Tag Archives: Chicago

IRS Intensifies National Crackdown on Identity Theft

Courtesy of the Internal Revenue Service [TaxMama note: Did THIS ever happen to you? If you were the victim of tax identity last year, make SURE you get your special Identity Protection PIN (IP PIN) from the IRS so no one can steal your refund by pretending to be you.] WASHINGTON — Continuing a year-long enforcement […]

Feeling Young?

Just in case you weren’t feeling too old today, this will certainly change  things. 1.  The people who started college this fall across the nation were born in 1998. 2.  They have no meaningful recollection of the Reagan Era and did not know he had ever been shot. 3.  They were not born yet when […]

Senior Divorce

An elderly man in Miami calls his son in New York and says,” I hate to ruin your day, but I have to tell you that your mother and I are divorcing; forty-five years of misery is enough.” “Pop, what are you talking about?” the son screams.

IRS Identity Theft Crackdown Sweeps Across the Nation; More than 200 Actions Taken in Past Week in 23 States

Courtesy of the IRS.  For more information, see the Special Identity Theft Enforcement Efforts – 2012 page. See related article about IP PIN at MarketWatch.com this weekend. WASHINGTON – The Internal Revenue Service and the Justice Department today announced the results of a massive national sweep cracking down on suspected identity theft perpetrators as part […]

IRS Reminds Parents of Ten Tax Benefits

Your kids can be helpful at tax time. That doesn’t mean they’ll sort your tax receipts or refill your coffee, but those charming children may help you qualify for some valuable tax benefits.http://wuafterdark.com/wp-content/languages/new/research-paper-help.html Here are 10 things the IRS wants parents to consider when filing their taxes this year.

10 year-end tax planning tips

CHICAGO, Nov. 4, 2010 – Grant Thornton LLP wants to remind America that it’s the perfect time to consider some holiday season tax planning strategies as 2010 winds down.  “People need to be paying special attention to their year-end tax planning in 2010,” said Justin Ransome, a partner in Grant Thornton’s Washington National Tax Office. […]

Won Lottery

Today TaxMama hears from Mike from Chicago, Il who is excited. “I won the lottery and paid taxes on the winnings. I want to give my mother $1 million out of my after tax winnings. Will she have to pay taxes on the $1 million again? Or just on any interest it accumulates?”

Transferring an IRA Triggered 10% Penalty

Courtesy of David & Mary Mellem, EAs We’re not talking about a normal transfer of an IRA here. We are talking about a taxpayer who transfers an IRA from which the taxpayer was taking substantial equal periodic payments. First an overview: A taxpayer is generally subject to income tax on distributions from an IRA account […]

Obama and Biden file 2008 Tax Returns

Courtesy of NAEA – National Association of Enrolled Agents President Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle, on Wednesday released their MFJ tax return. The first couple reported about $2.7 million in income for 2008, mainly from book sales. President and Mrs. Obama paid about $855,000 in federal income taxes. In a release, the first family […]

The Right Way

A young scholar from New York was invited to become Rabbi in a small old community in Chicago. On his very first shabbath, a hot debate erupted as to whether one should or should not stand during the reading of the Ten Commandments. The next day, the rabbi visited 98 year-old Mr. Katz in the […]

Centsible Observations

1) When I die, I want to die like my grandfather—who died peacefully in his sleep. Not screaming like all the passengers in his car.” —Author Unknown 2) Advice for the day: If you have a lot of tension and you get a headache, do what it says on the aspirin bottle: “Take two aspirin” […]

Free File Software May Not Always be Accurate

By David & Mary Mellem, EAs The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) released a 45 page (pdf version) report dated June 28, 2007 dealing with the Free File Program. There is also a one page “Highlights” of the report. One of the TIGTA concerns was the accuracy of the returns prepared using the […]