, you need to be recording your mileage in a little mileage log book every time you drive somewhere. Creating a log at the end of the year won&#8217;t cut it.</p>
<p>There is no need to buy a mileage log specifically, however, many people find it useful to have the format for recording their business trips in place. It can also make filling in the data easier. Most importantly, by completely filling out one of the mileage logs that you get at an office supply store like Office Depot or Staples is that you can be sure that you are writing down all the information that is required to take the standard business mileage rate for 2010 deduction from your taxes. Otherwise, any notebook will do. Write down your starting and ending mileage (use the main odometer reading, not just the trip odometer) and the total miles. Be sure to note whether that is one-way or round trip. Also note what the business reason was for making the trip.</p>
<p>No related posts.</p><p><a href="http://financegourmet.com/blog/taxes/2010-tax-numbers-mileage/">New 2010 Tax Numbers Released By IRS For Filing 2010 Income Taxes in 2011</a> originally published at <a href="http://financegourmet.com/blog">Finance Gourmet</a></p>]]></content:encoded>
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		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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		<title>Printing Tax Returns TurboTax or TaxCut</title>
		<link>http://financegourmet.com/blog/savings/tax-tips-tricks-printing-turbotax-returns-taxcut-files/</link>
		<comments>http://financegourmet.com/blog/savings/tax-tips-tricks-printing-turbotax-returns-taxcut-files/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 15 Apr 2010 17:53:28 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Finance Gourmet</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Savings]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[2009 taxes]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[income taxes]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[IRS]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Tax Programs]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Tax Software]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Tax Tips]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Tax Tips and Tricks]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[TaxCut]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[TurboTax]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://financegourmet.com/blog/taxes/tax-tips-tricks-printing-turbotax-returns-taxcut-files/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[<p>Whether you waited until the last minute or filed months ago, there is one last 2009 tax tips and tricks that you need to follow. Print out a copy of your tax return from your TurboTax software or print out your taxes from your TaxCut software, or whatever other tax software program you used to [...]</p><p><a href="http://financegourmet.com/blog/savings/tax-tips-tricks-printing-turbotax-returns-taxcut-files/">Printing Tax Returns TurboTax or TaxCut</a> originally published at <a href="http://financegourmet.com/blog">Finance Gourmet</a></p>]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; margin: 10px 10px 10px 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="taxes" border="0" alt="taxes" align="left" src="http://financegourmet.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/taxes.jpg" width="244" height="164" /> Whether you waited until the last minute or filed months ago, there is one last <a href="http://financegourmet.com/blog/2009-tax-tips-tricks-secrets/">2009 tax tips and tricks</a> that you need to follow. Print out a copy of your tax return from your TurboTax software or print out your taxes from your TaxCut software, or whatever other tax software program you used to file your Federal Income Taxes.</p>
<p>Many people have the misconception that the TurboTax file saved on their computer as they worked on their Income Taxes is a regular file that can be opened and printed with a regular software program like Microsoft Word or Adobe Acrobat Reader. Unfortunately, that is not the case. The files generated by popular tax preparation programs like TurboTax and TaxCut is a proprietary file that can only be opened in the tax program. While next year&#8217;s version of the program will most likely be able to open that tax file, you have to buy it first. That isn&#8217;t very helpful if you need to produce a copy of your taxes in September to get a small business loan or open up a bank account.</p>
<blockquote><p>There are ways to hack open TurboTax files, but why go through all that trouble?</p>
</blockquote>
<h2>Print Your TurboTax Files Now</h2>
<p>While your tax program is still installed on your computer hard drive, run the program and click on the File Print Save section. I recommend printing out a hard copy of the actual forms submitted to the IRS as part of your income tax filing. That includes the Form 1040, Schedule A, Schedule D, and so on.</p>
<p>Most programs allow you to select how much you want to print, ranging from print only the official IRS form filed or e-filed, all the way to print everything, including all worksheets. Just print the filed forms. You won&#8217;t need all that other stuff unless you get audited.</p>
<p>However, you might want some of those numbers later on, and re-calculating them is a waste of time. Instead, use the program&#8217;s save function to save out one of the &quot;all worksheets, all forms&quot; options as a PDF file. That way, you can open and read that file whenever you want, even if the <a href="http://financegourmet.com/blog/2010-tax-tips-tricks-advice/">tax software</a> has been uninstalled from your computer.</p>
<p>Which brings up one final point. By default, TurboTax saves your personal tax information files in the TurboTax directory. Normally, that isn&#8217;t an issue, but if the day comes when you are looking to delete some files from your computer, or choosing which files to backup or move to a new computer, you might think that the TurboTax folder is just the program&#8217;s files. In that case, you might assume you don&#8217;t need them anymore!</p>
<p>Go ahead and copy both your program&#8217;s data file, the TurboTax file, AND the PDF file that you saved out as instructed above to another folder. Name this folder something like Taxes 2009, and you can be sure that when you see that folder five or six months for now that you will probably be thinking, &quot;Oh, those are my taxes. I better make sure and save those.&quot;</p>
<p>Get ready to start <a href="http://financegourmet.com/blog/2010-tax-tips-tricks-advice/" target="_blank">saving money on taxes in 2010</a>! But, first, go out and relax a bit. You&#8217;ve earned it.</p>
<p>No related posts.</p><p><a href="http://financegourmet.com/blog/savings/tax-tips-tricks-printing-turbotax-returns-taxcut-files/">Printing Tax Returns TurboTax or TaxCut</a> originally published at <a href="http://financegourmet.com/blog">Finance Gourmet</a></p>]]></content:encoded>
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		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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		<title>Free TurboTax Software Online &#8211; Deals on Tax Programs</title>
		<link>http://financegourmet.com/blog/taxes/free-turbotax-software-online-deals-on-tax-programs/</link>
		<comments>http://financegourmet.com/blog/taxes/free-turbotax-software-online-deals-on-tax-programs/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 24 Mar 2010 18:04:46 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Finance Gourmet</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Taxes]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[2009 taxes]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[income taxes]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[IRS]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Saving Money]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Tax Tips]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Websites]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.financegourmet.com/blog/?p=446</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[<p>Here comes tax time for that huge group of Americans who wait until the proverbial last minute to file their income taxes. For them, crunch time is approaching and they need to find all of those tax receipts and records that they will need in order to file Federal Income Taxes. Fortunately, one of the [...]</p><p><a href="http://financegourmet.com/blog/taxes/free-turbotax-software-online-deals-on-tax-programs/">Free TurboTax Software Online &#8211; Deals on Tax Programs</a> originally published at <a href="http://financegourmet.com/blog">Finance Gourmet</a></p>]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><img class="alignleft size-full wp-image-447" title="2009-income-tax-tricks-tips-free-tax-software-graphic" src="http://financegourmet.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/2009-irs-wash-sale-rule-graphic.jpg" alt="2009 Income Tax Tricks Free Tax Software Like TurboTax" width="141" height="117" />Here comes tax time for that huge group of Americans who wait until the proverbial last minute to file their income taxes. For them, crunch time is approaching and they need to find all of those tax receipts and records that they will need in order to file Federal Income Taxes. Fortunately, one of the best tax tricks for 2010 is getting free tax preparation software. The best part is that there is no real downside as long as you are smart and keep an eye out for optional add-ons, upgrades, and online tax filing options that might shatter your free tax software deals.</p>
<p>Many of the deals websites out there (check out Slickdeals.net and Gottadeal.com as well as Dealnews.com for starters) will notify you when companies like Intuit offer free online TurboTax applications for users who show up within a certain time frame. The HR Block guys similarly offer free TaxCut software signups from time to time.</p>
<p>If you are wondering what the catch is, because obviously these companies can&#8217;t make money by giving their programs away online, then good for you. The first step to avoid being a sucker who gets scammed is to be aware of what makes sense, what motivates people and companies, and trying to see the find print.</p>
<p>In this case, the fine print comes in the form of add-on offers. Depending on which deal on tax software you get, it might be free to input all the data and print the return, but there is a charge to e-file. Another strategy is to offer free Federal Income Tax preparation and free e-file, but to charge for doing your state income tax return. Unless you live in New York, California, or another state with complicated state income taxes, chances are your state return is pretty easy to do by yourself. Of course, there is always the &#8220;subscription&#8221; trap, where you think you are getting something for free, but are actually signing up for a $99.95 annual subscription to something. Just make sure you don&#8217;t enter a credit card number and you should be OK.</p>
<p>These sites also require registration and while these are legitimate companies that don&#8217;t benefit from spam or overly aggressive marketing, you can be sure they&#8217;ll be in touch sooner or later.</p>
<p>In Colorado, for example, the State of Colorado offers every resident free online e-filing of their state income taxes. For 90% of residents, all that you need to do is plug in a handful of numbers from your completed IRS Form 1040 tax return (they even tell you which line numbers to use) and then hit submit. (There is more to it for certain circumstances like partial-year residents, land income, and so on.) In other words, you would be a fool to buy TurboTax State edition if you live in Colorado.</p>
<p>If you don&#8217;t want to watch the deal websites (which is really the easiest way) you can also pop onto the main product webpages at turbotax.com and taxcut.com and see if they are running a public deal. However, you might have to dig around a little bit. After all, these companies don&#8217;t want to offer free software to someone who is coming there to buy it!</p>
<p>More <a href="http://www.financegourmet.com/blog/">personal finance tips and advice</a></p>
<p><a href="http://financegourmet.com">Finance Investing Banking Information and Eduction</a></p>
<p>No related posts.</p><p><a href="http://financegourmet.com/blog/taxes/free-turbotax-software-online-deals-on-tax-programs/">Free TurboTax Software Online &#8211; Deals on Tax Programs</a> originally published at <a href="http://financegourmet.com/blog">Finance Gourmet</a></p>]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>How To Deduct Property Taxes</title>
		<link>http://financegourmet.com/blog/taxes/how-to-deduct-property-taxes/</link>
		<comments>http://financegourmet.com/blog/taxes/how-to-deduct-property-taxes/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 21 Jan 2010 23:26:54 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Finance Gourmet</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Taxes]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[2009 taxes]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Deductible]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Deductions]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Federal Income Taxes]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[income taxes]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[IRS]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Tax Tips]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.financegourmet.com/blog/?p=393</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[<p>Property taxes can be an important tax deduction for many home owners. Real estate taxes, in particular, can be a significant tax deduction.</p><p><a href="http://financegourmet.com/blog/taxes/how-to-deduct-property-taxes/">How To Deduct Property Taxes</a> originally published at <a href="http://financegourmet.com/blog">Finance Gourmet</a></p>]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>When it&#8217;s tax season, everyone&#8217;s thoughts turn to tax deductions. Financial advisors and accountants alike are flooded with calls from frantic clients looking to save money on taxes by finding new deductions or other <a href="http://financegourmet.com/blog/2009-tax-tips-tricks-secrets/">2009 tax tricks</a>. The most common question by far is, &#8220;Is this Deductible?&#8221;</p>
<p>Unfortunately, many tax deductions are either too small to have very much impact on how much taxes you pay, or are too narrowly tailored to actually be a tax deduction that most people can take. Add into the mix the fact that many of the things that people &#8220;just know&#8221; are tax deductible, actually are not tax deductions until they are higher than a certain &#8220;floor&#8221;, and most searches for new tax deductible items end in dissapointment.</p>
<p>The good news is that some big items are deductible for almost everyone. These are the best tax deductions out there and they are good for high-income taxpayers and lower-income taxpayers alike. These include deducting mortgage interest, many educational expenses, and tax deductions for children, and the related child tax credit. One of the other biggies that can bring tax burden relief is deductible property taxes.</p>
<h2>Deducting Property Taxes on Income Tax Forms</h2>
<p>Many people are surprised to find out how much property taxes they pay on real estate, particularly on their primary residence. This is because a large percentage of home owners pay their property taxes via their mortgage loan.</p>
<p>That is, that the mortgage company collects an extra amount of money with each payment which it keeps in an escrow account. Over the year, that extra money adds up to enough cash to cover the amount of property taxes due. If it the escrow account comes up short, the mortgage company fronts the money and then increases the part of the monthly loan payment for escrow.</p>
<p>Even though the mortgage company handles paying the property taxes for you, it does so with your money, which means you are the still the one who paid the property taxes, and therefore, you are the one who gets the property tax deduction. Check the 1099-INT tax form the mortgage company is required to send you each year. Both the amount of mortgage interest paid for the year and the amount of property taxes paid annually should be listed.</p>
<p>Don&#8217;t forget about other property taxes too! The most common type of property taxes that are deductible, other than real estate property taxes, are the property taxes on cars. Automobile property taxes are deductible if they are computed based upon a percentage of the car&#8217;s value. In other words, the taxes that are levied by the state, county, or city that are a variable amount depending on how much the car is worth are deductible. Flat taxes and fees, such as a $25 annual fee,  that are the same amount no matter what the car is worth are not deductible.</p>
<p>Keep an eye on the mail for all tax forms, including 1099 Forms for real estate and brokerage and banking accounts. There are important tax numbers on each of these.</p>
<p>No related posts.</p><p><a href="http://financegourmet.com/blog/taxes/how-to-deduct-property-taxes/">How To Deduct Property Taxes</a> originally published at <a href="http://financegourmet.com/blog">Finance Gourmet</a></p>]]></content:encoded>
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