Tax Carnival Ecstasy – May 9, 2013

Online Investing?
Online Investing? (Photo credit: Monkey Mash Button)

Welcome to the May 9, 2013 edition of Tax Carnival Ecstasy. We begin with a post from James Powell on credit and benefit changes for 2013 that is quite interesting. Bill Smith looks at how TurboTax has changed in the current year. And finally John Schmoll has a number of online brokers that he likes to use. Hope you enjoy all the articles, bookmark, share on your social sites, and come back real soon for more tax topics.

credits

James Powell presents Tax Credits and Benefits Changes 2013 – How They Will Affect You : Tax Credits posted at Tax Credits, saying, “This post will look at how the changes in tax credits will affect you in 2013.”

filing

Bill Smith presents Innovations For Turbo Tax 2013 posted at 2013 Taxes, saying, “Professional accounting can help business owners save time and resources, and the Turbo Tax 2013 CPA Select edition by Intuit may be the ideal solution for tax filing season.”

retirement

Jebelle presents LIFE is what you make it: HEALTH is WEALTH posted at LIFE is what you make it, saying, “earn even retired”

John Schmoll presents Online Brokerages I Use: OptionsHouse Review posted at Frugal Rules, saying, “There are many online brokerages to use as you look to invest in the stock market. The good ones are there to meet your needs and help make sure you’re doing what you can to be investing for things like retirement.”

tax law

Bill Smith presents Senate Bill On Internet Taxes Passes First Hurdle posted at FastSwings, saying, “Recently, the United States Senate passed a bill concerning Internet tax collection.”

taxes

Bill Smith presents Estimate Your Tax Refund With The Free TurboTax Taxcaster posted at 2013 Taxes, saying, “Tax time is drawing near and like most other Americans, you need to file and prepare your taxes to avoid penalties and late fees from the Internal Revenue Service.”

tips

Bill Smith presents The Benefits Of TurboTax 2013 posted at 2013 Taxes, saying, “When you are planning to file your income tax return, you want simplicity, accuracy, and options. You will have these benefits and more with TurboTax 2013.”

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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Tax Return Forms And Filing IRS Taxes

Tax Return Forms And Filing IRS Taxes

Tax time can be an incredibly hectic time for every individual of taxing age in the United States and other countries. There are forms aplenty for every type of deduction, job, withholding, and pay out and understanding some of the basics is the best way to get your taxes off to the right start. Using a system like TurboTax 2013 can be helpful, but a working knowledge of what tax return forms to fill out is still necessary to get the maximum refund.

Paying taxes is required for both citizens and...
Paying taxes is required for both citizens and non-citizens. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The first and most common forms are the 1040 and the 1040 EZ. The 1040 is the basic form that most tax payers use to complete their income taxes. These forms cover anything from income, taxes withheld, charitable donations, scholarships and grants, life insurance, gambling proceeds, child support, and more. This form was designed to be the blanket form for most tax payers to help speed up and simplify the process. This is the form that most are going to be working from when filing taxes and as such it is important to be well versed in the 1040. The 1040 EZ is a simplified version of the 1040 that is often used by workers that are either under the age of 18 or that do not have any dependents or households to claim. This form has basic information like income, taxes withheld, and any untaxed income that workers may have gotten over the course of the year.

A 1040 Schedule A is an individual tax return that has a list for itemized deductions. These deductions can be any range of things from medical bills, to work expenses, to charitable donations, and many more. If filers are at all unsure of what deductions they can count it is important that they check with a tax professional. Schedule B is a form that covers the interest on bank accounts and ordinary dividends. This form is generally only needed for those that have investments. Schedule C is profit or loss from businesses that are personally owned and will likely not be needed for all of those individuals filing. Schedule D is capital gains and losses in any investing or financial ventures that filers have partaken in over the course of the year. This form is again not necessary for every individual filing. The Last Schedule is Schedule E, this is for supplemental income or loss that was incurred through the course of the year. Most tax services will include Schedules A through E in the typical filing.

Form 1099 is for income from an employer that was not taxed at the time of payment, a 2848 is for those that are using their power of attorney to file for another individual, form 2553 is for those that are filing for a small business or corporation, and form 1065 is for married or partnered couples that are filing a joint return. A complete list of forms is available on the IRS website with brief descriptions of the function of each. If at any time it becomes difficult to complete your tax return or to understand what is being filled out, it may be necessary to talk to a tax professional.

Mobile Apps For Turbo Tax

In today’s fast paced society, and with the rise of technology, more and more people are starting to rely more on mobile apps to use on turbo tax.

The thing that a lot of people like about these mobile apps is that they are pretty easy to use and the data is really easy to import into their taxes.  There is a lot of help available with these apps including a lot of advice and answers that is free to those that need it.

It is easy to do, and there is a lot of information available, but there are not a lot of options for e-filing. Only those people that can file with 1040EZ can use the mobile apps on their phones to e-file their taxes.

There are many things on these mobile apps that can help people find the information that they may need.  Some things included are being able to track your refund, a preparatory checklist, and other tips as well.  You can ask a lot of questions and estimate the amount of money you will get back, and there is information there to help you.

This new type of technology makes it really easy for people to file their taxes more quickly and get their money back faster, too.  These apps are so informative and easy to use that a lot of people are starting to like using this form of filing more often.  This very well may be the new way to start filing your taxes every year, especially when the technology develops even more.

Tax Carnival Ecstasy – January 3, 2012

Welcome to the January 3, 2012 edition of Tax Carnival Ecstasy. We have the top 5 articles this week for the carnival including how to get Free Tax Advice by Phone this tax season from a software company. Joe Morgan takes a look at being Prepared to Pay $3,598 More in Income Tax for 2012. And Clint Cora examines the W8BEN Form For Canadians,  this form is for Foreigners Who Work In The US. Hope you find the information helpful, bookmark, share, tweet, like on Facebook, and come back soon.

tax law

Lawyer presents What is Tax Law? Do You Need to Pay Tax Law? posted at Legal Advice & Legal Aid, saying, “Read our comprehensive review about new Tax Law for 2012!”

taxes

Darren Marks presents Free Tax Advice by Phone… From a Software Company? posted at Consumer-Rankings, saying, “Introducing a free new feature from Turbotax just in time for tax season, free phone consultations with tax experts.”

Joe Morgan presents Are You Prepared to Pay $3,598 More in Income Tax for 2012? posted at Simple Debt-Free Finance, saying, “This article covers the effect of expiring tax laws and how they could cost the average American family $3,598 in additional taxes for the 2012 tax year – without any change in their income.”

tips

Clint Cora presents W8BEN Form For Canadians And Foreigners Who Work In The US posted atMotivation Diversity Success Blog, saying, “To help foreigners who get some income in the US reduce withholding tax”

Tyler presents Are You Sure You Want to Pay Taxes With a Credit Card? posted at Credit Card Chaser, saying, “I hope you find this article fitting for your readers! Some people don’t realize they’re instantly paying a significant extra charge! Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns. Look forward to seeing this on your next blog carnival! Have a great day! Tyler”

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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Tax Tips For Those Selling Their Homes

If you sell your house there are certain benefits that you may get from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Here are a few tax tips for consultants and you on how to benefit.

If you have used the home for two out of the last five years, you can exclude 250,000 dollars from your income, the capital gain is tax free. But you may not exclude the gain if you already did so on another house in the last 5 years.

You must report all gains that cannot be excluded under the $250,000 limit. And if there is a loss on the sale of the home, you cannot deduct it. Sorry.

There are worksheets that help you determine whether you made a gain or loss on the sale. These can be found in IRS publication 523, on the IRS.gov website.

Having more than one house limits you to excluding gains from the sale of your main house only. This is the house that you usually spend most of your time in. Vacation homes cannot excluded from capital gains tax.

First time home-buyers are required to repay the credit if they do not use the property as their primary residence for more than 36 months after getting a home-buyer credit. The details should be filed with your tax returns using form 5405 the year you stopped using the house as your primary residence.

Be sure to let the IRS and the United States Postal Service know about any changes in address so that you do not lose correspondence and refunds from them.

The IRS publication for selling your home, 523, can be found on their website www.IRS.gov or call 800-TAX-FORM (800-829-3676) to receive a copy.