Archive for Form 1040

A Breakdown Of The Proposed IRS 1040

Charles Woodson, Proposed IRS 1040 Form

Remember the IRS’s promise about being able to file your income tax return using a postcard?

The reality of the new 1040 form is a far cry from a postcard. Although the administration insists that it has simplified the process of preparing your tax return, a few minutes of comparing the old 1040 to the new draft version shows that the redesign did little more than change it from the previous two-page form to two half-size pages – with six schedules provided separately. All but four of the 79 lines from the old version remain on the new one; they’re just divided up differently. Unless all of your income comes from wages, interest, dividends, pensions and Social Security, you will now have more schedules to fill out than you did before, and you still have a lot of work ahead of you.

How much new work does the revised version represent? Here’s a quick rundown of the six new schedules:

Written by | Posted in Charles Woodson • Form 1040

How To Submit A Reasonable Cause Claim To The IRS For Penalty Abatement

If you have not filed your personal income tax form (1040), generally, you should get the tax form filed ASAP without consideration for the yet to be assessed penalties.

Then exercise patience.

Wait for the IRS to assess the penalty and then send a reasonable cause explanation to the address indicated on the notice from the IRS. This way you mitigate all sorts of procedural kerfuffles. Read More

Written by | Posted in Form 1040 • IRS

Reduce Tax Liability: Deducting Medicare Premiums

Well, it would be a bit of a stretch to say that most of us don’t want to pay taxes. However, who wouldn’t take a tax deduction if it is available? For all those individuals who are looking out for different ways by which they can reduce their tax liability, here is one effective method of doing so. You can include your Medicare premiums and even dental expenses in tax filing for better deductions. Sure, there are some prerequisites and details that one must consider and they are below.

Deducting Medicare Premiums Read More

Written by | Posted in Form 1040 • IRS • Medicare • Tax Deductions

With A CLAT, CLUT Here And A CRAT, CRUT There – Old MacDonald Had A Trust EIEIO: IRC 641-692 & IRS Form 1041

John Dundon

The one thing stopping good people from engaging the full force and effect of tax and estate planning using trust instruments is the language. Acronyms make it hard to understand what lawyers are saying and most of us simply put ourselves out of commission when it comes to this type of tax planning.

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Written by | Posted in Form 1040 • IRS • Trusts

Income Tax Aspects Of Non-Business Capital Gains And Losses Part I

Harold Goedde

This article will discuss the general aspects of capital gains and losses, the brokers reporting to investors, how and where they are reported on Form 1040 and supporting schedules.

It is advantageous to have investment income in the form of long-term (held longer than one year) capital gains (LTCG) because they are taxed at a lower rate than ordinary income. For 2016, the net LTCG will be taxed at various rates depending on the tax bracket:

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Written by | Posted in Capital Gains • Form 1040 • Income Tax

Some Cautions Affecting Your Tax Situation

For this post, I will present some news about tax topics that may affect your current situation: earned income tax credit (EITC), delayed nonresident refunds, and expatriate income tax.

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Written by | Posted in Exit Tax • Expatriate • Form 1040 • Tax Refund

When Junior Has A Foreign Bank Account: What’s To Be Expected!

Manasa Nadig

I looked up my last blog post and realized I have not posted here since January! What a tax season it was, and how did time get away from me? Oh wait…I know how!

The past few years have seen a steady growth of a client base that has foreign accounts: no complaints there! Most clients have very routine FBAR filing requirements but then sometimes things are a little out of the ordinary and that gets me all excited…yes, I know..it does! That either tells you about my lack of a life during tax season or we should just notch it up to tax nerd-iness!

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Written by | Posted in Expatriate • Family Tax • FATCA • FBAR • Form 1040

Can IRS Stop Printing Forms And Pubs?

Annette Nellen

Who remembers when the IRS mailed a packet with blank tax forms and instructions AND your Social Security number printed on your mailing label?  Several years ago the IRS reduced mailings such as when they could tell the taxpayer prepared their return with software the year before and for the past few years don’t mail forms.  They do still print them to pick up at IRS service locations. All of the forms, instructions and publications can be read or printed from the IRS website. Read More

Written by | Posted in Form 1040 • IRS

Transparency For Individual Taxes

Annette Nellen

Transparency as a principle of good tax policy means taxpayers should understand taxes and how they apply to them. Despite lots of data on a filer’s Form 1040, the one number people focus on is the amount due or refund. Clearly the better number is total federal income tax liability. And better yet, people should also Read More

Written by | Posted in Form 1040 • Individual • Individual Tax

Obtaining and Claiming a Health Coverage Exemption

David Green

The Affordable Care Act requires you and each member of your family to have minimum essential coverage, qualify for an insurance coverage exemption, or make an individual shared responsibility payment for months without coverage or an exemption when you file your federal income tax return.You, your spouse or your dependents may be eligible to claim an exemption Read More

Written by | Posted in Exemptions • Form 1040 • Health Care

Amended Returns

Debra Thompson

Oops! You’ve discovered an error after your tax return has been filed. What should you do? You may need to amend your return.

The IRS usually corrects math errors or requests missing forms (such as W-2s) or schedules. In these instances, do not amend your return. However, do file an amended return if any of the following were reported incorrectly: Read More

Written by | Posted in Earned Income Tax Credit • Form 1040 • Tax Return