Tax Strategies

The Internal Revenue Service announced the opening of Free File, the free tax preparation and free electronic filing initiative now in its fourth year. More than 70 percent of the nation's taxpayers -- over 92 million people -- qualify for Free File this year.

An accountant for "Survivor" winner Richard Hatch testified that she told the reality TV star not to file a tax return omitting the $1 million prize he won from the show.

I discovered the most amazing thing this week -- a report on a federal agency that was actually readable.

Taxpayers can file their 2005 tax returns electronically beginning Jan. 13 as the Internal Revenue Service's E-file program opens for its 20th tax season.

Four additional professional tax organizations have agreed to partner with the Internal Revenue Service to provide assistance to taxpayers at local disaster recovery centers established by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the IRS announced.

National Taxpayer Advocate Nina E. Olson released her latest report to Congress, again stressing the need for legislators to make simplification of the tax system a reality.

Corporate tax payments hitting an all-time high last month helped offset record federal spending.

The Internal Revenue Service sent out 17.7 million 1040 tax packages during the first of January to taxpayers who have previously filed paper returns. The number of paper tax booklets being mailed to Americans continues to decline as more people opt for electronic filing.

Practitioners who have been adding tax planning services to their basic preparation are taking an additional step to extend their practice into year-round financial planning."There's a natural progression from tax preparation into financial planning," said Stephen Parezo, media manager at Fiducial.

The House of Representatives passed the final piece of $95 billion in tax cuts in early December, in a vote split mostly along party lines.The most recent bill approved $56 billion in tax cuts over the next five years, including a two-year, $20 billion extension of President Bush's 2001 tax cut for stock dividends and capital gains.