A Personal Finance Blog for Regular Folks
Most people don't enjoy paying taxes. But the more we know about them the better we can plan for them. Articles here contain information on new tax rules as well as how to save and plan for your taxes.
The nation’s most popular tax-preparation software continues to evolve and improve, providing even more reasons for the do-it-yourself tax preparer to select this product.
TurboTax has made several changes in its program, both to improve its service, and also to adjust to changes in the tax code.
Read on for our review of TurboTax and see what’s new for those filing their 2014 tax returns.
[Read more…] about TurboTax Online Review – What’s New for 2014 Return?
Pop Quiz – What’s your effective tax rate for 2014? How about your marginal tax rate?
Don’t worry if you’re not sure.
Truth is most of us have no idea what either our marginal or effective income tax rates are.
They only seem to matter at income tax filing time, usually appearing as supplemental numbers in a computer generated income tax return.
One of the reasons we tend not to track these numbers is because they’re calculations, which for the most part, have no immediate relevance to us, but also because of complications in calculating them.
Because we have a progressive income tax system — tax rates rise with income — and because there are multiple taxes, the actual numbers can be difficult to calculate. In addition, each rate can change from one year to the next or from complications in the tax code.
We have two tax rate classifications then, marginal tax rate and effective tax rate.
Keep reading and you’ll learn the difference between the two as well as why it’s important to know the difference between them.
[Read more…] about Marginal Tax Rate VS Effective Tax Rate – Why You Need to Know the Difference
For many, income reporting at tax time is fairly straightforward.
You get a W-2, there’s your income. The IRS gets a copy of the W-2, your state gets a copy, and you keep a copy for yourself. Your income is reported on this form, and you don’t have to worry a great deal about other income reporting.
However, in a world that increasingly provides opportunities to earn money from side hustles and investments, reporting income has become a little more complex.
It can be tempting to avoid reporting income to the IRS, but it’s important to remember that failure to report your income is illegal, and can result in fines and penalties and even criminal charges.
As the IRS works to recapture some of the revenue it feels it has been losing lately, you should understand that more people are reporting your income to the IRS than before.
So you need to be on your toes.
[Read more…] about Tax Time: Are You Reporting Your Income? Different Tax Forms to Look For
With more then 55 years in business, H&R Block is one of the most recognized tax preparation companies. Their do-it-yourself tax preparation with their online software, is one of the easiest ways to get your taxes done fast and accurately.
H&R Block online has a variety of support features and guarantees, making doing your taxes yourself worry free and simple.
[Read more…] about H&R Block At Home™ Online Tax Prep Software – Review
Whether you’re looking to do some cleaning, looking to go green or paperless, or just want to get a little more organized, Shoeboxed.com can help you.
Imagine this…
You’re getting ready to finally do your taxes. Besides all the tax forms you need you also have to put together your receipts. But where are they?
If you’re like most people they are piled up someplace, like a shoebox, waiting to be organized. Or they are spread out all over the place and you hope you can find each and every receipt.
Not fun.
Shoeboxed offers a service where you can send in your papers/receipts that you want a digital copy of, they’ll extract the data for you, and it’s all available in your own account.
They also allow you to scan in receipts yourself so you have one place to keep everything.
Read on in our review and you’ll see what Shoeboxed is all about and how it can help keep you organized for tax time and more!
And make sure you look for the special offer I worked out with Shoeboxed for Free From Broke readers!!
[Read more…] about Shoeboxed Review – Organize Your Receipts for Tax Time and More
