Saturday November 21, 2009
The Internal Revenue Service is trying to deliver some $123.5 million in refund checks that have been returned to the agency by the Postal Service.
Individuals can check the status of their refund check online using the IRS's Where's My Refund? application. You can also call a special refund hotline at 1-800-829-1954.
The most common reason for a refund check to be sent back to the IRS is that the taxpayer has moved and not left a forwarding address with the Postal Service. You can update your address information with the IRS by filing out Form 8822, Change of Address (pdf, 2 pages including instructions) and mailing this to the appropriate IRS Service Center (addresses are listed on page two of the form).
Friday November 6, 2009
Congress has passed and President Obama has signed into law HR 3548, the Worker, Homeownership & Business Assistance Act of 2009. This law extends unemployment compensation benefits. "The extension provides for 14 weeks of extended benefit coverage for every state and an additional 6 weeks, for a total of 20 weeks, in high unemployment states where unemployment is over 8.5%," reports Alison Doyle, About.com's Guide to Job Searching.
The law provides a number of tax law changes as well. Some extend or enhance current tax breaks, while other changes are designed as revenue raisers. Here's highlights of the tax changes. Read more...
Tuesday November 3, 2009
The maximum foreign earned income exclusion for 2010 is $91,500, an increase of $100 over the 2009 maximum.
Tuesday November 3, 2009
For the year 2010, the personal exemption amount is $3,650 for yourself, your spouse and each dependent you are eligible to claim. This amount is unchanged from the 2009 amount. However there's one significant change for 2010. Unlike previous years, personal exemptions will not be reduced as a person's income increases.