My mom and I are pretty different. She has Christmas sweaters and gold lame shoes, I wear a lot of black. She watches bull riding, I prefer baseball. She doesn’t like the cold, I love the snow. She thinks the city is too loud, I think the country is too quiet. And gasp… she doesn’t use Twitter. Or Facebook. Or Skype.

But she’s my mom. And she’s pretty awesome.

As I sit here, nervously sipping on a coffee (she doesn’t drink coffee either, another thing I don’t understand about her), I’ve been thinking a lot about how much she means to me and how much I’ve learned from her. And I figured I’d share some of her wisdom with you. Her truths are pretty universal – and they apply to tax and finance just as much as they do to life.

So here are nine things I’ve learned about tax from my mom:

Have a plan. When I was a kid, money was tight. My mom knew that she had to budget, so she had a plan. Every two weeks, she made out a shopping list organized by store and aisle (yes, we hit more than one store, you did that in those days). She consulted the sales papers (they came out on Thursdays) and she organized her coupons. At the store, as my brothers and I swung on the carts (the ones that said for kids not to do such things), she quickly and efficiently did her shopping with a chunky calculator in hand, adding up her purchases as we went along so as not to go over her budget. It worked. When the cashier rung up our groceries, there was never a moment where we had to collectively hold our breath to make sure that we could afford what was in our cart. We already knew. The same strategy works with taxes. Know what you can afford and plan ahead. Always review your tax returns after you sign them – don’t just put them away – to see why you owed (or didn’t) and make any necessary changes for the new year as soon as possible. Adjust your forms W-4 (for withholding) if necessary, especially if you had a significant life event like getting married or having a baby. Make estimated payments throughout the year if you think you’re going to owe. If possible – and especially if you run your own business – meet with your accountant on a quarterly basis to make sure that you’re on track. You don’t want any surprises come tax time.

Don’t be greedy. My mom is an amazing cook. She makes a carrot cake that’s so good it would make you blush – and reach for seconds, if not thirds. But my mom also went to great lengths to remind us that there was no need to be greedy, sometimes one piece is enough. The same logic applies in the tax world. You’re completely entitled to take appropriate credits and deductions. The law doesn’t require you to pay more taxes than you have to pay. But be smart. Don’t puff up deductions or claim credits that you’re not entitled to take. Don’t stretch the truth. You’re just putting yourself at risk for audit. Remember, pigs get fat, hogs get slaughtered.

Neatness counts. My handwriting is terrible. It’s always been terrible maybe because I’m always in a rush. But it could be worse. When I was a kid, my mom used to make us practice our penmanship by copying articles from the newspaper. I would complain loudly because I didn’t see the point. I was, I would remind my mom, a very good student. And mom would reply that it didn’t matter how good a student I was if nobody could read what I wrote. She was right. Neatness counts. Believe it or not, the IRS still counts human error among the top reasons for flagged returns. Rushing through your return can result in mistakes. If you print your returns, make sure that your writing is neat. And if you use a computer program, make sure that you’ve entered the right info: it’s easy to transpose digits on Social Security numbers, wage amounts and even bank accounts for Direct Deposit. Your documentation should likewise be neat: receipts for business and charitable expenses, mileage logs and other forms must be legible to be considered valid.

Show your work. I enjoyed math as a kid (I still do) and I was good at it. I could do a lot of figures in my head which came in handy on math team. But my teachers insisted that I show my work. And I hated to show my work because I knew that I was right. But my mom, like my teachers, made me show my work. “How else,” she would query, “will you know that you’re right?” (For the record, “I just do” was not an acceptable answer.) The IRS is on the same page. You must be able to document everything – from medical expenses to gambling losses – in order to properly claim deductions and credits. Guessing isn’t good enough enough. You need receipts, mileage logs and other required documentation in order to substantiate your claims.

Be generous. We had more than a few lean Christmas holidays. And yet, every single Christmas, my mom would insist that we do something for a family who had greater needs than ours. I learned very early on that it was important to give back no matter what your own financial circumstances. And when we couldn’t give money, we gave our time. I watched as my mom visited the sick, volunteered in schools, cooked for those in need and taught illiterate adults to read. She was never judge-y or preachy. She just did. This is something that I hope I can pass along to my own children. And the great thing, from a tax perspective, is that you can take a deduction for your efforts if you itemize. While you can’t deduct your time volunteering, you can deduct your out of pocket expenses. And of course, you can also deduct the value of cash and non-cash items that you donate to qualified charities.

Follow the rules. In the seventh grade, a teacher threatened to give me a failing grade on my report card because he said that I had not turned in a final project. I had turned in the project and I told him so. He denied it. And I called him a liar in.front.of.my.mother. She immediately grounded me because the rule in our house was that you don’t disrespect grown-ups, no matter what the reason. It turned out that the teacher found my project and I got an A. And I stayed grounded. My mom told me that it wasn’t always about being right (which I was) but that I still had to follow the rules. Like my mom, the IRS is big on rules. Pay attention to them. You have to sign and date your return. You have to timely file your return – in fact, dates matter to the IRS a great deal not just when it comes to filing original returns but for filing amended returns, claims for refund and requests for reconsideration. Don’t assume that you get a pass because you’re right. You still have to follow the rules.

Remember that life isn’t always fair. Today isn’t the first time my mom has spent time in the hospital. When I was a little girl, my mom got cancer (thankfully, she got better). Since that time, she’s had some pretty tough luck. Her mom died of cancer. Her dad died suddenly of a heart attack. She got diabetes and a damaged heart valve. And while I was willing to wail and complain about every little thing that happened to me that it wasn’t fair, my mom would cheerfully remind me that “life is not fair.” And she was right. You might get bad advice. Your employer might screw up a form. You might be the target of a random audit. Bad things happen, even to good people. But complaining won’t make it better. Don’t freak out and don’t put your head in the sand. You can fix this. Open the mail. Ask for help. And know that things will get better.

Keep learning. My mom is smart. She’s well read. But she’s not a college graduate. She grew up as the youngest daughter in a family of eight children in the rural South. Opportunities for girls to go to college were pretty limited; maybe that’s the reason it was so important for her for me to finish college. But my mom didn’t give up on education just because she wasn’t in school anymore – and neither should you. It’s true that tax laws can be confusing but that’s no excuse for not reviewing your return and asking questions. Make an effort to know what the rules are, at least as they apply to you. Read the newspaper, follow a tax blog, make friends with a tax professional. Nobody expects you to be an expert but you should know enough to be dangerous.

Be kind. Thinking back, I can count the number of times that I’ve heard my mom raise her voice to someone other than a member of my family on one hand (and my brothers totally deserved it). She chastises me for my lack of manners from time to time, reminding me to be nice to people. And it’s a good lesson – perhaps the best one of all. It pays to be kind, not just to your family and friends, but to your financial advisors, your attorney and your tax professionals. They’re trying to help you, remember? And that IRS rep? The examining agent? The Revenue Officer? Just doing their job. Starting out on a bad note won’t help you and will likely just make things worse. Take a breath. Remember rule #7. Smile. It will get you further than you think. Trust my mom on that one.

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Even this Eagles girl had to admit that Super Bowl XLVI lived up to its hype… No wonder a record 166.7 million U.S. viewers tuned in to watch Eli Manning and his New York Giants stun defeat Tom Brady and his New England Patriots – and at halftime, they watched Madonna strut awkwardly around a self-indulgent stage with a Neil Simon look-alike wire dancer and rapper M.I.A. It was, according to the record books, the most-watched show in the history of television in the United States.

Viewers who tuned in early enough saw Tom Brady commit a massive sin by intentionally grounding the ball while in the end zone. The result was a safety which means that the Giants earned two points from Brady’s mistake. And it was a pretty rare mistake: it was the first safety in a championship game in three years. Despite the low odds, at least one sports fan predicted that a safety would be the first score of the game: Benjamin Lyons tweeted a photo of his winning bet in Vegas. He won $51,000 for his prediction.

What resulted in a bonus for Lyons was likely a bust for many others who played the odds. Two points on a play doesn’t happen very often in football so the final score probably didn’t match many predictions – and possibly screwed up a couple of under/overs. And since folks gamble on everything when it comes to Super Bowl (experts predict that nearly half of all American adults will make some sort of wager on the game), I’m guessing there were a few more losers than winners Sunday night.

What does all of that mean come tax time? The law requires you to report your gambling winnings no matter what the amount. Casual gamblers must report their winnings on line 21 (other income) of a federal form 1040 (the form 1040-EZ isn’t equipped to handle gambling winnings or the forms W-2G). So easy, right?

But what if you lose? And trust me, being from Philadelphia, this is a reality for sports fans. Unfortunately, while you must claim all gambling winnings on your return, you can only deduct your losses if you itemize your deductions. It is a miscellaneous deduction, though, thankfully not subject to the 2% limit. If you do not file a Schedule A, you cannot deduct your gambling losses no matter how great.

If you do itemize your deductions, you can claim your losses if you meet some criteria. Specifically, you must be able to document your losses. This means that you need to substantiate the amount of the loss, the date of the loss and the name and location of the gambling establishment. Be smart and keep a journal of your wins and losses. It will not only be great documentation for the IRS, it’ll be a great conversation piece some day – unless you’re an Eagles fan, in which case it will be just a sad, sad statement on your over reliance on Andy Reid’s game management (or lack thereof).

What if you lose more than you win? Sadly, you’re out of luck: not only does it stink, you cannot deduct more in losses than you report in winnings.

Assuming that it’s just occasionally, playing the odds whether at the casino or as part of the office pool can be fun. There are also real tax and financial consequences (and depending on the nature of the bets, also legal) to making wagers. Make sure you understand how bets, no matter how big or small, may affect you.

And as for this wild ride that was the NFC this season, as I tweeted on Sunday night, “You’re welcome, Giants. Love, the Eagles.”

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Congress passed the Bank Secrecy Act (sometimes referred to as BSA or the Currency and Foreign Transactions Reporting Act), which included cash reporting requirements and FBAR (Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts) rules, in 1970 as the first laws to fight which crime in the US?

For more about the giveaway, including rules and prizes, check out this post.

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The emails claim to be from Intuit (specifically security@intuit.com) with a subject header that says something like “Urgent update of tax information is requested” or “Tax information required within 30 days.” It may look like this:

In case you can’t make out the text, it says:

Dear Account Holder,

In our continuing effort to guarantee that exact data is being sustained on our systems, as well as to provide you better quality of service; INTUIT INC. has participated in the Internal Revenue Service [IRS] Name and TIN Matching Program.

We have discovered, that your name and/or Taxpayer Identification Number, that is stated on your account does not correspond to the data on file with the Social Security Administration.

In order to check the data on your account, please click here.

Regards,
INTUIT INC.

Corporate Headquarters
2632 Marine Way
Mountain View, CA 94043

There are a few variations on this theme but largely, the gist is that they want you to confirm your tax identification number. Don’t. Don’t click on any links and don’t give out your personal information. The link likely contains a virus that could infect your computer or direct you to a site in order to steal your identity or otherwise access your financial information.

The emails that came my way were from an address in Poland marked as “an abusable web server” by my spam filter. The address was also flagged by Barracuda Reputation System (a real-time database of IP addresses) as having a “poor” reputation and is listed on the Barracuda Reputation Block List, a free DNSBL of IP addresses known to send spam.

If you get one of these, best to delete it. If you’re not sure, you can forward any suspicious emails purporting to be from Intuit to the company directly via spoof@intuit.com.

(Author’s update: I contacted the folks at Intuit who advised that you can find out more about these scams through their corporate security web site, security.intuit.com. Additionally, you can read more about a similar scam in January scam here.)

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Our next tax trivia question is:

Taxpayers may indicate on their tax returns that money be given to the Presidential Election Campaign Fun. About how much money was given to the Presidential Election Campaign Fund from 2010 tax returns?

For more about the giveaway, including rules and prizes, check out this post.

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I don’t make a habit of posting about celebrity tax woes. Quite frankly, I don’t get why most taxpayers care if an occasional pop star or movie mogul owes a few thousand dollars to the IRS (other than a little schadenfreude) since most of the time, I tend to believe that it’s the result of a mistake.

I think it’s different when there are allegations of criminal activity (a la Wesley Snipes or Method Man) or when the behavior is so egregious and outrageous (think Richard Hatch) that it can’t be overlooked. I also think it makes sense to report on celebrity tax mistakes when there’s a real lesson to be learned (such as Sharon Osbourne’s tweets about her trust her financial advisors too much or when Nicholas Cage claimed that he was told his deductions were legitimate) or when it affects taxpayers because it’s someone we trusted to do the right thing (like Rangel or a string of Obama nominees). Those items are newsworthy.

So when I saw the headlines today advising which celebs owe taxes (yes, there are always a handful at any given time), I just skimmed over them without as much as raising an eyebrow until I saw… Lil Kim.

Lil Kim (whose real name is Kimberly Denise Jones) is a rap artist who, after a stint in federal prison in Philadephia on perjury charges relating to a shooting, promised to try and turn her life around. She left prison in a Rolls Royce Phantom (valued at about $350,000) on July 5, 2006, on three years probation. Less than three years after her release, she made an appearance on ABC’s Dancing With the Stars, paired with über DWTS pro Derek Hough in what was billed as an effort to reinvent herself. Her on air efforts seemed to work since she danced her way through the competition to warm reviews.

Fan admiration didn’t stop the IRS from knocking on her door, however. That year, it was revealed that Lil Kim owed more than $1 million in state and federal back taxes. Her spokesperson at the time advised that Lil Kim was working to pay down her debt.

Apparently she wasn’t working hard enough. The same year, 2009, that she made that statement (and undoubtedly some cash for her DWTS appearances), Lil Kim failed to pay her federal income taxes. Again. For 2009, she owes the IRS $86,347.85. That’s a pretty meager sum in the grand scheme of things and hardly noteworthy on its own except that, according TMZ, court documents indicate that Lil Kim owes money every year from 2002-2009. Every year. At that point, it’s no longer a mistake.

A rep, of course, has again advised that she’s working to resolve the situation. Let’s hope she can get it right this time.

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Internal Revenue Service (Photo credit: functoruser)

You can probably guess that I tend to recommend finding a competent, reliable tax professional to help you out come tax time. I’m not too proud to say that I don’t do my own taxes anymore, not because I enjoy paying someone else to do them but because I want to stay married.

Let’s face it. Taxes can be stressful for some taxpayers and anything that you can do to make it easier on yourself, the better.

That said, some folks may not have the means to pay a preparer. Or maybe you’re just a masochist and want to do your own taxes for fun (it happens). Free (or low cost) tax preparation services and software are available, you just have to find them. Follows are some resources that might be helpful:

• IRS Free File. The IRS wants you to use Free File. I know this because they send me a lot of emails telling me so. They also shout at taxpayers on their web site: EVERYONE is Eligible to Free File! Since it’s in all caps, you know they’re serious. There are two versions of Free File: one, a free, federal income tax prep and electronic filing program for eligible taxpayers and the other, Free File Fillable Forms (see more below).
  • The Free File program that you and I tend to think of is the free, federal income tax prep and electronic filing program developed through a partnership between the IRS and the Free File Alliance, a group of private sector tax software companies. With the program, eligible taxpayers can do their federal income tax returns using commercial online software available through IRS.gov. Eligible taxpayers mean those that have Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) of $57,000 or less; believe it or not, the IRS says that encompasses 70% of taxpayers. Other limits may also apply; you can use the Free File online tool to find a company that’s best suited to you.
  • If your AGI is more than $57,000, the IRS offers Free File Fillable Forms – try saying that three times quickly. Free File Fillable Forms is a simple electronic equivalent of paper forms. The software performs some basic math and field error checking but that’s it. It does not walk you through your tax return in an “interview” fashion like many retail software packages. This means that you have to have a certain level of comfort with your tax returns in order to use the software.
• IRS VITA. I’m a big fan of VITA, or the IRS Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Program. This is in-person tax preparation for low to moderate income taxpayers at centers around the country. That tends to mean taxpayers with AGI of $50,000 or less. Federal tax returns are prepared by trained volunteers; I can vouch for the training as I worked for years with great folks at a local VITA site. To locate a VITA site, call 1.800.906.9887 or find a site online.
• IRS TCE. The IRS offers free preparation for those ages 60 and above through its Tax Counseling for the Elderly (TCE). Like the VITA program, TCE centers are staffed with volunteers. As part of the program, the AARP offers Tax-Aide counseling program at more than 7,000 sites nationwide during the filing season. To find a Tax-Aide site, call 1.888.227.7669 or check out the AARP’s website.
• AFTC Help. The Armed Forces Tax Council consists of tax program coordinators for the Marine Corps, Air Force, Army, Navy and Coast Guard. At tax time, volunteers work with sailors (Go Navy!), soldiers, marines, airmen, and guardsmen and their families to provide free tax preparation help at offices within their installations. Specifically, these sites – through the VITA program – are trained and equipped to address military specific tax issues, such as combat zone tax benefits and those pesky new Earned Income Tax Credit guidelines.
• Commercial/retail software packages. Most of the popular software packages, like TurboTax, CompleteTax, H&R Block, Tax Slayer, TaxACT and Jackson-Hewitt, offer a free bare bones tax preparation option. In most cases, this means a basic return (like a 1040-EZ) or a limited form 1040. Extras – like exile and state returns – may cost you. As with anything, read the fine print to make sure you know what you’re getting.
• Churches, law firms and generally good guys and gals. Not all free tax preparation sites are IRS-sponsored. Sometimes, the private sector offers free tax services. Check your local newspaper, radio and TV to see if there are any free tax prep services offered near you. But be smart. If a tax prep service pops up overnight, ask questions before you hand over your financial information.
• Cool tax blogs. *clears throat* Like I’m not going to remind you about my contest? I still have free tax software through CCH to give away… Don’t miss your chance!

So you have lots of options. But before you log off the computer and sprint away to get your taxes done, listen to a few more pieces of information.

First, free can be good. I like free. But free isn’t always free and free isn’t always better.

Ask questions and check out any service or provider that you’re considering to find out whether there are any hidden fees or caveats. Be wary of add-ons or other extras that can jack up the cost from free to well, not free.

Don’t respond to solicitations for free tax prep services online or over the phone: it could be a scam. And by could be, I mean probably. Don’t reply to emails or click on links from random companies. Don’t give out personal or financial information via email purporting to be from IRS (they won’t ask via email) or a company with which you didn’t initiate contact.

Make sure you have a level of comfort with both the level of competence and trustworthiness of the preparer: if something doesn’t feel right, trust your gut. You’re not obligated to use anyone’s services and it’s completely okay to get up and leave. Those same rules from before about tax preparers – they still apply here. That said, if you don’t feel that you’re getting good service, take a deep breath. Please remember that most of these folks are volunteers and they’re trying to do a nice thing, so mind your manners. There’s no need to be snippy or rude – you know your mother taught you better. And say thank you.

There’s a lot of help out there. You just need to know where to look – and now you do!

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The man who is largely responsible for writing the modern day Tax Code, Ward M. Hussey, also drafted language for other major legislation including which large-scale program meant to help rebuild European economies after the end of World War II and stop the spread of Soviet communism?

For more about the giveaway, including rules and prizes, check out this post.

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Image by Getty Images North America via @daylife

If you follow the blog regularly, you’ll know that I’m not a fan of the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC). So maybe it wasn’t so much of a surprise to anyone that I managed to miss Earned Income Tax Credit Awareness Day at IRS. Yes, there is one. And yes, it was last week (January 27, to be exact). And no, I don’t want to think about how much money IRS spends on the annual outreach campaign for the credit (the IRS says that the campaign is necessary since one in five taxpayers eligible for the credit fail to claim it).

But it is what it is.

So let’s talk EITC.

The EITC is a refundable federal income tax credit targeted to low to moderate income working individuals and families. Refundable means that even if the credit exceeds the tax liability, the taxpayer doesn’t lose the excess and is entitled to receive any overage as a refund. This is, as you can imagine, pretty desirable.

The credit has been around since 1975. It was intended to offset the burden of Social Security taxes – a chunk of your pay over and above federal income taxes – and to provide an incentive to work since the credit is only available to workers who earn money from wages, self employment or farm income. Critics, however, claim that it’s nothing more than a glorified subsidy. Other critics, like me, recognize that it’s one of the “easy targets” for abuse in the system. The IRS estimates an error rate of 23%-28% on EITC returns, or about $13 to $16 billion paid out in error. Yes, billion with a b.

As part of the IRS’ efforts to reduce taxpayer fraud as it relates to EITC, tax pros are now required to practice EITC due diligence.

What happens if there’s a screw up? Taxpayers can be assessed penalties and interest for EITC errors and in some cases, taxpayers can be barred from claiming EITC for 2 or 10 years. Tax preparers who fail to comply with the due diligence rules can be assessed a $500 penalty for each failure; they can also be subject to disciplinary actions which could include suspension or expulsion from participation in IRS e-file, prohibition from preparing tax returns and even criminal prosecution.

(Author’s note: The original version of this post stated that the penalty for not complying with the EITC due diligence was $100. That was based on IRS Pub 4687 which was printed in 2011 and remains on the IRS web site. However, reader rebeccahart advised that the penalty had been raised to $500 for 2012. And yes, in fact, it has been as of October 21, 2011 as part of – wait for it - The United States-Korea Free Trade Implementation Act. Makes perfect sense (not). Thanks, rebeccahart for the correction!)

Tax preparers demonstrate EITC due diligence by being thoroughly familiar with the EITC laws. Tax preparers must review client information, ask the right questions and document the answers on a form 8867, Paid Preparer’s Earned Income Credit Checklist (downloads as a pdf). The form and related documentation has to be retained for three years from June 30 following the date the taxpayer signs the return.

So why all the fraud? Why all the confusion? One of the reasons that taxpayers may not claim the credit is because it varies by income, family size and filing status. There is no one size fits all criteria for the credit. Here are the general rules for eligibility:

• $49,078 or less from wages, self-employment or farm income
• Valid Social Security Number (if you are filing a joint return, your spouse also must have a valid Social Security Number)
• Filing status not as married filing separately
• U.S. citizen or resident alien all year or a nonresident alien married to a U.S. citizen or resident alien and filing a joint return
• Not a qualifying child of another person (if you are filing a joint return, your spouse also cannot be a qualifying child of another person)
• Not have investment income over a certain amount
• Not file federal form 2555 or 2555-EZ

AND

• Have a qualifying child who meets four tests (Age, Relationship, Residency and Joint Return tests)

OR

• Age 25 but under 65 at the end of the year
• Live in the United States for more than half the year, and
• Not qualify as a dependent of another person

So easy peasy, right? Okay, so not so easy. The EITC can be tricky so do rely on the kindness of your tax professionals to help you out on this one.

How much credit is available depends on a number of factors, including the number of children. Childless taxpayers can earn a credit of up to $464; those taxpayers with three or more qualifying children could receive a credit of up to $5,751. The average EITC amount last year was around $2,240. Those are pretty good numbers.

Image via Wikipedia

Our next tax trivia question is:

The original purpose of the Social Security number, which was introduced in 1935, was to to track individuals’ accounts within the Social Security program.

In 1938, as part of a promotion to sell wallets primarily through Woolworth’s, wallet manufacturer E. H. Ferree Company used a sample Social Security card to demonstrate how it would fit into its wallets. THe sample was placed inside each wallet and displayed the Social Security number of the company’s secretary, Mrs. Hilda Schrader Whitcher. Even though the sample card was half of the size of an actual Social Security card, was written in red, and had Specimen written in bold (see above), many people mistakenly thought it was their own Social Security number. The number, 078-05-1120, became the most misused Social Security number of all time. In 1943, 5,755 people were mistakenly using this number. In all, about how many people do you think reported 078-05-1120 as their Social Security number?

For more about the giveaway, including rules and prizes, check out this post.

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