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income tax

Taxes

Income Tax Tips – 5 Things To Bring To Your Tax Preparer

It’s that time of year again, so rather than waiting until the last minute, I recommend gathering up your documents earlier this year and beat the rush. It’s not going to be too painful, I promise. Here are some of the things you don’t want to forget about:

1. Medical Expenses – make sure you gather together all of your medical receipts throughout the year and don’t forget that you can medical mileage and meals, too, so it’s a really good idea to write up a log of your medical travel. If you paid premiums on a private benefit plan not covered by your employee, that too can be claimed.

March 15, 2014

Taxes

Filing Your Taxes For The First Time: 5 Things To Consider

There’s no doubt about it: filing taxes can be a daunting task. This is especially true for those that have never done it before. With pages of paperwork to contend with and tons of tiny blanks and boxes to fill in, you might wonder if you’re taking some kind of entrance exam. In a way, it could be considered one of many that pave the way to adulthood. But you don’t want to risk failure since it could lead to fines, an audit, or other penalties. And you need to understand which types of deductions or oversights could raise red flags with the IRS, giving them a reason to audit you. There’s a pretty steep learning curve associated with filing taxes, and you don’t want to fumble your first time out the gate. So here are a few things to consider before you send in your tax return.

Call the IRS. While it’s easy enough to download the documents you’ll need from the IRS.gov website, you might not even know which forms you need for your annual income tax filing. Luckily, the folks at the IRS are available to answer any questions you might have. There is a wealth of information available through their website, but you can also visit the nearest IRS office to talk to an agent, call their help line, or send queries by email. Best of all, these resources are available for free, and getting information from the source means you’ll get it right the first time.

March 10, 2014

Taxes

Different Options Available When You Cannot Afford To Pay Your Taxes

There is no way to avoid paying your taxes and every year we must cough up our fair share. Unfortunately, you might get a tax bill that you might not be able to afford. This can be due to a number of reasons, like an increase in your tax bracket or perhaps you didn’t take into account your total taxable income. While you won’t go to jail, you might have to pay a penalty for being late, but often times the IRS will be lenient. There are a number of options for people that can’t pay their total tax bill and as long as you make the right arrangements you should be able to avoid the stiff fines. Here are some different options that are available when you can’t afford to pay your taxes.

First things first, you always want to send in your return. You want to do this because the penalty for filing your taxes late is far greater than the fines for not paying your taxes on time, especially if you don’t make an arrangement with the IRS first.

When you are looking for some money to pay your taxes, you want to search high and low. Chances are that you will find some money somewhere so that you can start paying off your taxes. This source of cash can be from friends and family, and even credit cards, or cashing in on your paid time off at work. In the end, you will free up your financial burdens by taking care of your tax bill, sooner rather than later.

March 6, 2013

Taxes

How Students Can Reduce Their Income Tax

There are a number of ways that students can reduce their income tax. Below are a few things you will want to know about if you are a student in Canada.

The Tuition Tax Credit

If you have to pay $100 or more for tuition fees, you can claim a tuition fee tax credit which is equal to 15% of the tuition that you paid. Keep in mind, the tuition must be paid to a recognized educational institution and it must be for post secondary courses.

The Education Tax Credit

For each month that you are enrolled full time in a qualified post secondary institution, you can claim the education tax credit. Right now, the amount eligible each month is $60 but that is subject to change at any time, as are any of the other tax rules. You would be eligible for the education tax credit as long as the courses you are taking are related to your employment. You will not benefit from this if your employer is paying for your education.

November 26, 2012

Taxes

Are You Taking Advantage Of Your Provincial Tax Credits?

Did you know that each province and territory in Canada has tax credits that can help Canadians to reduce their provincial income taxes each year? Unfortunately, many people are unaware of the tax credits available to them, and sadly, the ones who do their own taxes but are unaware, are the ones who lose out. Even if you hire a tax professional to file your taxes for you every year, it is still good for you to be aware of what is available to you.

How can I find out what tax credits are available?

If you want to know what specific tax credits are available to you in your specific province or territory, simply go to the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) website, and check out the section entitled Provincial and Territorial Tax and Credits For Individuals.

October 10, 2012

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