When you file your tax forms, you report contributions to an IRA or Roth IRA. You also report completed conversions (and corresponding tax liability) from one type of account to another. Finally, you can use your tax forms to reverse your conversion by recharacterizing your Roth IRA back to a Traditional IRA. In 2010, income [...]
Articles by Jill
Itemized Deductions
Posted byWhen you file your taxes, you have the option to either claim the standard deduction or itemize your deductions. While the standard deduction is a set amount, itemized deductions will vary from person to person. As such, if you have a large number of itemized deductions you will likely be able to reduce your tax [...]
Are You a Victim of Lifestyle Inflation?
Posted byIn the personal finance world, you hear about lifestyle inflation all the time. You should figure that if you were making it on your old salary, most if not all of a raise should go to savings/investments. Instead, those who are victims of lifestyle inflation find their “needs” creeping up right along with their paycheck. [...]
Standard Deduction
Posted byWhat is a standard deduction? How much is your standard deduction? When you fill out your tax return, you report your gross income. But before you calculate your taxes owed, you reduce your income by claiming deductions. Each year, the government publishes a standard deduction amount that is indexed to inflation. Tax payers can choose [...]
IRS Tax Filing Status
Posted byDetermine your tax filing status. Tax brackets and available credits and deductions (either the standard deduction or itemized deductions) depend on a taxpayer’s filing status. Each taxpayer must select his/her filing status at the top of each tax return. In most cases only one tax filing status will apply to you. If you qualify under [...]
