If you're a newlywed who just got married this year you may be excited about starting your new life with your spouse. However, if you don't take the time to do a little tax planning you might get an unpleasant surprise at tax time. The good news is that most of these tax tips for newlyweds are fairly simple to implement so you won't have to take much time out of your newly married life to settle them.
If you owe back taxes to the IRS you may be wondering what your possible settlement options are. This may be particularly true if you're barely making enough money to cover your necessary living expenses. The IRS does have a status called "Currently Not Collectible" that is reserved for taxpayers who owe tax debt but are financially unable to repay the debt for a time. Qualifying for this designation is a bit complex but may provide some short-term tax relief for those who are struggling to make ends meet.
Most taxpayers are familiar with the annual income tax filing deadline of April 15, but they may not be aware of a few other tax deadlines that occur every summer. These summer tax deadlines typically affect U.S. citizens who live outside the United States, those who receive tips, those who pay estimated taxes and those who have foreign accounts. If these circumstances do not apply to your situation you likely don't have to worry about your taxes until next April.
Taxpayers who owe a substantial amount of back taxes to the IRS may face a tax lien or a levy if they leave their debts unpaid. The IRS has the legal authority to enforce these methods for collecting on outstanding debts and, once a lien or levy is placed on your bank account or other assets, getting rid of one can be quite difficult. One of the best ways to
resolve a tax lien or a levy is to avoid one in the first place. Here are a few other tips for resolving tax liens and levies.
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f you're far behind on your income tax debt you might be thinking about pursuing bankruptcy protection to get some relief for back taxes. However, rather than thinking of bankruptcy as the solution to a problem you'll need to find out some details about how bankruptcy works and if there are better options for settling your tax debt.
Editor’s Note: This post was originally published in May 2012 and has been updated for accuracy and comprehensiveness.
So, you and your spouse filed a joint tax return, but later you discover there are some major errors or even outright omissions that lead to a hefty tax bill. And here's the kicker: you had no clue about these mistakes when you signed the return. You might want to consider filing for innocent spouse relief.
If you owe the IRS a significant amount of back taxes you may have received a notice about an upcoming IRS bank levy. Once this levy is placed on your account it can be very difficult to have it removed especially if you try to settle your account on your own. A qualified tax specialist can help you learn how to release the levy from your bank account.
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If you’re the type of taxpayer who waits until the last minute to file a return you’re probably at a higher risk of making a common tax filing mistake than you’d think. When you’re under the pressure of trying to beat the deadline you’re far more likely to report incorrect information or make a math mistake while preparing your form. Here are six of the most common tax filing mistakes you’ll want to avoid this tax season.
An IRS audit is one of the most feared experiences in the income tax world. Fortunately, very few taxpayers are selected for an audit each tax season. Still, some individuals have a higher risk of audit than others.
If you have an employee you might be confused as to whether you’re responsible for sending in payroll taxes for that person. Generally, a person who works in your employ and under your supervision is considered your employee which makes you responsible for the payroll taxes. However, if the worker is actually a contractor, he or she would be liable for payroll taxes instead of you. Here are a few tips to help you decide if you or the worker is responsible for payroll taxes.
