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  • The Government Shutdown Will Delay The Start Of The January Tax Season

    Delay The Start Of The January Tax Season

    The government shutdown will have an effect on the tax season in 2014. There could be a one to two week delay on filling your 2013 tax return forms as a direct result of the government shut down in 2013.

    The IRS lost sixteen days of work during the shutdown which came at a time when the IRS is typically very busy preparing for the upcoming rush of the tax season in January. Loosing nearly three weeks of work in the fall, is very difficult to make up before January.

    Day 093/365 - Tax Time Phat Cash!
    Day 093/365 – Tax Time Phat Cash! (Photo credit: Great Beyond)

    They will not accept or process any returns, online or in paper, until January 28 to February 4th. This falls at least one week later than the typical yearly start of January 21. You can send in your paper 2013 tax return forms early but they will not look at them until opening day, and you can not file an online form at all until the date they open for the season.

    The IRS is doing everything they can to make the delay shorter but the new bill has changed many forms and these changes take time.

    You can still prepare your tax return from your end as you always have, as long as you have current software as there are many updates that come with the new bill. You can also prepare with an adviser in advance so you will be prepared on the first day the IRS will take the 2013 tax forms.

    It should also be noted though, that the filing deadline for tax payer remains the same, April 15. So there is a shorter season all around.

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  • Tax Carnival Ecstasy – July 30, 2013

    Cover of Book, The Art of Investing in America.
    Cover of Book, The Art of Investing in America. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

    Welcome to the July 30, 2013 edition of Tax Carnival Ecstasy. We start this edition with some short term financial goals by Viveka on the blog ‘My Journey to Millions’. John Schmoll takes a look at investing in the stock market and the level of difficulty that you face when you invest for retirement. And finally Bill Smith looks at annuities as investments and the tax implications of investing in them. Hope you like all the articles, bookmark our carnival, like on Facebook, tweet the link and come back real soon.

    David presents Quick Way to Save Money on Booking a Hotel Reservation posted at Financial Nerd, saying, “Interesting Way I saved money by booking a hotel reservation”

    viveka presents Top 15 Most Popular Coupon Websites posted at Top 15 Most Popular Music Websites, saying, “Here are the 15 Most Popular Coupon Websites ranked by a combination of constantly updated traffic statistics.”

    deductions

    viveka presents Short Term Financial Goals posted at My Journey to Millions, saying, “Short Term Financial Goals – My Journey to Millions”

    filing

    viveka presents The Detroit Bankruptcy Should Teach You that Nothing is Guaranteed with your Finances posted at My Journey to Millions, saying, “Detroit\’s recent bankruptcy should teach you something about risk and your personal finances and retirement. Real possibility of reduction in pension and trimming of bonds”

    viveka presents Dividend Investment Portfolio Archives posted at My Journey to Millions, saying, “Dividend Investment Portfolio Archives – My Journey to Millions”

    retirement

    John Schmoll presents Is Investing in the Stock Market Really That Easy? posted at Frugal Rules, saying, “Many are overwhelmed when it comes to investing in the stock market. With a little homework and due diligence it can actually be simplified quite a bit and can lead to more efficient investing for long term needs like retirement.”

    viveka presents Will I ever Lose my 401k? posted at My Journey to Millions.

    tips

    Bill Smith presents Are Annuities a Good Investment posted at 2011 Tax, saying, “There are two different types of annuities: deferred annuities and immediate annuities. The type of annuity you choose depends on how soon you expect to receive payments.”

    That concludes this edition. Submit your blog article to the next edition of tax carnival ecstasy using our carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.

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  • Some Useful Tax Software Programs to File your Taxes Easily and Quickly

    Some Useful Tax Software Programs to File your Taxes Easily and Quickly

    If you want to file an income tax return and are wondering how to do your own taxes online then you can opt for e-tax filing which is a simple and easy way to file your taxes. With the convenience and comfort of your home, you can file IRS tax forms. Online tax preparation services bring ease and convenience to the people. Users do not need any prior experience of filing returns and they can complete income tax returns easily and quickly with the help of a tax software program.

    Day 093/365 - Tax Time Phat Cash!
    Day 093/365 – Tax Time Phat Cash! (Photo credit: Great Beyond)

    Turbo Tax:
    It is one of the most preferred e-tax filing software programs which is recommended for newbies, small business owners, heavy investors and multi-income filers. If you are a newbie and do not know how to do your taxes online then this software will be best suited for you. Here are some features of Turbo Tax software.

    Clean and intuitive interface.
    Logical flow of processes.
    Easy to comprehend learning resources for the beginners.
    Offers high-level of autonomy.
    Audit risk meter
    Latest military edition for Army officials

    H And R Block:
    It is an elite piece of software to file your taxes online. It has logical workflows and that will simplify the process of tax filing. The software is recommended for heavy investors and newbies. Here are its features.

    Section overviews containing useful information.
    Several pages having embedded links.
    Bookmarking system is well integrated.
    In-person and round the clock support.
    Latest print returns features.
    Useful form finding tool.

    TaxACT:
    This e-filing software is recommended for college students, deal seekers and DIY filers. Following are some of the important features of TaxACT:

    Import tax from the previous year feature.
    Lowest price.
    Stock assistance tools for entering stock information manually.
    Best quality and comprehensive learning resources.
    Mini-alerts.

    TaxSlayer:
    It is a well designed and one among the best e-filing tax software. Given below are its important features.

    Life events guide.
    Previous year comparison.
    Gives you choice to handle processes on the major sections like income tax deductions.
    Movement between sections for convenience of the users.

    So, stop running from pillar to post when you need to file your taxes and stop wondering how to do your own taxes online as you can easily do it with the help of several user-friendly e-filing software. By using this software you can file your tax returns quickly and easily even if you are a newbie and filing your tax for the first time.

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  • Filing Your Taxes At-Home – It’s Easier Than You Think

    Filing Your Taxes At-Home – It’s Easier Than You Think

    Most customers aren’t aware of just how easy it is to learn how to do your own taxes online. Whether you are employed and have received your tax information or are self employed and have tracked your income and business expenses, you can be easily guided through the entire process of completing your taxes with programs like Turbotax 2013 and be done in less than an hour.

    information hydrant
    information hydrant (Photo credit: Will Lion)

    What kind of information are you going to need to start?

    First, you’re going to fill in your identifying information including your name and address and determine whether you are filing for taxes on a single or joint application. Using the information from the income for the previous year, you are prompted to fill in the information through a series of questions. The answers to the questions are imported to the tax form, making it simple for anyone to do their taxes at-home, without having accounting experience.

    It’s unlikely that errors are going to be made through the forms, as you’re prompted to answer questions and the system is designed to pick up common errors that are made. In most cases, the information must be correct or in the correct order to go forward with the income tax return.

    Once the questions are completed, the report will be generated and you have the option to print the tax forms at-home or file the forms electronically.

    Filing your taxes at-home is simple to do and can save you hundreds of dollars every single year.

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  • IRS Apologizes To Conservative Groups

    IRS Apologizes To Conservative Groups

    The Internal Revenue Service apologized to conservative groups for targeting them inappropriately.  Around the time of the 2012 election, the IRS flagged many conservative organizations to verify their tax status to see if they were an exempt organization.

    English: Anonymous Says: "Help Revoke Tax...
    English: Anonymous Says: “Help Revoke Tax Exempt Status” (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

    Initially, it was thought that only groups with “patriot” or “tea party” in their names were targeted, but many other conservative groups were targeted by the IRS.  When the conservative organizations filed for tax-exempt status, they were singled out for additional reviews.

    The attack was blamed on workers in an IRS office in Cincinnati, but now officials say the fault may be at a higher office.

    During the 2012 presidential election, conservative groups began to complain about being harassed about their tax exempt status.  The IRS asked them several questions about their tax filing status, which delayed their tax exempt status.

    The head of the IRS division in charge of assigning tax exempt status, Lois Lerner, claims that what happened was inappropriate.  She says there was a large number of organizations filing for tax exempt status after a hallmark 2010 Supreme Court decision.  The court decision allowed labor unions and corporations to raise and spend high amount of money, and they could register as a tax exempt if they were not political organizations.

    No one knows if any White House officials knew about the IRS targeting conservative groups.  It also is not clear if the Treasury Department knew what was happening.

    The White House is calling for a formal investigation.  Those found at fault will be disciplined as needed.  Lerner claims that she did not inform the White House what was happening.

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