Military members benefit from a variety of special tax benefits. These include certain nontaxable allowances, non-taxable combat pay, and a variety of other special tax provisions. Here is a rundown on the most prominent of the tax benefits. Service Member Residence or Domicile A frequent question by service members is “What is my state of…
In a report issued by the Treasury Department on February 14, the average refund it is paying in 2019 has dropped to $1,949 from $2,135 in the prior year. In addition, the number of returns filed so far has dropped from 13.5 million last year to 11.4 million this year for the same period. With…
If you aren’t one of those lucky Americans who get a tax refund from the IRS, you might be wondering how you go about paying your balance due. Here are some electronic and manual payment options that you can use to pay your federal income tax: Electronic Funds Withdrawal – You can pay using funds from…
According to the IRS Strategic Plan FY 2018 to 2020, these are the major Trends and Challenges going forward: SERVING AN INCREASINGLY COMPLEX TAX BASE The U.S. tax base is becoming more complex. Economic and demographic changes in our society have fundamentally changed the way citizens earn money and the way we live. U.S. workers earning…
Are you planning on claiming the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) or the Child Tax Credit (CTC) on your federal tax return this year? If yes, then you should know some things have changed since last year. Child Tax Credit The first thing you need to be aware of is that the Tax Cuts and…
I thought it would be a good idea to discuss an issue that affects many taxpayer returns, namely the IRS processes for identifying and stopping refund fraud. Attempted refund fraud has become a significant problem in our tax system. According to the most recent figures available, in the calendar year (CY) 2016, identity theft (IDT),…
The Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) is a refundable tax credit given to taxpayers that earn a low-to-moderate income from a job or through self-employment. According to the IRS, around 25 million eligible filers received this credit in 2020 and the average EITC was approximately $2,461. However, many eligible taxpayers are missing out on this…
The IRS established the Taxpayer Protection Program (TPP) to proactively identify and prevent the processing of identity theft tax returns and assist taxpayers whose identities are used to file such returns. However, as part of the TPP process to identify potential identity theft returns, many legitimate taxpayer returns are also selected. When this happens, it…
Having the heat of the IRS on your back is never a fun experience. The unrelenting pressure of the federal government can be incredibly stressful and often intimidating, making back tax relief seem nearly impossible to achieve. Many taxpayers aren’t aware of IRS hardship procedures introduced by the IRS hardship program, and the opportunities it…
Thanks to the tax reform, beginning in 2019, the penalty for not having adequate health insurance, which the government refers to as the “individual shared responsibility payment,” will no longer apply. The elimination of this penalty as of 2019 does not impact the health care subsidy for low-income families, which is known as the premium…
