How Income Taxes Work
The Internal Revenue Service estimates that taxpayers and businesses spend about 8 billion hours a year complying with tax-filing requirements. To put this into perspective, if all this work were done by a single company, it would need about four million full-time employees and be one of the largest industries in the U.S.1 As complex […]
Counteracting Capital Gains with Tax-Loss Harvesting
Tax-loss harvesting means taking capital losses (selling securities for less than what you initially paid for them) to offset any capital gains you may have. While this doesn’t get rid of your losses, it can help you manage your tax liability. Keep in mind that this article is for informational purposes only and is not […]
Do You Owe The AMT?
American educational reformer Horace Mann called education “the great equalizer.” In football, it’s been said that turnovers are the great equalizer. In taxes, there’s also an equalizer of sorts; it’s called the alternative minimum tax, or AMT. Instituted in 1969, it was intended to ensure that the very rich didn’t pay a lower effective tax […]
What If You Get Audited?
“Audit” is a word that can strike fear into the hearts of taxpayers. However, the chances of an Internal Revenue Service audit aren’t that high. Between 2010 and 2018, the IRS only audited 0.6% of all individual tax returns.1 And being audited does not necessarily imply that the IRS suspects wrongdoing. The IRS says an […]
What Do Your Taxes Pay For?
Taxes are one of the biggest budget items for most taxpayers, yet many have no idea what they’re getting for their money. The average household spends more on taxes than on groceries, clothing, or healthcare. In fact, 11% of our income, on average, goes to personal income taxes, which doesn’t include sales tax, property tax, […]
What’s My 2024 Tax Bracket?
Capital Gains Tax When Selling Your Home
What’s My 2023 Tax Bracket?
Tax Rules When Selling Your Home
How the gains from the sale of a primary residence are taxed has changed in recent years. If you have recently sold your home or are considering doing so, you may want to be aware of these new rules. Home Sale If you owned and lived in your home for two of the last five […]
Does Your Child Need to File an Income Tax Return?
As parents, we encourage our children to work, so they can learn important values about work and independence. At what point, if at all, do children need to file an income tax return for the money they earn? The IRS does not exempt anyone from the requirement to file a tax return based on age, […]