Where Clinton and Trump Stand on Taxes

I read your column about how you can take advantage of a portion of the child care credit even if you use your flexible spending account for child care costs. I have two kids and a lot of child

Tax Breaks That Refuse to Die
Congress has a habit of waiting until the last minute to change tax rules. But at the end of 2015, lawmakers did taxpayers a favor by making some temporary tax breaks permanent. See Also 9 Tax Breaks for the

The Best State to Live In for Low Taxes
States tax residents in a variety of ways. Place too much emphasis on any one tax, and you run the risk of missing the bigger tax picture. A state with no income tax might very well levy high sales

13 Worst Things to Do With Your Tax Refund
By Caroline Banton People typically don’t want to pay more taxes than they need to, but a tax refund implies just that. Withholding more money than necessary each paycheck means that an individual forgoes the opportunity to earn interest on that money elsewhere. Approximately 77 percent of taxpayers receive a tax

Key 2015 Tax Changes to Know About
A lot has changed this year – but not the penalties associated with filing

Claim Your Tax Refund ASAP to Thwart ID Thieves
You’re more likely to be struck by lightning than audited by the IRS, but that doesn’t mean filing your taxes is worry free. The rapid rise of tax identity theft has forced nearly a million victims to wait months

How to Decide Which Tax-Filing Method Is Best for You
By Michael McDonald As tax season approaches, it’s safe to say that few people are looking forward to the annual headache of filling out mounds of paperwork. Even after filing, many Americans wonder if they’ve made mistakes on their tax returns. For the average person, the tax-preparation process begins with the

Doing Taxes Yourself Isn't as Hard as You Think
By  Kathryn Hauer , EA, CFP Learn more about Kathryn on NerdWallet’s  Ask an Advisor When I was a 21-year-old newlywed, I couldn’t bear the thought of paying someone to do our simple taxes. So I went to the library, got the forms and did them myself. That was back in the days when you did taxes by hand using

Claiming the Dependent-Care Tax Credit for 2015
I paid child care expenses of $14,300 for my two children in 2015 and used my dependent care flexible spending account at work for $5,000 of those costs. My tax software is saying I can only take $200 for

Don't Fall for These IRS Scams
By  Craig W. Smalley , E.A. Learn more about Craig on NerdWallet’s  Ask an Advisor About a year ago, I got a phone call from a frantic client. The Internal Revenue Service had called to tell her she was under investigation for tax fraud and that a warrant had been issued for her arrest — unless she paid the

Kitces: Avoid Big Tax Bills With This Special Trust
Most income tax planning is focused on shrinking federal tax liabilities. With state income tax rates as high as 13.3%, strategies that reduce those liabilities are increasingly popular, as well. A newly-popular strategy is the so-called NING trust, a Nevada Incomplete Gift Non-Grantor trust. It’s an extension of

Child Tax Credit: A Tax Break for the Middle Class
Kids are expensive. A typical middle class family spends nearly $250,000 to raise a child to the age of 18. While Uncle Sam can’t foot the bill for you, the Child Tax Credit can lessen the sting. See Also

Here's the First Thing You Should Do With Your Tax Refund
By Paul Sisolak As daunting as it is, there’s at least one thing you can look forward to during tax season: the  arrival of your tax refund . During the 2015 tax filing season, the average tax refund was $2,797 — that’s enough money to buy five Apple Watches, treat yourself to a Caribbean cruise or snag a couple

Saver's Credit: A Retirement Tax Break for the Middle Class
Saving for retirement is even more rewarding if your earnings are low enough to qualify for the Saver’s Tax Credit. Single filers with adjusted gross income of $30,500 or less may be eligible. Taxpayers married filing jointly must have

Earned Income Tax Credit: A Tax Break for the Middle Class
Even if you don’t owe tax or aren’t required to file a return, there’s a strong incentive for people who work to file anyway the Earned Income Tax Credit. Depending on your income and how many children you have,

A Strategic Approach to Managing Taxes
There’s a reason everyone dreads the topic of taxes. Taxes can be your clients’ biggest expense — as much as 50 % in taxes a year, when federal, state and local taxes are combined. In fact, the average American spends more days working to pay off federal, state and local taxes than they do to cover the costs of

7 Advantages of Investing in Taxable Accounts
By Sam Farrington Learn more about Sam on NerdWallet’s Ask An Advisor We hear it time and again: Invest in a 401(k) , Roth IRA  and/or  traditional IRA to save for retirement. Invest in a 529 plan to save for your children’s college expenses. These accounts offer excellent tax advantages, but that

15 Minutes a Month to Maintain Financial Health
If you’ve been struggling to follow through with your financial goals for 2016, there’s still plenty of time to get back on

Use Tax Mapping to Trim Taxes in Retirement
Preparing for retirement isn’t just about accumulating enough