The Myth of the 70,000 Page Federal Tax Code
The US tax code is definitely convoluted at times, so it's no wonder the claim that it's 70,000 pages long has become a widely quoted factoid, most recently in posts from House Ways and Means Committee Republicans, the committee leading…
Tips for understanding the tax code
Many people think that Internal Revenue Service (IRS) publications are the definitive source of information on how to file your income taxes, but they actually aren't. The tax code, also known as the Internal Revenue Code (IRC), is…
Reminder on your 2017 tax form
Tax season successfully opened on January 23, 2017. If you're one of the approximately 157 million taxpayers who will be filing a personal income tax return this year, here's your quick cheat sheet on which tax form to fill…
1040, 1040EZ, 1040-A or something else?
Taxes can be complicated. As taxpayers, we find this frustrating. So it would make sense for us to grab the simplest tax forms we can find. But it's not always the right choice. There are a number of tax forms available, and the key…
Which tax form to use?
Peter Cade / Getty ImagesFilling out a tax form is about as much fun as paying taxes to Uncle Sam. The complexity of the task intensifies as your tax life gets more complicated.This is why you should use the simplest tax return form…
How To Revise a Federal Tax Form for Dependent Claims Finance
The Internal Revenue Service's Form 1040X amends your tax return to correct your filing status and earned income, as well as any deductions, credits, and dependents you originally claimed. In cases where you discover that you need to…
IRS 1099 forms arrive, the most important tax form of all
IRS Form 1099 season has arrived. No form is more critical for your tax return. You are almost guaranteed an audit or tax notice if you fail to report a Form 1099. Each 1099 form corresponds to your Social Security number, so the IRS can…
Who writes the tax code?
Rick Stone from Papillion, Nebraska wanted to know: "Why does it seem that no politician understands how the tax code is generated?"
With so many…
The tax code can be simpler. But not three pages.
Perhaps the candidate most committed to tax simplification so far is Ben Carson, who advocated scrapping the charitable donation deduction during Tuesday's debate. Senators Ted Cruz and Rand Paul have also proposed simple tax plans that…
The 1099 DIV: an essential tax form for investors
You will need to refer to the 1099 DIV forms to report your dividend income. Photo: StockMonkeys.com.
If any of your investments pay you dividends, you'll likely receive at least one Form 1099 DIV…
It’s Politics: NPR
Marco Rubio says his two-tier tax plan will simplify the…
File your 1040 EZ tax electronically for free online reports – Consumer Reports
If your state doesn't offer a free electronic file, you may find better choices this year besides the free file.
This year, for example, the federal free edition of TurboTax offers a free, guided online tax preparation and…
It is much shorter than 70,000 pages.
In a perfect world, there would be no arguing for the length of a book. You would think this should be a fairly objective investigation. But not for the tax code, a book whose length has been hyper-inflated by journalists and…
A credit to the tax code
By Charles LaneRepublicans and Democrats don't agree on much these days, but if there's one thing they should still agree on, it might be the federal tax credit. on labor income. This cash wage supplement, issued as a tax refund, was…
Half of Pakistani lawmakers don’t pay taxes: report
ISLAMABAD: Nearly half of Pakistani lawmakers said they paid no taxes, according to a study released yesterday, findings that could put billions of dollars from the IMF and other loans and aid bolstering a faltering economy at risk.…
Which tax form should I file?
We all like things to be simple. We gravitate towards words like easy, elementary, and effortless. It all seems so… simple.
Taxes, on the other hand, can be complicated. And as taxpayers, we find it frustrating. So it would make sense…
Tax Code Reaches Nearly 4 Million Words, Taxpayer Advocate Calls It Too Complicated
What could you do with six billion hours?
Think carefully. It is the equivalent of 8,758 lives. Yes, lives.
It's also the time taxpayers spend each year trying to comply with tax filing requirements. This, according to the 2012 annual…
How many words are there in the tax code?
While Republican presidential candidates agree that the tax code is too long, they don't seem to agree on its length. Rick Perry says it's 3 million words. Herman Cain used to describe the code as "a mess of 8 million words",…
The 10 Most Confusing Parts of the Income Tax Code
Granted, it's not American Idol, but there's plenty of impressive competition in April for the title of "the most confusing part of the US income tax code." This is not surprising, given that the basic 1040 instruction booklet now runs…