New Tool Designed to Help Taxpayers Better Understand their Tax Obligations
Earlier this month, the AICPA introduced the Total Tax Insights calculator. This tool is designed to give U.S. taxpayers a clearer picture of their estimated total federal, state and local tax obligation. The calculator is powered by a database of more than 20 federal, state and local taxes for 3,035 U.S. countries, the District of…
Fresh Start Initiative Allows for More OIC Programs
Under the latest phase of the IRS’s Fresh Start Initiative, even more taxpayers will qualify to repay their student loans or pay off their delinquent state and local taxes with an Offer In Compromise (OIC.) This is due in large part to a change in the financial analysis that determines who qualifies for the OIC….
Six Reasons to Avoid Taking Out Payday Loans
With all the bad press and legislation aimed at making payday lending illegal, it’s amazing there are so many still in business. The reason for this is simple: it’s a quick way to get cash. Payday loans can be approved within a matter of hours and usually don’t require a credit check. They’re appealing to…
Tips to Finding Affordable, High-Quality Health Care
Affordable health care is hard to find, especially now that many health insurance companies are raising deductibles and switching from fixed-dollar co-payments to coinsurance. Health care is different than any other expense in that most people don’t know how much it actually costs. If someone tried to charge you $5 for a soda you’d know…
Tax-smart Tips to Help Pay for Your Child’s Education
Kids are expensive these days and even more so when they go off to college. Luckily, we live in a country that rewards parents for helping to pay for their child’s education. Parents and grandparents experience several tax breaks when it comes to giving money to children to help pay for their education. Here are…
Tips to Managing Your Digital Expenses
Technology is well known for making things easier for consumers, especially spending money. In a recent poll, more than half of U.S. adults say that technology has made it easier to spend money. Research also showed that Americans spend an average of $166 a month on cable TV, Internet access, mobile phone service and other…
New Personal Income Tax Changes
Below you will find further information about the personal income tax changes in the Public Act (PA) 28 of 2011, which became effective on Janury 1, 2012. Business tax changes, which can be found in PA 39 and 40 of 2011, were also among the recent tax restructuring. PA 38 of 2011 PA 38 of…
Seven Tips to Protect Against Data Breaches
Data breaching has become more and more common with the growth of the Internet. Fraudsters often get credit card numbers over the Internet and make fraudulent charges at the cardholder’s expense. Investigators are doing what they can to limit the number of breaches but there are some things consumers can do to help the cause…