Nobody loves a surprise tax bill. Even worse is owing the IRS every year, despite making changes to your withholdings.
If that sounds familiar, you'll be interested to know about the five most common reasons you always owe taxes -- and the steps ...
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Wondering How to Teach Your Kids About Taxes? Consider the ‘Parent Tax’
Paying taxes is something your kids will have to deal with as adults. So why wait to teach your kids about taxation and earning money until after they get their first job?
You shouldn't. Teach your kids by charging them the "Parent Tax."
The Parent ...
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What Is an IRS Offer in Compromise?
Are you facing a mountain of unpaid tax debts? If so, you might consider working with a tax attorney to apply for an offer in compromise (OIC) with the IRS.
This tax settlement option allows debt holders and the IRS to agree on a manageable ...
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Lessons In Tax Law: Why You Should Never Try To Bribe The IRS
It's no secret that Americans hate taxes. In fact, pretty much all people from all places would prefer not to pay their taxes. There are even stories from the bible about how much Jesus' peers hated tax collectors. Since the creation of the IRS, ...
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Opening a Tax Prep Office: 5 Steps to Success
It's no secret that filing taxes is a chore for everyone, from individuals to corporations. These are the folks that tell themselves they don't need help with the accounting but end up having trouble with the figures and paperwork. When tax season ...
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100 Words On: A Surefire Way to Beat the Lottery
I realize I've made this point before but, come on, talk about a sucker's bet: The odds are before you ever strike it rich playing the lottery you'll most likely be struck by lightning. Twice. Now consider this: Over a ten year period, somebody who ...
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How to Avoid Being Audited by the IRS
A hospital groundskeeper came across two medical doctors in white coats searching through one of the clinic's flower beds.
"Excuse me, gentlemen," said the gardener. "Have you lost something?"
"Not at all," replied one of the doctors. "In a few ...
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The Overtaxed Investor: How to Slash Your Tax Bill & Be a Tax Alpha Dog
Who understands the entire tax code? No one.
Finding your tax rate is like shooting a ball into a pin ball machine. You watch it getting slingshot around the board, lighting lights, buzzing buzzers, ringing bells and spinning spinners, falling into ...
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Lottery Fraud: Don’t Get Caught Paying ‘The Stupid Tax’
There's an old joke that goes something like this:
In order to raise additional revenue, the government is introducing a National Lottery with a daily grand prize of $50 million. Winners will get $1 annually for 50 million years.
Heh. I smile ...
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Falling for This Tax Scam Will Have You Singing an Unhappy (i)Tune
Tax season is upon us -- and scammers know it. While we'd all like to think we could outwit someone who tries to defraud us, the truth is that these criminals prey on some of our biggest fears and often see substantial results. In fact, the US ...
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Financial Records: Which Ones to Keep and for How Long?
Despite the fact that almost every business and service offers paperless options, you can still wind up with a load of paperwork. It's not uncommon for the average household to receive between 30 and 50 pages worth of paperwork in physical or ...
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The Biggest Reason Why It May Be Smarter to Rent Than ‘Own’ a Home
We're constantly told ours is an ownership society in which owning a home is the foundation of household wealth. However, if we understand property taxes as a "lease from the local government for the right to gamble on another housing bubble ...
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6 Reasons to Use a Tax Attorney Service
Filing your taxes or dealing with unexpected tax outcomes can be a complicated process. Thankfully, there are systems in place that can assist you when you run into tax difficulties; one such system is a tax attorney service.
Tax attorneys assist ...
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Missed Tax Deadline? Here’s How to Reduce or Eliminate Penalties
If you missed this year's tax filing deadline, you may face penalties and a number of other consequences that will only get worse if you do not take your income tax filing seriously. The consequences of not filing taxes vary by situation, but ...
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What Should You Do If the IRS Finds a Mistake Made by Your Tax Preparer?
If your accountant or tax preparer makes a mistake on your taxes, guess whose problem it is? Yep; all yours.
If the IRS comes a-calling, demanding you fix the inconsistencies -- hopefully without a full, nightmarish audit -- then here's what you ...
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Filling Out the 1040 Form: Key Points to Know
As every American who earns a salary should pay taxes, you might be already familiar with Form 1040 or one of its variants. The IRS tax form 1040 -- along with 1040A and 1040EZ options -- is the document most US citizens use to file their tax ...
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3 Important Tax Deduction Rules You Should Always Remember
The best way to maximize your deductions and increase your tax return is to hire a tax consultant to help you go through everything. However, if you decide to do it on your own, you can still get a number of deductions as long as you remember the ...
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Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader? Calculate This Bill’s Tip
By the time kids leave the 5th grade they should know how to calculate simple percentages, which is one of the most critical mathematical tools we have at our disposal after we become adults.
Thanks to the longtime custom of tipping, restaurants ...
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How Personal Loans Can Boost Your Credit Score
If you want to improve your credit score, you might mistakenly believe that the best thing to do is to completely avoid getting into debt. However, not having any debt can actually have the opposite effect when it comes to your credit rating.
If ...
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How to Save Money on Taxes: 7 Tips Everyone Should Know
Few things are as painful as seeing money from your hard-earned paychecks go into taxes. But yet, it's a pain that we have to endure every year during tax season. As Mark Twain once said, "nothing in life is certain but death and taxes."
Although ...
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