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Requesting a Tax Transcript From the IRS

Filing an error-free tax return is key to taxpayers getting any refund they are due as soon as possible. Using Online Account on the IRS website is the fastest and easiest way to see account information such as estimated tax payments, prior year adjusted gross income, and economic impact payment amounts. Taxpayers who don’t have an account will need to create one.

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Unexpected cash gifts can have tax consequences and how to spend them should be carefully considered.

Got Cash? What To Do With a Windfall

A cash windfall is any amount of money that you didn’t expect to receive and is over your regular income. Most would consider it to be any amount over $1,000 – and quite often, the amount of money is much more than that. For example, you may have received a bonus at work, an inheritance, a legal settlement, a profit from selling a property or business, or won the lottery.

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RUSSO CPA Blog: Standard vs. itemized deductions

Applying for Tax-Exempt Status as a Nonprofit

To be tax-exempt under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, an organization must be organized and operated exclusively for any of these purposes: charitable, religious, educational, scientific, literary, testing for public safety, fostering national or international amateur sports competition or preventing cruelty to children or animals.

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RUSSO CPA Tax Tips, how filing status affects your tax return 2022

Understanding Your Rights as a Taxpayer

By law, all taxpayers have fundamental rights when interacting with the IRS, and all taxpayers should know and understand their rights. Ten categories of rights are presented in the Taxpayer Bill of Rights. Here’s an overview:

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Dirty Dozen Tax Scams for 2022

Dirty Dozen Tax Scams and How to Protect Yourself

The “Dirty Dozen” is a list of common tax scams compiled by the IRS for more than 20 years to alert taxpayers and the tax professional community about tax scams and other fraudulent schemes. Designed to raise awareness among taxpayers and others who may not always be aware of developments involving tax administration, it includes potentially abusive arrangements that taxpayers should avoid. Let’s take a look at this year’s “Dirty Dozen” tax scams:

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Standard Mileage Rates for 2023

Standard Mileage Rates Increase for Remainder of 2022

The optional standard mileage rate, which taxpayers may use to calculate the deductible costs of operating an automobile for business and certain other purposes, increases to 62.5 cents per mile, effective July 1, 2022. The new mileage rate is up 4 cents from the rate effective at the start of the year.

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The Difference Between a Hobby and a Business

A hobby is any activity that a person pursues because they enjoy it and with no intention of making a profit. In contrast, people operate a business with the intention of making a profit. However, many people engage in hobby activities that turn into a source of income, and determining if that hobby has grown into a business can be confusing. For instance, many people may have started making handmade items and selling them for a profit during the pandemic.

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Do You Need to File an Amended Return?

If you discover a mistake on your tax return after you’ve already filed it, don’t panic. In most cases, all you have to do is file an amended tax return. Here’s what you need to know:

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