The IRS, or Internal Revenue Service, is the agency in the federal government responsible for regulating and collecting taxes. Learn more here about your taxes and what the IRS does in these articles, columns, blog posts, videos and radio shows.
Why You Shouldn’t Withdraw Your Retirement Funds Early
After a lot of scrimping and saving, you’ve finally started building up some retirement savings in the form of a 401(k) or IRA. If you’re lucky, you may even have an emergency fund set aside in a savings account. But your financial situation could quickly change, whether as a result of a layoff, a medical [...]
Five Mid-Year Tax Tips
Tax season doesn’t end when you file your taxes on April 15. Tax issues continue all year round, so it’s important to regularly assess your tax situation, and now—halfway through the year—is the perfect time. At this point, you probably have some idea about the direction in which your personal balance sheet is headed, and [...]
Three Reasons to Care About Taxes After Tax Season Ends
When I explored a career in taxes, I was promised that I could earn a year’s income by working just three or four months out of the year. That was a lie. The truth is, issues come up year-round, especially since the IRS discovered computers. With all the agency’s clever cross-matching programs that now exist, [...]
How Do I File a Tax Extension?
If the tax deadline snuck up on you and your tax return is nowhere near ready to be submitted, don’t worry—you do have options. If you file for an automatic extension by April 15, you can give yourself an additional six months to file your paperwork and avoid penalties for late payments. How do I [...]
What to Do When You’re a Victim of Tax Identity Theft
In the rush to file your 2013 taxes before April 15, looking out for federal income tax identity theft may not be at the top of your mind—but it should be. Federal income tax fraud through the use of identity theft topped the IRS’s list of the “Dirty Dozen” Tax Scams for 2014. An identity [...]
Three Reasons You May Need to Amend Your Tax Return
It’s not a great idea to amend tax returns needlessly. The IRS can only audit you for three years after you file a tax return. When you amend a return, however, you start that three-year clock running again. There may be things that you can no longer prove or that are too complicated to explain. [...]
Last-Minute Tax Tips for 2014
The deadline to file your 2013 taxes is right around the corner. Whether you’re doing your taxes yourself or making a last-minute appointment with a tax professional, here are some things to consider this year: Your Must-Have 2014 Tax Filing Checklist It’s important to be thorough and correct when finishing up your return—even if you’re [...]
Five Simple Steps to Help Prevent the IRS from Auditing You
At the start of my tax career, I was like most people: terrified of an IRS audit. But due to the nature of my clients’ activities in real estate partnerships, I had to face audits head-on. (For example, there was the time a client bought a three-building apartment complex in Canada and one of the [...]
Why Many Homeowners Are Still Underwater
This week we found out that the negative equity rate for 2013 homeowners was below 20 percent for the first time in years, according to Zillow. Negative equity is when a house is worth less than the mortgage amount – commonly referred to as underwater. One year ago, 27.5 percent of all homeowners with a [...]
Need Tax Records Now? New IRS App Can Help
Do you need to get your old tax records right now for a mortgage application, car loan or student financial aid? In the past, you had to wait days or weeks to get your tax records in the mail from the IRS. But now your tax records, including returns and other filing information, are available [...]