First enacted in 2006, the charitable IRA rollover is a way to let certain taxpayers reduce their tax liability. Individuals who own an IRA must begin taking minimum distributions at age 70½, and those distributions could increase the tax bill at a time when there may not be much income. While the tax bill will ... Continue reading this article…

When Congress and the President extended the Bush-era tax cuts, taxpayers subject to the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) received a break. As Leigh Mutert, CPA discussed in our recent podcast interview, this is something middle class taxpayers need to know about now, because it effects the 2010 income returns that are being filed from now ... Continue reading this article…

When Congress passed the Tax Hike Prevention Act earlier this year, it included an economic stimulus in the form of a payroll tax holiday. As Leigh Mutert, CPA explained in our podcast interview, the payroll tax will be reduced in 2011 from 6.2 percent to 4.2 percent. As a result, paychecks will be a little more than ... Continue reading this article…

President Obama offered a framework for the tax-related aspects of spurring the economy moving forward. The foundation of the proposal, which conflicts with a bill that has already passed the Democrat-controlled House of Representatives, is the full extension of the Bush-era tax cuts, even for the wealthiest taxpayers. The proposal also calls for an extension ... Continue reading this article…

A group of millionaires — the definition of which is any individual with an annual income of over $1,000,000, not a net worth of $1,000,000 — has assembled to let the government know that they’d like the tax cuts for that income level expire, in patriotic duty to the fiscal solvency of the United States. ... Continue reading this article…

Thanks to an organization called Third Way, American taxpayers can get a good, detailed look at how much of a typical tax bill is destined for any particular government program. Third Way is a progressive think-tank, and they studied the federal budget to provide an itemized tax receipt for the typical taxpayer. Here is their ... Continue reading this article…

Now that I’ve finally gotten my credit card balances down to zero, I’ve been trying to figure out the best use of the extra money I’ll have in my checking account. Options include: make extra car payments, put it in a savings account, put it in a mutual fund, make extra house payments, make impulse ... Continue reading this article…

Whether or not you believe the New York Yankees have seen successful years because of or in spite of the team’s fabled owner, George Steinbrenner, you have to admit he has good, though of course unfortunate, timing. If the tax laws don’t change, or if they do change but are not deemed retroactive, through his ... Continue reading this article…