WSJ.com: Tax Blog

Reprieves for Filers

Emily Friedlander — Thu, 19 Apr 2007 05:12:08 GMT

Computer gremlins frustrated efforts by many taxpayers to file their returns electronically using TurboTax and other Intuit products before Tuesday’s deadline. But those taxpayers won’t be penalized. The Internal Revenue Service said anyone who tried to file electronically and couldn’t get through because of Intuit “server problems” has until the end [...]

The ABCs of Dealing With the AMT

Emily Friedlander — Wed, 18 Apr 2007 01:48:22 GMT

Ouch. As of this week’s filing deadline, some four million people wound up owing more in taxes — sometimes several thousand dollars more — for 2006 than they would have otherwise, thanks to the federal alternative minimum tax. Among them: Alex Hopwood, 38, a vice president of finance at American Express [...]

The Risks of Being Audited

Emily Friedlander — Tue, 17 Apr 2007 04:28:50 GMT

With today’s deadline for filing 2006 tax returns, this is peak season for audit anxiety. The prospect of having to document all the claims on one’s tax return is dizzying at best — and terrifying at worst. Here is the lowdown on your risk of being audited, how the process works [...]

Some Late Tax Tips

Emily Friedlander — Mon, 16 Apr 2007 11:43:02 GMT

Tom Herman has some last minute pointers ahead of Tuesday’s deadline: Consider filing electronically. You’ll probably get a refund more quickly than filing the old-fashioned paper way. Through March 30, nearly 57 million returns were e-filed, up 6% from a year earlier. Don’t overlook a new, one-time phone-tax refund. That may sound [...]

Congress’s Taxing Hurdle

Emily Friedlander — Sat, 14 Apr 2007 01:44:16 GMT

As many Americans race to finish their taxes, Congress returns from recess next week facing twin challenges: fixing the alternative minimum tax and raising money to pay for the fix. The alternative minimum tax originally was created to prevent the wealthy from using heavy deductions to legally avoid paying income tax. [...]

The Perils of Extensions

Emily Friedlander — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 23:22:12 GMT

My five-year-old niece was recently hospitalized for nearly a month, leaving my brother-in-law Brian and his wife Colleen struggling to cope with round-the-clock hospital shifts that left them physically and emotionally drained. During this time medical bills, financial statements and other tax-related documents were piling up on their counter, and Colleen [...]

Marriage Penalty Is Expected to Ensnare More Couples

Emily Friedlander — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 03:52:01 GMT

The marriage penalty is far from disappearing despite efforts in Congress to ease the problem. Many two-income married couples still are paying more in taxes together than they would if each had remained single. According to accountants and congressional staffers, the so-called marriage penalty will ensnare many more couples this year [...]

Cutting a Deal With the IRS Has Grown Taxing

Emily Friedlander — Tue, 10 Apr 2007 03:39:55 GMT

Negotiating with the Internal Revenue Service to reduce your tax bill has never been easy, and lately it has gotten even harder. As the IRS increasingly focuses on collecting more of the taxes it is owed, options that allow taxpayers to write off or substantially pare their tax bills have become [...]

How to Avoid Getting Audited

Emily Friedlander — Sat, 07 Apr 2007 00:50:36 GMT

Pressured by Congress to collect more money, the Internal Revenue Service has been busy boosting its audits, particularly among high-income earners. It’s forcing taxpayers to be increasingly vigilant in order to avoid waving red flags in front of the tax man. This year some new tax twists are giving the [...]

Arm-Wrestling and E-Filing

Emily Friedlander — Fri, 06 Apr 2007 18:28:49 GMT

Negotiating with the IRS has never been easy, but lately it’s gotten even harder, writes Andrea Coombes at MarketWatch.com. As the agency increasingly focuses on collection, tax practitioners say, options that allow taxpayers to write off or substantially pare their tax bill — such as under the IRS “offer in [...]