Blog

  • If you get a random e-mail from IRS concerning a tax refund… delete it.

    “If you get a random e-mail from IRS concerning a tax refund… delete it. It’s a scam, the Service warns. The e-mail tricks people into opening a link by saying that incorrect information was detected on their tax refund account. The link goes to a fake page where scammers try ot steal your personal information.… Read more

  • Beware of Erroneous Tax Refunds!

    The IRS has issued some warnings recently about a new scam which seems especially on the rise with more tax professionals having more client data online than ever before. The scammers file a fraudulent tax return – but include the taxpayers’ real bank account information (or if they don’t file for electronic deposit of their… Read more

  • Kiddie Tax and the 2017 Tax Reform

    What’s the Kiddie Tax? Under the Tax Reform Act of 1986, a new “Kiddie Tax” was introduced in order to close a loophole through which wealthy folks were getting investment income taxed at lower rates by transferring assets to their children. Under the ’86 rule, unearned income (mainly investment income like stock dividends, interest, and… Read more

  • Year end strategizing for the potential tax reform

    While the GOP has apparently tightened up on deductions from folks accelerating state and local tax payments, that was always going to be a somewhat limited option. The big takeaway is this – you need to understand the structure of your current deductions — and whether you are in AMT now — and whether you… Read more

  • Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit

    The Child and Dependent Care Credit helps working families offset some of the cost of childcare. Read more

  • Mortgage Rates hit 2017 Low

    Freddie Mac surveys lenders weekly and publishes average mortgage rates for the previous week every Thursday.  Today they’ve published rates which show a year-to-date low:  30 year mortgage originations are down to 3.78% (with 50bp points/fees), 15 year mortgages are down to 3.08% and 5/1 ARMs are down to 3.15%. These aren’t quite historic lows… Read more