Taxes Blog

The first paychecks of 2011 are being prepared. Or maybe you’ve already gotten one. You might be in for a surprise. Despite all the talk about the 2 percent payroll tax cut that’s in effect this year, including by me here on Bankrate’s Taxes Blog, some folks won’t get any benefit from the new law.

Happy tax filing season 2011! OK, that doesn’t have quite the same ring as happy New Year or happy birthday. And I know most of you aren’t as thrilled with the arrival of filing season as I am. But since you are reading a tax blog, I figure you’re up for a little tax-related celebration.

If you want to file your 2010 taxes early this year, you might be out of luck. The IRS is not quite ready to handle every tax return because Congress took so long to pass tax legislation that applies to the 2010 tax year. So the IRS is telling taxpayers who itemize or who claim

Are the tax gods conspiring against tax refund anticipation loans? It appears so. The partnership between the nation’s largest tax preparation firm and its refund loan lender is over. These short-term loans, often referred to as RALs, have long been popular among impatient taxpayers who don’t want to wait for the Internal Revenue Service to send

If you’re anything like me, you probably got an unwanted Christmas present: a cold. But if you have a medical flexible spending account, or FSA, your sniffles also could help you maximize your 2010 tax savings. You put money into this workplace benefit before taxes are taken out of your check. Then you use the untaxed medical account funds

Not so long ago when it looked like the Bush tax cuts might expire, we were all worrying about the possibility of shrinking paychecks. Now we’re worrying if our employers can get the new withholding tables in place to make sure our paydays will be bigger. A 2 percent payroll tax cut is part of the Tax

One of the key provisions of the tax bill that the House could vote on as early as today deals with the alternative minimum tax, or AMT. By now, most taxpayers know about this parallel tax system that disallows certain popular tax deductions and which ends up creating higher tax bills for affected folks. Even more

As the deal President Barack Obama reached with Republicans to extend the expiring income tax cuts moves toward final approval, House Democrats are plotting their last stand against the bill. That final fight looks to be about the inevitable meeting of death and taxes. On Monday, the Senate cleared a procedural hurdle, voting to vote

Amid all the tax-cut plan brouhaha this week, another key tax story slipped by relatively unnoticed. Wesley Snipes reported to federal prison on Dec. 9 to begin serving his three-year sentence for not filing tax returns. The actor, best known for his roles as the title character “Blade” in the vampire hunter movie trilogy, has been

It looks like the outcome we expected all along will happen. The president announced a deal has been reached by bipartisan negotiators to extend the expiring Bush tax cuts for two more years. There will be much debate over the fiscal and political wisdom of the extension. But when push comes to shove on Capitol Hill