If you own a business and you have employees, then you are no doubt familiar with the requirement to withhold payroll taxes and submit them to the IRS. According to federal tax regulations, employers are required to deposit their employees' payroll tax withholding amounts, as well as their matching deposits, once every three months. For bosses who neglect or refuse to comply with this payroll tax requirement, the IRS has instituted a penalty called the Trust Fund Recovery Penalty (TFRP).
When taxpayers are searching for overlooked end-of-year tax deductions to include, they may wonder whether they qualify to deduct the cost of any funeral expenses they had during the year. In the vast majority of cases, however, funeral expenses are a nondeductible expense, which means that they cannot be deducted on a tax return. There are a few tax returns each year. They may legitimately include the cost of funeral expenses as a deduction.
Every year, the IRS imposes tax penalties upon individuals and businesses. In most cases, these penalties are related to minor oversights such as failure to submit a tax return on time or a failure to pay a tax bill on time. In some cases, taxpayers may be subject to more than one penalty at a time, which can raise his or her tax liability substantially. One of the penalty relief provisions the IRS offers is called a first-time penalty abatement. While the agency is strict about imposing tax penalties where necessary, some first-time tax offenders may qualify for penalty reduction or removal under this arrangement.
If you've had to manage an IRS federal tax lien on your property, you may be wondering what you can do to remove any remaining obstacles once the lien has been cleared. This may be particularly important if you intend to sell the property to another individual after the tax lien has been removed. In a few instances, some taxpayers who do not owe back taxes to the IRS may receive erroneous tax lien filings against their property. If this happens, it can make it difficult for these individuals to sell their properties. To clear up this situation, taxpayers should request a certificate of nonattachment of federal tax lien from the IRS.
Some taxpayers may think that they can simply close a business without having to take any additional steps relating to IRS regulations. While it is completely up to each business owner to decide when to close up shop, there are a few procedures they must follow to make sure that they inform the IRS of their plans and that they issue the appropriate forms to any employees.
Taxpayers who purchase plug-in electric drive vehicles may be eligible to claim a tax credit. Since 2009, the IRS has provided the Plug-In Electric Drive Vehicle Credit for individuals who purchase qualified electric vehicles during the tax year. Depending on the type of vehicle, taxpayers may be eligible to claim a tax credit of up to $7,500 on their qualified purchases. As a tax credit, the Plug-In Electric Drive Vehicle Credit reduces overall tax liability.
Taxpayers who own rental property are subject to special tax considerations when it comes to reporting their rental income. The good news is that the agency allows these taxpayers to claim several expenses as tax deductions against this income so that they can reduce their taxable gain. In order to take advantage of these deductions, taxpayers must keep good records of their income and expenses to document their claims. Here are a few rental income tips to help taxpayers keep up with their obligations to the IRS.
Many taxpayers who are facing a federal tax lien may feel that they are out of options. While it's true that a tax lien is typically one of the most severe penalties that the IRS can levy, there are a few situations in which a taxpayer can get an IRS tax lien removed. Doing so requires obtaining a written document from the IRS called a Certificate of Discharge from a federal tax lien. If you're able to receive one of these certificates, you can have the federal tax lien removed from your property.
Employment taxes vary widely, depending on the withholding allowances and filing statuses employees claim. They may also vary, according to the state and city in which the employer and worker reside. Employers must remit the withheld income and FICA taxes to the government every quarter. They must also send in their share of FUTA and SUTA taxes. Self-employed individuals, though, are responsible for remitting their taxes themselves, since self-employeed taxpayers have no employers.
Have you or one of your family members been thinking about returning to college? As the recession drags on, more and more Americans are deciding to return to school to complete a degree or switch careers. While the U.S. government provides several financial aid sources, taxpayers may still have to pay some of their education expenses out of their own pockets. To ease this financial cost, the IRS allows individuals to take advantage of two education tax credits: The Lifetime Learning Credit and the American Opportunity Tax Credit.
