Lower My Tax Now Blog

Budget issues force IRS closures

The IRS will close all of its operations on June 14, July 5, July 22, and August 30, 2013. The current budget situation, including the sequester, has made these closures necessary; IRS employees will be furloughed without pay on these days. Taxpayers should continue to file returns and pay…

Ideas for helping your child buy a home

Are you looking for a way to help your child with buying a home? Some strategies you might consider include lending your child money, gifting under the annual gift tax exclusion, pledging securities, and equity sharing.

Assuming you have enough liquid assets, you can effectively act as the mortgage lender…

Tax records: What should you keep, and what can you toss?

Once you’ve filed your 2012 tax return, you may wonder what records you can toss and what you should keep. Here are some suggestions.

Keep records that directly support income or expense items on your tax return. For income, this includes W-2s, 1099s, and Form K-1s. Also keep records of…

You can correct tax return mistakes

What should you do if you find that you made a mistake on your 2012 tax return after it’s been filed? Perhaps you find that you missed a big deduction. Perhaps you receive a late notice of income you earned. Or perhaps you receive a corrected Form 1099 from…