Tax season sales are down for tax preparation services
Apr 21, 2010 Tax Changes
Tax season sales are down for tax preparation services
According to a Reuters News Release, H&R Block and Jackson Hewitt Tax Service sales dropped this tax season. The largest tax service, H&R Block Inc. (NYSE: HRB) based in Kansas City, MO, US with offices in the US, Canada, Australia, and the United Kingdom, reported a 5% drop in the number of tax returns filed for the 2009 tax year. The tax service giant and its chief competitor, Jackson Hewitt Tax Service (NYSE: JTX) located in Norfolk, VA, US continue to lose market shares to online software like Turbo Tax. Jackson Hewitt, with over 5,000 franchises in the US, was founded by John Hewitt, a former Block employee, in 1982. Turbo Tax is the tax preparation software product of Intuit Inc. (NASDAQ: INTU) headquartered in Mountain View, CA, US.
Tags: 2009
Last Minute Tips from the IRS…
Apr 9, 2010 Tax Management
Last Minute Tips from the IRS…A recent list of last minute tips from the IRS includes the following -
- The world has changed. Avoid using paper tax forms. File electronically for free on IRS.gov using their Free File Fillable Forms or Traditional Free File.
Tags: 2009, April filing
Need to verify your $250 Economic Recovery Payment?
Mar 19, 2010 Income Taxes
Need to verify your $250 Economic Recovery Payment?
Have questions about whether or not you received the $250 Economic Recovery Payment (ERP) in May, 2009? Three different funding agencies are involved; Social Security Administration, Railroad Retirement Benefits or the Veterans Administration. You will be required, for security reasons, to authenticate who you are. Have your social security number, your date of birth and zip code (the one you used on your tax return) available. You can either call 866-234-2942 and select #1 for the ERP question or use a web-based version of the information provided on the phone is available at:
http://www.irs.gov/individuals/article/0,,id=219514,00.html
Tags: 2009
A new IRS.gov section for the unemployed…
Mar 16, 2010 Tax Strategies
A new IRS.gov section for the unemployed…
Are you unemployed or struggling with personal finances? There is a new informational section on the government website, IRS.gov, that has information and web links to tax-related resources, tax assistance information, and suggestions that could help you through these difficult financial times. The Tax Center to Assist Unemployed Taxpayers has been created to offer advice, free publications, links to sources for tax planning, tax settlement plans, offers in compromise, etc. as well as other relevant topics for which you need planning information. There are also links to videos, health insurance information, and other IRS publications covering topics like bankruptcy, cancellation of debt income, and bartering income. Get information directly from the “horse’s mouth” rather than your well-intentioned neighbor or friend.
Qualifications for claiming an adult as a dependent
Mar 4, 2010 Tax Strategies
Qualifications for claiming an adult as a dependentThere are several qualifications for claiming an adult as a dependent:
1. You as the taxpayer must provide over 50 percent of your dependent’s living or support costs.
2. Your dependent must either live with you for 12 months or be your parent, grandparent, step-parent, aunt, or uncle.
3. Assuming the person does not have a disability, your dependent cannot have a gross income that exceeds the tax year’s exemption amount. The exemption amount in 2009 is $3,650.
4. Your dependent cannot file a joint return with another person for the year unless that tax filing is only completed in order to claim taxes that had been withheld.
5. Your dependent must be a US citizen, a US national, or a resident of the US, Canada, or Mexico.
Tags: 2009
