Nine Tips for Charitable Taxpayers

If you make a donation to a charity this year, you may be able to take a deduction for it on your 2011 tax return. Here are the top nine things the IRS wants every taxpayer to know before deducting charitable donations.

Charitable Taxpayers

Charitable Taxpayers

  • Make sure the organization qualifies

Charitable contributions must be made to qualified organizations to be deductible. You can ask any organization whether it is a qualified organization or check IRS Publication 78, Cumulative List of Organizations. It is available at www.IRS.gov.

  • You must itemize Charitable contributions are deductible only if you itemize deductions using Form 1040, Schedule A.
  • What you can deduct You generally can deduct your cash contributions and the fair market value of most property you donate to a qualified organization. Special rules apply to several types of donated property, including clothing or household items, cars and boats.

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Ten Tax Tips for Individuals Selling Their Home

The Internal Revenue Service has some important information to share with individuals who have sold or are about to sell their home. If you have a gain from the sale of your main home, you may qualify to exclude all or part of that gain from your income. Here are ten tips from the IRS to keep in mind when selling your home.

  • In general, you are eligible to exclude the gain from income if you have owned and used your home as your main home for two years out of the five years prior to the date of its sale.
  • If you have a gain from the sale of your main home, you may be able to exclude up to $250,000 of the gain from your income ($500,000 on a joint return in most cases).

New PTIN Requirements for Tax Return Preparers

Important: All Paid Preparers must register with the IRS and obtain a PTIN. click here to read more

New regulations require all paid tax return preparers to obtain a PTIN. Renewals for 2012 are expected to start in October 2011. In the future, some preparers will need to pass a competency test and background check, and take continuing education courses. Check back for more guidance soon. If you haven’t done so already, you can apply for your PTIN in 4 easy steps:

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IRS Identifies 100,000 Preparers Who Failed to Follow New PTIN Rules

As part of its new oversight program of the nation’s tax return preparation industry, the Internal Revenue Service today announced it will send letters to approximately 100,000 tax return preparers who prepared returns in 2011 but failed to follow new requirements.

In 2010, the IRS launched an initiative to increase its oversight of the tax return preparation industry and regulate the conduct of tax return preparers. All paid tax return preparers must obtain a Preparer Tax Identification Number (PTIN) and, when required to do so, sign their names and include their PTINs on the returns and refund claims they prepare for compensation.

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Visit IRS.gov to Get Quick Tax Answers this Summer

The IRS Web site – www.irs.gov – makes it easy to get answers to your tax questions all year round. The site is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. You can also download forms and publications and even check the status of your refund. The IRS Web site has a wealth of information.

Here are six reasons to visit IRS.gov this summer.

  1. The latest news Get up-to-date information on new tax law changes. Several new laws are enacted almost every year and usually there are provisions that affect almost every taxpayer.
  2. Easy-to-use tools Use the Interactive Tax Assistant (ITA) – a tool that asks a series of questions to provide answers to your tax law issues. The ITA tool covers a number of tax topics and does not require any sensitive information such as Social Security numbers.
  3. Withholding Calculator Calculate the right amount of withholding allowances on your W-4. The IRS Withholding Calculator can ensure you don’t have too much or too little income tax withheld from your pay.
  4. Check out a charity Search for charities in  Publication 78, Cumulative List of Organizations, to find out if an organization is exempt from federal taxation and, if so, how much of your contributions to that organization are tax deductible.
  5. Career opportunities Get information about careers at the IRS. No matter what your professional specialty, the IRS can offer you a variety of full-time career or seasonal job opportunities.
  6. Forms and publications You can view, download and order tax forms and publications at any hour.

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