Taxes
You know the saying, nothing is certain but death and taxes. Well, we can't help you with the first one, but here you'll find all the latest tax planning news, advice and calculators you need to help you with the second.
Tax Planning Topics
Learn how to maximize the money you keep in your pocket without setting off red flags to the IRS.
Top Tax Advice
Stay on top of today's top tax news and take advantage of expert advice.
Latest Tax Stories
- Change how Social Security checks are calculated so people who earned less during their working lives get a larger percentage of benefits relative to what they earned, while people who made big salaries would get relatively smaller checks. That would encourage high-earners to save more because Social Security would be an even smaller proportion of their retirement income than it is now.
AMT Relief in the Works, Says Congress
![lady looking worried over her taxes](https://web.archive.org/web/20101115083037im_/http://www.blogcdn.com/www.walletpop.com/blog/media/2010/11/taxes.worried.lady.getty.jpg)
When it was enacted in 1969, the AMT was intended to ensure that high-income taxpayers didn't avoid paying taxes. The idea was that wealthy taxpayers should not be able to whittle their taxable income down to zero by taking advantage of too many tax breaks, like the home mortgage interest deduction or real estate tax deductions. With the AMT, taxpayers calculate their federal income tax twice, once under the "regular" rules and again under the AMT rules, which eliminated most of those favorable tax breaks. Taxpayers would then pay the highest tax amount calculated under both schemes.
Over the years, however, the AMT hasn't worked as planned. The AMT hasn't been indexed for inflation, so the number of taxpayers subject to the tax includes those never intended to be affected in the first place. The National Taxpayer Advocate has reported that 77% of the income subject to AMT is actually attributable not so much to breaks associated with the wealthy but for the disallowance of "ordinary" deductions like those for state and local taxes as well as personal and dependency deductions.
What the Proposed Social Security Reform Might Mean for You
![Social Security card surrounded by cash](https://web.archive.org/web/20101115083037im_/http://www.blogcdn.com/www.walletpop.com/blog/media/2010/11/social-security-card-and-cash.-corbis-1289517915.jpg)
Click on this link if you'd like to read the entire plan. If you just want to know what's in it, here's what is being proposed:
5 ways the election could affect your taxes
![a flag flies over the Capital Building](https://web.archive.org/web/20101115083037im_/http://www.blogcdn.com/www.walletpop.com/blog/media/2010/11/getty-1289174782.jpg)
Here's a quick guide to potential tax changes to look out for:
South Dakota named best state for business taxes
![Mt. Rushmore - S. Dakota is the best tax state](https://web.archive.org/web/20101115083037im_/http://www.blogcdn.com/www.walletpop.com/blog/media/2010/10/mt.-rushmore.getty.jpg)
The 2011 version of the State Business Tax Climate Index (SBTCI), released this week by the Tax Foundation, ranks states according to their tax systems and how they affect competition for new business and growth. Rankings are chosen not based merely on business tax burdens, but on a combination of tax factors that influence corporate decisions. Specifically, the rankings are based on five areas: major business taxes, individual income taxes, sales taxes, unemployment insurance taxes and property taxes.
Death tax repeal gets new life
![death tax - the Grim Reaper](https://web.archive.org/web/20101115083037im_/http://www.blogcdn.com/www.walletpop.com/blog/media/2010/10/grim-reaper.getty.jpg)
Just four years after EGTRRA 2001 passed, the idea of complete repeal was back in the news. Majority Leader Sen. Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) was at the forefront of the movement, arguing that the federal estate tax destroyed small businesses. In a dramatic speech on the Senate floor, he argued:
If you are an enterprising entrepreneur who has worked hard to grow a family business or to keep and maintain that family farm, your spouse and children can expect to hear the knock of the tax man right after the Grim Reaper.
Why Tax Day won't be April 15 in 2011
![IRS forms](https://web.archive.org/web/20101115083037im_/http://www.blogcdn.com/www.walletpop.com/blog/media/2010/10/bus3020.jpg-1288280798.jpg)
Traditionally, Tax Day falls on April 15 unless that day happens to be on a Saturday, Sunday or federal holiday. In 2011, April 15 meets none of those criteria -- it falls on a Friday, and there's no federal holiday that day.
If you have an IRA, it may be time to settle up with Uncle Sam
![dollars in an Uncle Sam hat](https://web.archive.org/web/20101115083037im_/http://www.blogcdn.com/www.walletpop.com/blog/media/2010/10/uncle.sam.dollars.getty.jpg)
Last year, because even Uncle realized we were all in dire financial straights, we got a break, but not this year. Anybody born before July 1, 1939, with a tax-advantaged retirement account must withdraw the amount equal to the total balance of your retirement accounts as of Dec. 31, 2009, divided by the distribution period of your life expectancy. You must figure out what the IRS considers your life expectancy by using these tables.
Phony tax e-mail pretends to be from IRS as extension filing day arrives
![tax documents and a pen](https://web.archive.org/web/20101115083037im_/http://www.blogcdn.com/www.walletpop.com/blog/media/2010/10/irs.papers.corbis.jpg)
The Better Business Bureau, Greater Maryland issued an alert to be on the lookout for an e-mail with the subject line: "Your Tax Payment ID: 010377149 has been rejected. Urgent Report information," following reports from consumers and businesses who received the message.
FTC: American Tax Relief ran $60 million scam as owners drove Ferraris
![fist full of dollars](https://web.archive.org/web/20101115083037im_/http://www.blogcdn.com/www.walletpop.com/blog/media/2010/10/dollars.fistfull.getty.jpg)
The FTC, which is seeking compensation from American Tax Relief for its victims, asked a Chicago federal judge to halt the company's operations and freeze its owners' assets. The FTC lawsuit names names American Tax Relief LLC of Beverly Hills, Calif. and its two co-owners, Alexander Seung Hahn and Joo Hyun Park. Park's parents, Young Soon Park and Il Kon Park, are also named for allegedly holding funds obtained from customers.
"We've made it a top priority to go after scammers who try to exploit the financial hardship of others," said David C. Vladeck, Director of the FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection, in a statement. "For people having a tough time paying their taxes, the last thing they need is to lose more money to a fraud."
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Free Tax Tools for Late FilersTaxes: Basics
Anyone seeking help with taxes should start with the fundamentals. Here are the basics of taxes.
AMT Relief in the Works, Says Congress
Imagine having to calculate your federal income taxes twice. That's actually what will happen to more than 20 million taxpayers...
What the Proposed Social Security Reform Might Mean for You
Remember Cold War bomb drills in elementary school where you had to take shelter under your desk? That's what the deficit-reduction...
5 ways the election could affect your taxes
Less than a week after the midterm elections, politicians and special interest groups are both plotting their next moves....
South Dakota named best state for business taxes
South Dakota has the nation's best tax climate for business in 2011, according to the Tax Foundation. The Mount Rushmore...
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