Taxes
IRS audit red flags
Charitable contributions, mortgage interest and home offices are areas that attract the tax agency's watchful eye, Jack Nuckolls of accounting firm BDO tells MarketWatch's Andrea Coombes.
• Tips for those who file taxes on their own
• Avoiding tax-return and tax-filing scams
• How to use the home-buyer tax credit
• Stay safe if your are filing online
• How the new health law hits your taxes
Tax advice, filing help, IRS updates
Check out our entire library of Tax stories for answers to your most pressing questions.
• The top breaks you can get without itemizing
• The tax breaks that save you the most money
Filing
Can't pay your taxes?
Don't panic. There are options you can use even if you don't have the cash the IRS is demanding.
Strategies
10 smart ways to spend a refund
That's your hard-earned money, so don't think of it as free money and blow it.
Education
College breaks can mean dollars
School costs a lot, but Uncle Sam is willing to pay you back on your tax return.
Deductions
Add up those medical expenses
You'd be surprised what qualifies for a deduction if you file Schedule A. So examine all your records.
• IRS audit triggers and red flags
Did you get a traffic ticket for taking that important cell phone while driving? Or for rolling through a stop sign because it was midnight and no one was on the road? You might be able to turn that ticket into a tax-deductible donation that not only helps a charity but also saves you money.
Students with summer jobs know by now that a good chunk of the money they earn doesn’t end up in their wallets. Part-time and seasonal workers are subject to the same tax rules as other employees. For many college-age workers, it’s a rude awakening.
What will Congress do about the Bush-era tax cuts that are set to end Dec. 31? In a weak economy, with a deficit on overload, do you extend the tax break or go after that revenue? That’s no easy question to answer.
Taxes Headlines
Within the last 30 days, President Obama has signed three significant pieces of legislation that affect your taxes and finances.
12:01 a.m. July 23, 2010Some rich Americans want to pay estate taxes and they say Congress should act now to reinstate the tax.
4:04 p.m. July 21, 2010Democrat Carte Goodwin sworn in as the new senator from West Virginia.
3:00 p.m. July 20, 2010The IRS doled out more than $27 million in fraudulent claims for the home buyers’ tax credit on returns for 2008, including claims by prisoners serving life sentences, a Treasury Department report says.
4:16 p.m. June 23, 2010Congress is still trying to figure out how to get the tax-extender bill passed.
7:18 p.m. June 18, 2010An urgent tax-extender bill that’s stuck in the Senate would ensure that unemployment payments aren’t cut off to some jobless workers, plus prevent a cut to doctors’ Medicare payments. But, as its name implies, the bill also would extend quite a few tax breaks.
5:04 p.m. June 18, 2010About 1.2 million jobless workers are expected to lose unemployment benefits this month, and doctors will start to see a 21% cut in Medicare payments Friday, following the Senate’s inability to move forward with the far-reaching jobs and tax-extenders bill.
3:37 p.m. June 18, 2010Senators voted against moving forward with a scaled-down Republican package of extended jobless benefits and tax breaks Thursday, a day after Democrats introduced their own slimmer version of the bill.
1:08 p.m. June 17, 2010Video
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