The Gulf Opportunity Zone Act of 2005 (HR 4440, PL 109-135), has been signed into law by President Bush. The law extends the same tax relief made available to Hurricane ... Read More

The IRS Small Business/Self Employed Division has released vital information for individuals and small businesses who need help reconstructing documents that have been lost, damaged, or destroyed as a result ... Read More

Taxpayers already love their Roth IRAs. And why not? Roth IRAs offer tax-free income in retirement. Starting on January 1, 2006, employers can offer Roth 401(k) retirement accounts. This would ... Read More

Tax professor Paul Caron always finds a way to connect taxes with current events. Apparently taxes was the main reason why Jesus was born in Bethlehem instead of Nazareth, TaxProf ... Read More

So many readers can emailed me about the new tax credit for hybrid cars and trucks. It looks like lots of people are ready to buy their new car now. ... Read More

Every so often I get an absolutely brilliant question. Last week I got three -- all asking the same thing. Here's some background. If you have bank accounts outside the United ... Read More

Starting in 2006, the IRS will grant you an automatic 6-month extension of time to file your tax return. According to the IRS, "most individuals and businesses will be able ... Read More

Nearly everyone will soon be receiving a W-2. You know, that all-important tax document reporting how much money you really earned at your job. You need a W-2 before you ... Read More

The IRS has released the 2006 version of Form W-4. Use this form to adjust the level of income tax withholding on your paycheck. How to Fill Out Form W-4

Line-by-line instructions for IRS Form 1040A for the 2005 tax year are now available. Form 1040-A Instructions for Preparing Your 2005 Taxes - available here on About.com 2005 Tax Forms - ... Read More

MSNBC is running a great little article on tax breaks for the victims of Hurricane Katrina. This repeats many of the provisions I have already highlighted in my article on ... Read More

New York Times reporter Paul Lim provides some excellent advice for minimizing the tax bite on investments in his article Giving Yourself a Tax Cut on Investments. Among his interesting ... Read More

The Internal Revenue Service's Office of Professional Responsibility has released scores for the 2005 Special Enrollment Examination. This was a two-day test on federal income taxation administered by the IRS ... Read More

Line-by-line instructions for IRS Form 1040EZ for the 2005 tax year is now available. Form 1040-EZ Instructions for Preparing Your 2005 Taxes - available here on About.com 2005 Tax Forms - ... Read More

The House of Representatives passed a tax bill that would extend President Bush's tax cuts for capital gains and dividends another two years. The lower long-term capital gains tax rates ... Read More

The House of Representatives passed a tax bill that would prevent more middle-income taxpayers from falling prey to the alternative minimum tax. The bill would increase the AMT exemption amounts ... Read More

I believe 100% that tax information is private, confidential, and should not be shared with anyone. Period. I have always offered my clients the strongest possible privacy policy, and I ... Read More

A reader recently asked if it was true that charitable contributions are now 100% deductible. The answer is an astonishing, yes! HR 3768 allows taxpayers to deduct cash contributions made ... Read More

You can claim a dependent if the person meets the criteria as a qualifying child or qualifying relative. These new rules apply for tax years starting in 2005. The old ... Read More

The standard business mileage rate for 2006 will be 44.5 cents per mile. You can find the 2006 standard mileage rates along with a link to the 2005 standard mileage ... Read More

An estimated 73% of middle-class families would be hit with the dreaded alternative minimum tax if Congress doesn't act to fix the tax code. According to the New York Times, ... Read More

Victims of Hurricane Katrina can take advantage of several federal relief programs. The IRS offers a range of tax relief provisions, which are highlighted in my article on Hurricane Tax ... Read More

Small and mid-size businesses are finding a wealth of useful features in the newly redesigned Quickbooks 2006 accounting software. In the month or so that I've been using Quickbooks 2006, ... Read More

Dear Tax Guide, I'm thinking of buying a hybrid car next year. The model I'm thinking about looks like it will include a hybrid car tax credit of $3,150. So ... Read More