On December 3, 2013, Intuit Inc announced that its’ new TurboTax ItsDeductible app for iPhone had become available. This app is aimed at helping the estimated seventy-five percent of US citizens who donate to charity, convert their goodwill into sizable tax deductions. This app is free of charge and offered on the iPhone with iOS7 app store.
The Turbo Tax online program itself is very popular. When combined with the portability and convenience of a mobile device, the TurboTax ItsDeductible app allows people to easily monitor their charitable donations. This app features valuations for over ten thousand commonly donated items, like toys, clothing, sporting goods, games, appliances, household products and more.
Although most taxpayers are aware that non cash donations might be tax deductible, they do not always value the goods they donate to charity correctly. Usually, this is because they have just guessed the value randomly. For example, sometimes, bags of clothes are donated with $50.00 valuations, when the real value is over $300.00.
Prior to leaving a donation facility, people can easily and quickly input their donated goods into TurboTax ItsDeductible. Then, the app will automatically make a fair market valuation, based on guidelines by the Internal Revenue Service. This ensures that users receive the full deductions they are entitled to on their tax returns. The app uses location sensitive technology to quickly capture the address of the charity, for tax record keeping. All philanthropists should monitor their donations with this app, to be properly rewarded for their generosity.
If you are looking to find American tax relief, hiding from the IRS is not the way to do it. Through services by companies like Turbo Tax, you can stay ahead of your delinquent taxes, and avoid the penalties that this can accrue.
For people who have not yet filed their taxes, or owe back taxes to the IRS, it is best to start with finding out about your options. There is a solution for your problem, and it usually has to do with not putting off what needs to be done. Filing taxes late is better than not filing them at all. The sooner it is done, the sooner you can resolve your back taxes and limit added interest fees. The upside to acting fast is that you can begin to take control of your financial situation. The downside is that once the IRS decides to take action, you will immediately feel the impact. The IRS can put levies on your wages and bank accounts, and failure to file your tax returns is even punishable by jail time and a heavy fine – $10,000 per year that you have not filed.
Legal research (Photo credit: gwilmore (I HATE THE NEW LAYOUT!))
Remember, however, that you do reserve the right to file your tax return, no matter how late it is. There reaches a point where tax relief will take more than just your own hard work. If you owe more than $15,000 in back taxes, you should consider hiring professional help from an attorney or a certified tax specialist.
Welcome to the March 19, 2013 edition of Tax Carnival Ecstasy. In this edition we start with an article from Bill Smith on the effect of the tax code’s bias towards debt decreasing. John Schmoll has 4 Ways to Make Filing Taxes easier every year for us from the site Frugal Rules. Finally, Edward Webber presents The New Tax Code for 2013-2014 in the UK. Hope you enjoy all the articles, bookmark, share, tweet, like on Facebook, and visit a few of our sponsors.
Hitesh Haryani presents A Must Read, If You Want to Trade for a Living posted at OnlyForexTrading.com, saying, “Yes, it is Possible, You can become a Successful Forex Trader by Understanding & Implementing on all the points mentioned in this post with Proper Focus & Dedicated Efforts.”
dominic mondal presents Securing your Pension Plan by Investing in Self Managed Super Funds and Property posted at Recent Articles.
Quick Draw McGraw — Quick Draw was often accompanied by his deputy, a Mexican burro called Baba Looey …..item 1..Too many applicants vying for too few jobs (December 30, 2011) … (Photo credit: marsmet53)
John Schmoll presents 4 Simple Ways to Make Filing Taxes Easier Every Year – Frugal Rules posted at Frugal Rules, saying, “Very few people enjoy doing and filing their taxes. However, with a few simple steps you can make the process easier every year.”
retirement
dominic mondal presents What To Keep In Mind When Looking For Payday Loans Orlando FL posted at Recent Articles.
Alan Webster presents A Day in the Life of a Trader posted at TradingAcademy.com, saying, “Have you ever wondered what the average day is like for a trader? In this blog post we interview Steve Moses, an options trader, to sneak a peek into his average day.”
Edward Webber presents The New Tax Code for 2013-2014 posted at TaxFix Feed Update, saying, “In the UK the tax allowance is about to increase. This means that anyone working in the country can earn 9,449 pounds before they need to pay any tax. This post explains all about it.”
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.
Welcome to the January 22, 2013 edition of tax carnival ecstasy. In this edition we start off with an article from Bill Smith on the IRS delay in tax filing acceptance until the end of January, a delay caused by the late tax law changes passed by congress. There is also an article from John Schmoll who looks at 4 Helpful Free Investment Tools that you can use. Hope you like all the articles, tweet our carnival on Twitter, share with your friends, bookmark and come back next time.
Brian McKay presents Mortgage Debt Cancellation Relief Extended Until December 31, 2013 posted at Bank CD Rates, Mortgage Rates, Savings Rates, Banking Reviews, saying, “Homeowners facing a foreclosure, a short sale or reduced loan principal by their lender after December 31, 2012, faced owing taxes on any mortgage debt that was forgiven by the mortgage lien holder. Home owners had rushed to complete short sales or debt reduction before the end of the 2013 because it looked like the fiscal cliff tax issues wouldn’t be worked out in Washington.”
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swapnil presents Share Market: Tax Structure in India posted at Share Market.
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Bill Smith presents Free Tax Filing for 2011 Taxes posted at 2011 Tax, saying, “Each year, thousands of taxpayers fail to file their federal income taxes. Some individuals willingly forgo this action while others run into special circumstances.”
John Schmoll presents 4 Helpful Free Investment Tools posted at Frugal Rules, saying, “Investing in the stock market can be a challenge for the seasoned investor, much less a newbie investor. By using some free investment tools you can make more informed investment decisions that will benefit your portfolio.”
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.
Everybody is interested in avoiding taxation legally because no one likes to pay taxes. There is generally no tax liability in case of annuities and this is what makes it so popular. After all, ‘a penny saved is a penny earned’ therefore why not invest in these since they do not require you to pay tax? The tax-deferred growth that one can enjoy from an annuity is probably one of the most attractive features about it. The government isn’t going to tax you on any of the earnings as long as the money stays inside the annuity. Thus, if you were filing for 2009 taxes then your annuity wouldn’t come under it.
However, it cannot remain like this forever since all good things should come to an end. Therefore your deferred annuity will get taxed in its later stages. To understand this, it is necessary to take a look at the two stages of a deferred annuity. The accumulation phase is the first phase and during this phase the annuity is allowed to grow and there is no tax liability on it.
In the second phase, i.e. the distribution phase, the annuity is paid out and the payment can be made in a single lump sum or it can be segregated into a series of payouts at fixed intervals over a lifetime or a pre-determined period of time. It does not matter which mode of payment is opted because the income tax will be due on each of the annuity payment which the recipient receives.
The end of the United States tax year has been and gone, so it is surprising to some that there are still a large number of celebrities who are believed to still owe the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) a great deal of money. But are the IRS oblivious to this? Are the celebrities in the US entirely under the radar?
Because there is a considerable amount of money still owed at such a late date by celebrities, it may seem easy to jump to the conclusion that the answer is most definitely ‘yes’. However there have been many highly publicized cases of celebrities being singled out for owing large sums of money, usually due to them not taking enough responsibility for their own tax preparation. One such example is former NFL athlete Warren Sapp, who in April of this year filed for bankruptcy due to his past failure to pay tax catching up with him. The bankruptcy documents indicate that Sapp owes $942,000 in taxes to the IRS which date back to 2006, which he is now unable to pay. Cases like this indicate that celebrities are not free to evade the tax they owe to the IRS. However it is extremely hard for celebrities such as Sapp to pay back money that they owe when they do not have any money to give – usually because they are past their heyday and no longer have a steady income.
The IRS have made it extremely clear that celebrities are far from under the radar. Back in 2007 an Issue Management Team was formed with the specific goal of retrieving unpaid income tax returns from athletes and entertainers within the United States. This has coincided with the laws regarding tax and the IRS becoming stricter and stricter. A bill currently going through the US House of Representatives will allow the federal government to revoke passports of US citizens who the IRS can prove owe them taxes. Also actions have been taken against celebrities who still have unpaid tax returns. Wesley Snipes, a well known movie star who is believed to owe the IRS a staggering $17 million in back taxes, and Rapper Ja Rule are both serving prison sentences due to unpaid taxes.
Unpaid tax returns are of high public concern due to the importance of tax money to the US treasury. Taxes provide income to all levels of government in order for them to be able to provide vital services. Examples of the services they provide are things such as highways, police and hospitals, which benefit all citizens in the US. Without this income, such public services suffer greatly. The problem with celebrities not paying tax is that there is a public perception that they have a great deal of disposable income, so by not paying tax they are portrayed in the media as immensely greedy.
However there are other reasons that celebrities may not pay their income tax, which all need to be considered. One issue is that celebrities tend to have a hard time keeping on top of their finances. This is because unlike the average American citizen who gets paid either weekly or monthly, celebrities tend to get paid in lump sums and often to have to manage this income throughout the year. Because of this issue celebrities often hire financial advisers, but if non-reputable firms or individuals are hired, the trust may not pay off and their finances may become increasingly complex. Actors Nicolas Cage and Wesley Snipes both laid the blame for their financial troubles upon the financial experts they hired.
Another issues is that unlike the average American employee, taxes are not automatically deducted from their wages. This means that the payment of income tax may be delayed, which is when the problems begin to arise. Many years of unpaid tax eventually add up to an incredibly large bill, which the celebrity may not be able to ever repay. To solve this problem, many have suggested that the IRS should put more pressure on celebrities to ensure that they file their income tax returns at the end of each tax year. Another issue of note is to ensure that celebrities hire reputable firms to deal with their finances and any ensuing legal issues, instead of relying on people who they know without the relevant expertise.
Celebrities are far from under the radar of the IRS, but certain situations such as bankruptcy resulting from delayed payment may give this impression. Celebrities status often makes it impossible to avoid issues to do with tax due to the constant media attention which they receive. Before jumping to a hasty conclusion about celebrity greed and their tax evasion, the differences between public and celebrity taxes have to be considered and understood.
3 Ways Increasing Taxes on the Wealthy Could Affect Job Growth by David Veibl. David is a guest author for the CPA blog of WallaceAPC, a tax preparation company in Los Angeles with top quality tax consulting services.
