The death of New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner this morning provides his heirs with a huge windfall: an estate with an estimated in excess of one billion dollars, inherited in a year when there is no Federal estate tax. Read the full article

It looks like Congress won’t get around to fixing the estate tax before this year ends. Aside from boosting the incomes of estate planning attorneys, this doesn’t help anyone. Read the full article

Congress just couldn’t resist the urge to give more money away. Read the full article

Home mortgage interest has been a tax-deductible expense on Federal tax returns since 1913. But in a report issued recently, the General Accounting Office (GAO) has recommended that the IRS do a better job of enforcing the rules that apply to the mortgage interest deduction. Read the full article

The IRS announced last week that its interpretation of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 is that new car buyers in states without a sales tax deserve a break this year. Read the full article

The IRS provides a downloadable tax calendar that’s useful for self-employed workers and small business owners. Here’s a quick list of generally important dates: Read the full article

If you haven’t yet made a 2008 contribution to an IRA or Roth IRA, remember that you must do so before April 15th. You can contribute as much as $5,000 to an IRA for 2008 provided you qualify, and you can contribute an additional $1,000 if you turned 50 during 2008. Permitted contributions are limited to the lesser of your compensation or the contribution limit that applies to your age and Modified Adjusted Gross Income status. Read the full article

The IRS is reminding taxpayers that the 2009 Stimulus Bill included a little something to help boost auto sales. Those who buy a qualifying new car, light truck, motor home or motorcycle in 2009 can deduct state and local sales tax and excise taxes paid on purchase prices up to $49,500. The deduction will be available for 2009 tax returns (only) whether one itemizes or not. Read the full article

Recently I was listening to an IRS webcast on tax law changes (yes, it’s just as exciting as it sounds!) and something caught my attention. I was already aware that people living in disaster areas are eligible for various kinds of tax relief, but I realized that I’d missed an important fact. You don’t have to live in a disaster area to get a tax break; the Heartland Disaster Tax Relief Act of 2008 includes special provisions for educational expenses incurred by students attending college in areas struck by disaster in 2008. This article will be of interest even if you don’t qualify for the expanded disaster relief benefits but are interested in tax benefits available to households with college expenses. Read the full article

The final version of the 1071-page American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 is due to be signed by President Obama tomorrow. My summary of the bill's key tax items two weeks ago was not far off the mark, but there are a number of nips and tucks in the final version. Read the full article

Just before Christmas of 2008, the president signed the Worker, Retiree, and Employer Recovery Act of 2008. The bill suspended 2009 Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs) for IRAs, 401(k)s and 403(b)s. Read the full article

As promised, the House and Senate have been busy working on The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, which includes several tax law changes intended to boost the economy. Read the full article

It's too early to say with certainty what changes will be made in the tax laws this year. But it's possible to make some educated guesses. Read the full article

The Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 (a.k.a. “the Bailout Bill”) changed the reporting requirements for annual tax statements from brokers. Form 1099-B, which formerly had to be sent by January 31, is now due on February 17 this year (the statutory date is February 15, but in 2009 that's a Sunday and the 16th is Presidents' Day). Read the full article

With stock market indices down 30% or more from their January 1st levels, most investors are battered, bruised, and hoping for happier times. In the midst of a generally depressed stock market, there are still a couple of clever ways to make the most of a bad situation using a Roth IRA. Read the full article

With so much attention being given to the $700 billion bailout of banks and the financial industry in the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008, not much has been said about the individual income tax provisions included in the massive 440-page bill passed last month.

If you'd like to avoid searching the full bill for the parts that might be personally relevant, here's a quick summary of some provisions that could be interesting to you even if you're not an enormous bank. Read the full article

The IRS is reporting that more than 383,000 regular refund and economic stimulus checks have been returned as undeliverable by the Postal Service.

Taxpayers whose economic stimulus checks are not in the mail by Dec. 31 will lose out, because by law the checks cannot be sent out after that date. If you're expecting a check and haven't received it yet, browse over to the IRS's website and use the Stimulus Payment tool. Addressing errors must be corrected by Nov. 28 in order for checks to be processed in time. The "Where's My Stimulus Payment" tool provides instructions on how to update your address if needed or you can call (866) 234-2942. Read the full article

The IRS announced last week that the business mileage rate, often used to determine the deduction for business use of a car, will go up effective July 1st. Read the full article

Taxpayers who previously set up their tax refunds to be deposited directly to their IRAs this year will need to be vigilant: Economic Stimulus rebate checks will also be automatically deposited into any IRAs whose owners have set them up to receive tax refunds. Read the full article

If you're wondering about the rebate check you're expecting under the Economic Stimulus Act of 2008, the IRS has a website that enables you to check the status of your stimulus payment. You'll need to provide your Social Security Number, filing status, and the total number of exemptions shown on your 2007 return. Read the full article

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