Category Archives: Online Preparers

Accidentally Late

Today TaxMama® hears from JNaveen in the TaxQuips Forum, with this disturbing problem. “I regularly file my tax through TaxAct. This year I filed on time both federal and state. With lot of issues at home, I forgot to monitor whether they actually submitted or not. Looks like they didn’t submit state tax for whatever […]

H&R Block Radio Show – Tax Tips for Individuals

Listen here  –  Tax Tips for Individuals                         Read the script of the show below: PROGRAM 1: Tax Tips for Individuals Originally aired:   Thursday, March 25    10:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. EDT Introduction – Tax Mama Welcome and Introductions o        Thanks for joining §                    Introduce hosts: §                    Chris Wilson, Master Tax Advisor o        Wilson has been […]

Taxpayer Protection

Today TaxMama wants to tell you about something really important and exciting. IRS’s first announcement of the year made a big splash. IRS proposes new registration, testing and continuing education of tax return preparers. What does this mean to you? And why is this exciting?

Free File Alliance Kicks Off

Free File Alliance Kicks Off 7th Year of Free Tax Preparation Services for 70 Percent of Americans More than 98 Million Taxpayers Making $56,000 or Less are Eligible for Free Tax Assistance and E-Filing Through www.IRS.gov WASHINGTON, DC (January 16, 2009) – The Free File Alliance (www.freefilealliance.org), a coalition of 19 private tax software companies […]

Separate but Unequal

Today TaxMama hears from Mark in MA, with this question: “My tax software suggested filing married separate to save money. Can I use all the itemized deductions with one return, and the dependants on the other? It seemed to work on the software with no alerts.https://www.seehowcan.com/wp-content/languages/new/write-my-essay-for-me.html ”

Lump Sum Problem

Today TaxMama hears from Scott in Utah, who’s upset . “My wife and I E-filed using TurboTax online deluxe, reporting a lump sum Social Security payment. We had a refund coming from both fed and state. Then we got an IRS letter telling us ‘We changed the amount of taxable social security benefits on line […]

Online Filing – The 2008 Overview

[Update – see the Fi-Life article where they test all the Free-File sites.] Electronic filing of tax returns has become the norm. And that means more demand for online tax-preparation programs. If you are in the market for a provider this year, here’s a look the latest the industry has to offer. Prices vary widely […]

California FTB News Flash – Wrong IRA Deduction AGI Phaseouts Published

Courtesy of Spidell Publishing Inc. The FTB stated that the instructions for Schedule CA (540 and 540NR), California Adjustments, contain the wrong phase out amounts on line 32 (IRA Deduction) for taxpayers using the married filing joint and qualifying widow(er) filing statuses. In turn, most, if not all, tax software is also using the incorrect […]

IRS Offers New Online Help Tools for 2008 Tax Filers

Courtesy of the Internal Revenue Service IR-2008-14 Listen In: Audio Interview on New IRS.gov Tools (Mp3 file) WASHINGTON — Things have gotten easier for taxpayers who need help preparing their federal returns this year. The IRS has enhanced both Publication 17 and Where’s My Refund?, two key electronic tools available on this Web site, IRS.gov, […]

AMT Twist?

Today TaxMama hears from Steve in Alaska who sends a very long question. To summarize, he says: “Using TurboTax, my standard deductions are higher than my itemized deductions. Yet, choosing the standard deduction, I OWE the IRS approximately $1,650. But if I itemize deductions, I get a REFUND from the IRS of about $450. Why […]