Tax

Taxation is merely one piece of the financial planning puzzle, but it is second only to investments as the topic that most individuals want to control during the financial planning process.

Whether they realize it or not, taxes ended up going up for most taxpayers last year, despite the extension of the Bush tax cuts at the beginning of last year.

Nearly half of Americans prepare their own taxes, according to a new survey, and most of them seem to be convinced they are taking advantage of all the tax breaks available.

Tax returns filed this season by tax professionals are down 1.3 percent so far compared to last year, while self-prepared returns are up 5.9 percent, according to the latest IRS statistics.

A decade ago, few of us had heard of identity theft. Now, most of us know someone who has been a victim. And of course, a large portion of ID theft affects tax preparers and taxpayers directly, since tax refunds are a huge target of identity thieves.

With the April 15 tax day quickly approaching, a leading online tax preparer school is offering its own kind of relief in the form of student scholarships.

There is a certain hour during the day when you just want to be done. Sometimes it hits predictably in the mid-afternoon. Other times it sneaks up on you as personalities clash in the office, a client makes yet another last-minute request, or the gas tank light goes on while you are stuck in the evening traffic.

H&R Block and the National Federation of the Blind announced an agreement to make the tax prep chain’s website, online tax preparation products and mobile applications fully accessible to blind taxpayers.

The Internal Revenue Service is providing taxpayers in Colorado an extension until Oct. 15, 2014 to decide when to claim disaster losses arising from last September’s flooding.

The Internal Revenue Service has released its 2013 IRS Data Book, providing a snapshot of activities at the agency in relation to taxpayers for the fiscal year.