Category Archives: Credits

Laptop for College

Today TaxMama® hears from Jenni in the TaxQuips Forum who has an amazing job. “I took a job at a university that offers free tuition for my family. The American Opportunity Credit can be used for tuition, books, fees and required materials. We have used the credit for books, fees and a laptop, which is […]

Expanded Adoption Tax Credit Still Available for Extension Filers

Courtesy of the Internal Revenue Service If you adopted a child last year and requested an extension of time to file your 2011 taxes, you may be able to claim the expanded adoption credit on your federal tax return. The Affordable Care Act temporarily increased the amount of the credit and made it refundable, which […]

EIC Credit and Nonresidents

[Note: This answer is totally incorrect. See the comments below the answer.] Today TaxMama® hears from Reginald in the TaxQuips Forum who has this question.  “Is the Earned Income Credit available to a US citizen couple, married filing a joint return, who live out of the country? They do have qualifying children. The only reference […]

Employers Need to Act Soon to Get Expanded Credit for Hiring Vets

Courtesy of the Internal Revenue Service Employers that hired unemployed veterans during late 2011 and early 2012 had an expanded period to request the required certification for claiming the expanded Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC). That expanded period ends on Tuesday, June 19. The IRS is reminding employers that for eligible veterans hired on or […]

Adoption

Today TaxMama® hears from Hilde in the TaxQuips Forum with this question. “My son and daughter-in-law just adopted a special needs child from China. We know that there was a tax credit avail last year. Is there a tax credit for 2012? If yes, how much is the credit for? Some of the expenses were […]

Homebuyer Credit Repayment

Today TaxMama® hears from Kelly in the TaxQuips Forum who cares about her friend. “A friend’s home will soon be going into foreclosure. He’s owned the home for 2.5 years and we’re trying to figure out if he’ll have to repay the $8,000 tax credit he received as a first time homebuyer. I’ve read that […]

US Virgin Islands Taxes

Today TaxMama® hears from Pat in the TaxQuips Forum with a quickie question. “Are income taxes paid to the Virgin Islands deductible as state taxes? VI taxes are governed by the Internal Revenue Code so it doesn’t seem logical they’d be deductible, as federal taxes generally aren’t. In addition, the U.S. Virgin Islands aren’t a […]

Child Tax Credit Trick

Today TaxMama® hears from Gary in the TaxQuips Forum with a brilliant observation. “I was working on a tax return for a married couple with income too high to receive the $1,000 Child credit. I have found (just recently) that if one of the spouses has a much lower income, or no income, filing them […]

What Employers Need to Know About Claiming the Small Business Health Care Tax Credit

If you are a small employer with fewer than 25 full-time equivalent employees that earn an average wage of less than $50,000 a year and you pay at least half of employee health insurance premiums…then there is a tax credit that may put money in your pocket. The Small Business Health Care Tax Credit is […]

Get All the Paperwork

Today TaxMama® hears from someone else in the TaxQuips Forum who is being audited. “This person is being audited by IRS for a child tax credit. At this point, she can no longer locate the care provider to get her Social Security Number – the woman’s phone is disconnected. She didn’t get receipts for her […]