1040.com - Tax News & Articles

Tax tips: Homebuyers, child care, inheritance
Tax day may still be two months away, but the questions are piling up. QUESTION: Mom and I bought a house together last year and qualify for the (federal homebuyers) tax credit. Both of you will need to share 2009 tax information to make sure that the combined totals for the deduction and credits are properly reported on your respective tax returns.

Tax code changes numerous this year
Dear Action Line: I heard on TV there are changes in the tax code that apply to the 2009 tax year income tax returns. The Internal Revenue Service outlines the top five of 14 changes to the tax code. American Recovery and Reinvestment Act: ARRA provides several tax provisions that affect tax year 2009 individual tax returns due April 15, 2010.

Get Smart and Save Money This Tax Season
The Illinois CPA Society Shares What's New for Filing Your 2009 Return CHICAGO, Feb. 12 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- A little knowledge could save you money on your 2009 taxes. Here are issues new to the 2009 tax filing season that the Illinois CPA Society recommends looking into before you complete your return:

How to get the most from your tax returns
Feb. 15--Every year brings new twists to income tax preparation, and this time around is no exception. There are income tax credits or deductions available for purchases of homes, automobiles, energy-efficient products, and college expenses including -- for the first time -- textbooks, Additional information is available at irs.gov/recovery. Congress extended and expanded the tax credit for homebuyers, giving them until April 30 to enter a binding contract and until June 30 to close on the purchase.

Advice on finding a good tax preparer
Dear Action Line: How do I find a trustworthy income tax preparer now that the IRS is out to clean up the tax-prep industry? Most Americans will get assistance from professional tax preparers or use tax software when filing their taxes this year. Tulsa Better Business Bureau President and CEO Rick Brinkley encourages us to use caution when selecting tax preparation help to avoid headaches, fines and fees when our returns aren't correct or get filed late.

IRS checking up on paid preparers
Feb. 23--You have a complex tax return, so you hire a professional to handle it. But at tax time, you're giving up sensitive information to that individual," Luis Garcia, an IRS spokesman, said. Recognizing that 80 percent of American households use a tax preparer or tax software to do their returns, the IRS undertook a six-month study last year to determine what was needed to oversee and improve the tax preparer industry.

AMT: 'The poster-child for tax law complexity'
Feb. 28--Dear Action Line: Please explain the federal income tax option "alternative minimum tax." The best explanation we's seen on the "alternative minimum tax," created by Congress in 1969, is in the "National Taxpayer Advocate's 2006 Annual Report to Congress." "The poster child for tax-law complexity, the Alternative Minimum Tax for individuals, is a parallel and complex tax structure imposed on top of the regular tax structure," the advocate's report states.