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Changes to the Estate Tax for 2011

The death tax is back, but it’s not as high as it could have been

The 2010 tax year isn’t behind us yet. For those who opted for an extension, the deadline is this Monday, October 17. But this should not prevent us from looking ahead to the next tax year. After all, returns can be filed as early as January and many people are already wondering what 2011 tax changes are in store.

The short answer is that there are very few 2011 tax changes at all. Thanks to the dramatic, last-minute December compromise in Congress, the Bush tax cuts were extended through 2012. That means that tax rates will stay pretty much the same (the brackets have only been adjusted slightly to adjust for inflation). Continue reading “Changes to the Estate Tax for 2011”

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How to Lower Your 2010 Taxes

There’s still time before October 17 to save on your 2010 taxes

With the October 17 deadline for 2010 taxes less a week away, you may be wondering what, if anything, you can still do at this point to lower your 2010 taxes. Well, rest assured, there are a few more steps you can take to minimize the amount you fork out to Uncle Sam next week.

Accelerate Your Deduction for Equipment Purchases:

If you are self-employed and purchased equipment, such as computers, software, or furniture, you can deduct these costs when filing 2010 taxes. Normally they are spread out over several years, but if you really want to lower your 2010 taxes, you can opt to accelerate the deduction and accrue all of the benefits this year.

You can accelerate the deduction for these purchases through bonus depreciation by taking a Section 179 deduction. Doing so could mean both lower income taxes and lower self-employment taxes. Just note that while such an acceleration could very well mean lower taxes for 2010, it will also mean a relatively higher tax burden over the next few years. Continue reading “How to Lower Your 2010 Taxes”

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Where’s My Tax Refund?

How to check the status of your 2010 tax refund from the IRS

You did your part. You filed your taxes and now you’re waiting on the refund. It’s an age-old question, the one that inevitably follows the sublime exhaustion of finally getting your return off to Uncle Sam: Where’s my 2010 tax refund?

First, take note that even under the best of circumstances, your tax refund is going to take some time: typically 8-15 days for direct deposit e-filers, 3 weeks for paper check e-filers, and up to 6 weeks for filers by mail.

If your tax refund is taking a long time or you are just curious about its status:

  • Go to the IRS website and use the Where’s My Refund? tool. All you have to do is pop in your social security number, filing status, and refund amount to get a status update.
  • Alternately, the IRS has an app, IRS2Go, for the iPhone and for Android that let’s you check your refund status on the go.
  • Or call the IRS Refund Hotline at 800-829-1954.
  • E-filers should have their tax refund status posted online within 72 hours.
  • Paper returns should have a status online within 3-4 weeks.
  • If you filed before July 1, the information will stay online until the first week of December.
  • If you filed after July 1, or your refund check was returned to the IRS as undeliverable, the information will stay online until you file taxes the following year.
  • Your return may not have been accepted by the IRS. Check the status of your e-filed return.
  • If you requested a direct deposit, the account and routing numbers could be incorrect and if you requested a paper check your address could be incorrect.
  • There could be an error on the return itself. The IRS provides a list of common errors that could be responsible for holding up your return.
  • Or the IRS could have flagged your return for review, increasing processing time, or even selected you for an audit.
  • If your normal income tax refund is delayed, this could be the case for any number of reasons.

In the case of an audit, the IRS will contact you, but if there is any other problem or delay with your return, the status on Where’s My Refund will most likely ask you to contact the IRS. You’ll have to call the IRS at 800-829-1954 or 800-829-4477 to talk to a real live person and resolve the fate of your 2010 tax refund.

You also may be wondering about the timing of this information. For example, when does the information go up? How long does it stay online?