CPA

With soaring prices and record home equity, you may expect a profit when selling your property. Here's how to lessen the tax bite.

If you're among the millions scrambling to meet the April 18 tax deadline, it's critical to avoid errors that may flag your return or even trigger an IRS audit.

I recently found out my husband belongs to a singles group. The group meets once a week, and my husband never misses a meeting. -- SURPRISED, BUT NOT SURPRISEDDEAR SURPRISED: That a married man would join a singles group is galling. Contact your physician and ask to be screened for STDs in case your husband has “discovered” Viagra since joining the singles group. Dear Abby is written by Abigail Van Buren, also known as Jeanne Phillips, and was founded by her mother, Pauline Phillips.

Here's what you need to know about this year's complicated tax season to file your return correctly.

If you made a profit selling your home, you may owe capital gains taxes this season. Here's how to reduce your bill.

There are several reasons why your tax return may get flagged or audited by the IRS. Here’s how to avoid IRS scrutiny and processing delays.

Filing your taxes as soon as possible can protect against fraud and make sure you get any refund you're owed faster. Here's what to prepare now to get ready.

The profit you make when selling a home may be taxable. Here's how sellers can reduce their capital gains tax bill.

Visa and MasterCard are trying to help users spend and earn bitcoin, but accountants say these crypto debit and credit cards can lead to confusing tax bills.

Choice and Compass Mining teamed up to offer tax-free bitcoin mining within an IRA, but not all accountants are sure the IRS will approve.

Millions of families will start getting monthly payments through the enhanced child tax credit in July. Some may have to pay it back next year.

It can be difficult to switch from a saving mindset to a spending one when you retire. Here's how financial experts recommend preparing for post-work years.

And, you don't necessarily have to allocate your entire check to savings if you have multiple financial goals. Pay down debt If you have any outstanding debt, putting all or some of your stimulus check towards it is also a solid financial idea. This could be in a retirement account or other investment account that's invested in a range of stocks and bonds, depending on your timeline. Spend it If you are on solid ground with your finances including retirement savings and an emergency fund, you may also want to spend it. That might mean carving out some of the stimulus check to take a trip in the future or purchase an item you've been saving for.

States that currently tax unemployment benefits have yet to decide whether they will allow those state taxes to be waived as well. The federal government considers unemployment benefits to be taxable income, although taxes are not automatically withheld from benefits payments, the way an employer might take taxes out of your paycheck. The unemployment benefits she received during that time also resulted in a smaller tax refund this year. States such as Alabama, California, Montana, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Virginia already exempt unemployment benefits from taxation. ExtendPUA.org is pushing for all states to follow the federal government's lead and exempt unemployment benefits from taxation, Freed said.

States that currently tax unemployment benefits have yet to decide whether they will allow those state taxes to be waived as well. The federal government considers unemployment benefits to be taxable income, although taxes are not automatically withheld from benefits payments, the way an employer might take taxes out of your paycheck. The unemployment benefits she received during that time also resulted in a smaller tax refund this year. States such as Alabama, California, Montana, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Virginia already exempt unemployment benefits from taxation. ExtendPUA.org is pushing for all states to follow the federal government's lead and exempt unemployment benefits from taxation, Freed said.

Sen. Angus King, I-Maine, at the announcement of the $900 billion Covid-19 relief bill on Capitol Hill on Dec. 1, 2020. Taxpayers can file for a six-month extension up to the filing deadline date. The complexities this year stem from the relief efforts undertaken by Congress to help individuals and businesses affected by the pandemic. However, plenty of unresolved issues remain for business owners, with the solutions highly dependent on each business' unique circumstances. "If they haven't applied for loan forgiveness yet, they may want to wait and extend the credit," she added.

SDI Productions | E+ | Getty ImagesSome taxpayers are just now receiving a scary letter from the IRS: a warning that the federal taxman will seize their state income tax refund. As recently as this fall, the IRS has issued a so-called "notice of intent to levy" to taxpayers with an outstanding balance. The letter warns recipients that if they don't pay the amount due immediately, the agency will seize their state income tax refund and apply them to the balance owed. "We've sent back the requested documents, we've answered the questions to the initial notice — and they're acting like we've never responded at all." Postal Service showing that the letter was delivered, the client still received a "notice to levy" from the IRS in early November.

The longer you've been away from your home base, the greater the odds are that you could have new state tax obligations. Seven out of 10 weren't aware that working remotely in other states could affect their state tax bill, the AICPA found. A patchwork of state lawsTaxpayers who work in one location but reside in a different state could face a tax hit in both places. Other locales offer a credit to offset the income taxes workers pay in a different state. For instance, employers must start withholding state taxes if an employee has been in Arizona for more than 60 days.

Gary Yeowell | DigitalVision | Getty ImagesIf you worked remotely from a different state while waiting out the pandemic, you just might wind up facing a tax surprise when you file next year. Indeed, more than half of remote workers polled by the American Institute of CPAs said they were unaware that they could face tax consequences if they didn't adjust their state tax withholding to reflect their work situation. Further, seven states tax teleworking employees based on where their employer's office is located. This is how people end up filing two or three state tax returns. For instance, employers must start withholding state taxes if an employee has been in Arizona for more than 60 days.

The American Institute Of CPSs is offering financial advice for troubled times. Recession-proof your investmentsSet financial goals, stay diversified and revisit asset allocation regularly to manage market fluctuations. Create a crisis budget in troubled timesExamine current income against current living expenses. Pay with money you havedo not use credit and make matters worse. READ MORE: Lessons Learned from COVID-19 can help Americans Recession-Proof their Finances: AICPA Survey

The IRS is giving taxpayers extra relief on upcoming deadlines, pushing the due date for more returns and payments to July 15. Taxpayers have three more months to submit their 2019 income tax returns and payments, and now the IRS is granting additional time for other documents and payments, the agency said on Thursday night. Among the items that are pushed back to July 15:*Second quarter estimated tax payments, which would have otherwise been due on June 15. Taxpayers have until July 15 to submit both first and second quarter estimated taxes, as well as income tax payments and returns for estates and trusts, the IRS said. Initially, the IRS pushed first quarter estimated taxes to July 15, but left the deadline for second quarter payments on June 15.

PeopleImages | E+ | Getty ImagesRestaurants and concert venues aren't the only places that are off limits due to coronavirus. Even though the deadline for 2019 income tax returns has been pushed back to July 15, they're still working to wrap up clients' paperwork in a timely fashion. Further, accountants are also picking apart the new coronavirus relief law, helping filers comprehend the stimulus payments many are supposed to receive. Filers may want to sit on their returns for three months, but those who get their paperwork out quickly get two benefits. Second, your COVID-19 stimulus payment is based on your 2018 or 2019 return.

Rowan JordanThe next coronavirus relief bill might resurrect the state and local tax deduction and overburdened accountants are less than thrilled. In an interview with The New York Times, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., raised the prospect of retroactively reinstating the so-called SALT itemized deduction in a fourth coronavirus relief bill to put more cash in the pockets of Americans. Tax overhaulsAbout 16 million taxpayers claimed the SALT deduction for the 2018 tax year, according to the IRS' analysis of returns processed through Nov 21, 2019. This resulted in fewer people taking itemized deductions like the SALT deduction. This gives them until Oct. 15 to submit their federal tax returns, but their taxes must be paid by July 15.

Thomas Fricke | Getty ImagesThere's aggressive tax planning and then there's claiming tax breaks for bodybuilding oils and landscaping. The 2018 tax overhaul has made it harder for filers to claim itemized deductions. The legislation also eliminated a grab-bag of obscure tax breaks, known as miscellaneous itemized deductions. In the most extreme cases, the matter may wind up before the U.S. Tax Court, where battles with the IRS can take years after the audit and appeals processes. Here are five unusual tax breaks that filers have claimed.

Local 4 Business Editor Rod Meloni offers some helpful advice moving into 2020 in this week’s Money Monday. The earlier you detect fraudulent activity, the easier it is to stop it.” – Diane Wightman, CPA member of the AICPA Financial Literacy Commission8. The sooner you start, the more of your hard-earned money you can reclaim.” – Neal Stern, CPA member of the AICPA Financial Literacy Commission9. You may be surprised at just how much money you can save with this simple strategy.” – Neal Stern, CPA member of the AICPA Financial Literacy Commission11. Though tedious, it pays to shop around for higher rates to make sure your money works as hard as you do."

It trimmed individual income tax rates, bringing the top rate down to 37% from 39.6%. Corporations also got relief, as their income tax rates fell to 21% from 35%. Here's where many Americans got tangled up as the new tax law lowered rates across the board. This confounded taxpayers, as they measured the success of the new tax law based on whether they had bigger refunds. "The biggest way the new tax law was botched was the failure to communicate the difference between a lower tax liability for the year versus lower tax bills in April," said Jeffrey Levine, CPA and director of financial planning at BluePrint Wealth Alliance.

Photo by Hero Images via Getty ImagesYou may feel ready to work beyond age 65. The organization did an online survey of 1,825 employers and 4,649 workers from October through December 2018. If you want to stretch out your career into your retirement years, you'll need to work out a plan with your boss. "If you're an employer, and being smart about your older employees, retirement is done in phases," he said. Older employees can also train and mentor others in the workplace an opportunity that 23% of the polled employers make available.

wundervisuals | E+ | Getty ImagesIf you're panicking over Wednesday's market declines, here's your silver lining: You might have a great opportunity to save on taxes. That's because when you convert to a Roth, you pay income taxes in the present based on the amount converted from the traditional IRA. Second, there are the lower income tax rates that are now in effect due to the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. This tax overhaul trimmed the individual income tax rates, so if you're converting in 2018, you're likely paying a lower income tax rate than you would have in previous years. It's something to bear in mind in the event you convert some of your savings now and the market tanks in 2019.