Boost your federal income tax withholding if you expect to owe a lot to IRS. It can help avoid an underpayment penalty. You’re off the hook from the fine if you prepay at least 90% of your 2018 tax bill or 100% of what you owed for 2017 (110% if your 2017 adjusted gross income was more than […]
Business owners: Make sure your employment taxes are actually paid. You can’t just rely on the word of an employee or accountant that it’s done. Take this case in which IRS slapped penalties on a firm for failing to pay such taxes. A manager was responsible for paying the company’s payroll tax, but he didn’t […]
Many key dollar limits on IRAs and retirement plans will be higher in 2019. The maximum 401(k) contribution rises to $19,000. People born before 1970 can contribute an extra $6,000. These limits apply to 403(b) and 457 plans as well. The cap on SIMPLEs climbs to $13,000. People age 50 and up can put in […]
IRS has released a draft of the instructions for the 2018 Schedule A. It summarizes the changes to itemized deductions under the new tax law. Note that the combination of higher standard deductions and the paring back of itemized write-offs will lead to far fewer filers itemizing in 2018 than in prior years. The standard […]
See if you’re eligible for the 0% rate on long-term gains and qualified dividends. If taxable income other than gains or dividends does not exceed $38,600 for singles… $77,200 for joint filers…then dividends and profits on the sales of assets owned for more than a year are taxed at 0% until they push you over […]
