The Earned Income Tax Credit is a extremely important tax credit for workers earning $49,078 or less in 2011. Find out if you are eligible to claim the EITC

The Top 10 Most Important things to know about EITC credit
(Earned Income Tax Credit) in 2011

1. As your financial, marital or parental situations change from year to year, you should review the EITC eligibility rules to determine whether you qualify. Just because you didn’t qualify last year doesn’t mean you won’t this year.

2. If you qualify, the credit could be worth up to $5,751. EITC not only reduces the federal tax you owe, but could result in a refund. The amount of your EITC is based on your earned income and whether or not there are qualifying children in your household. The average credit was around $2,240 last year.

3. If you are eligible for EITC, you must file a federal income tax return and specifically claim the credit – even if you are not otherwise required to file. Remember to include Schedule EIC, Earned Income Credit when you file your Form 1040 or, if you file Form 1040A, use and retain the EIC worksheet.

4. You do not qualify for EITC if your filing status is Married Filing Separately. This is very important, this rule overrides your yearly salary rule and voids the credit.

5. You must have a valid Social Security number for yourself, your spouse – if filing a joint return – and any qualifying child listed on Schedule EIC.

6. You must have earned income. You have earned income if you work for someone who pays you wages, you are self-employed, you have income from farming, or – in some cases – you receive disability income.

7. Married couples and single people without children may qualify. If you do not have qualifying children, you must also meet the age and residency requirements, as well as dependency rules.

8. Special rules apply to members of the U.S. Armed Forces in combat zones. Members of the military can elect to include their nontaxable combat pay in earned income for the EITC. If you make this election, the combat pay remains nontaxable.

9. It’s easy to determine whether you qualify. Checkout The EITC Assistant, an interactive tool available on the IRS website.

10. Free help is available at Volunteer Income Tax Assistance sites to help you prepare and claim your EITC. If you are preparing your taxes electronically or via online e-file, the software or service will automatically calculate the EITC credit for you (if you qualify for one)

Every year thousands of new yorkers cry over their delayed NYS tax refunds. Its time of the year again, so if you live in NY, then please check your 2011 2012 NYS tax refund status online using your social security number and form name which you submitted for filing your 2011 NYS Tax returns.

How do I check my 2011 NYS tax Refund Status?

To check your NYS tax refund status for 2011, you need to visit NYS tax refund website, then follow steps below:

1) Enter a security code (like captcha) to validate you are human and not a bot.

2) The system then show 2011 as the tax year and will ask for your Social Security number and which form did you use. The form could be IT-150,IT-201,IT-203,IT-205, IT-214 or NYC-210.
3) Now continue to get the NYS refund status with a DD date.

Always remember, you should choose DD rather than check payment. DD payments are always faster than check payments.

NYS tax refunds were delayed since 2008. 2010 was a fairly good year with very minimal delays. Will NY tax department process tax refunds faster this year or delay once again?

If you are a new york resident and already filled your taxes awaiting tax refunds, do let us know your current refund status or DD dates if any.

This will help other people waiting for their DD dates. Please discuss.

2011 IRS tax Form 1098-t (Tuition staement) is to  be filed by all eligible education institution for all eligible students.

In 2011, all eligible education institutions must file 2011 1098-t for each student you enroll and for whom a reportable transaction is made. In case the instiution is an insurer, then it must file Form 1098-T for each individual to whom they  made reimbursements or refunds of qualified tuition and related expenses.

To file Form 1098-t 2011 you would need very specific details about the student, if you do not have those details, then you can use Form W-9S, Request for Student’s or Borrower’s Taxpayer Identification Number and Certification to get the student’s or borrower’s name, address, taxpayer identification number, and student loan certification.

If you need specific help with 2011 Form 1098-t, then you can read 2011 Form 1098-t instructions from IRS.gov online

Disappointed with your Last yea’s federal tax refund? Then, its very likely that you forgot to claim the most important “Schedule M” on your tax returns. Don’t make the same mistake once again and claim your IRS Schedule M Making work pay credit on your 2011 Tax Returns

The best part of the Schedule M is it can give you refund even though you do not owe tax to IRS. Many people overlook this. If you are using H&R Block, it will automatically identify that you are eligible for Schedule M.

Please note that Schedule M can not be used in 2011 for taking a government retiree credit. It was only available in 2009 and discontinued in 2010 2011 tax returns.

If are working and have earnings, then you can claim the 2010 Schedule M. The Schedule M credit is worth $400  or $800 if married filing jointly.

Who can not claim Schedule M on their 2010 2011 Tax Returns?

How to Claim Schedule M on your 2010 2011 Tax returns?

In order to claim the credit, you need file IRS Tax form 1040 or 1040A along with the Schedule M form. Remember you can’t submit a 2010 Schedule M Form without filing Form 1040 or Form 1040A.

If you still need help with Schedule M 2010 2011 form, then checkout official IRS Schedule M 2010 Instructions online at IRS.gov

Remember to file your taxes this year with HR Block and enjoy the benefits of Schedule M.

The Retirement Savings Contributions Credit is popularly knowns as Saver’s Credit. The Retirement saving contribution credit is mainly targetted towards the low income families to help them save for their retirement.

You may qualify if your income is below a certain limit and you contribute to an IRA or workplace retirement plan, such as a 401(k) plan. You can claim the Retirement Savings Contributions Credit 2010 on your tax returns this year along with other tax credits.

IRS has officially announcement a increase in interest rates for second quarter of 2011 by 1%. The new IRS Federal Interest rate payments are charged for overpayments and underpayments.

The new IRS interest rates will be:

• 4 percent for overpayments (three (3) percent in the case of a corporation);
• 4 percent for underpayments;
• 6 percent for large corporate underpayments
• one and one-half (1.5) percent for the portion of a corporate overpayment exceeding $10,000

Typically,  for a corporation, the underpayment rate is the federal short-term rate plus 3 percentage points and the overpayment rate is the federal short-term rate plus 2 percentage points.  The rate for large corporate underpayments is the federal short-term rate plus 5 percentage points.

Please note these new federal interest rates will take effect retroactively from February 1 2011.

Can I claim the IRX Tax credit for elderly or permanently and totally disabled?
Yes, you can claim tax credit for elderly or disabled person provided you must be age 65 or older or permanently and totally disabled and your income and nontaxable social security and other nontaxable pension benefits must be below specified amounts.

For those hiding their offshore bank accounts from IRS to save taxes might have a relief but not for long. IRS has extended Deadline for Disclosing Hidden Offshore Accounts.

IRS has issued a one-time extension of the deadline for special voluntary disclosures by taxpayers with unreported income from hidden offshore accounts. You will now have to report all your hidden offshore accounts before Oct. 15, 2009.

Under special provisions issued in March, taxpayers with these hidden accounts originally had until Sept. 23, 2009 to come forward. Those taxpayers who do not voluntarily disclose their hidden accounts by the new deadline face much harsher civil penalties, where applicable, and possible criminal prosecution.

IRS officials decided to extend this deadline after receiving repeated requests from tax practitioners and attorneys around the country following an influx of taxpayer requests. By extending the deadline for a short period of time, the IRS is providing relief for those taxpayers who had intended to come forward prior to the deadline, but faced logistical and administrative challenges in meeting it. The extension will allow tax preparers and attorneys the necessary time to interview and advise their backlog of taxpayers with these hidden accounts, and prepare the necessary paperwork to qualify for the special penalty provisions.

The IRS also announced that there will be no further extensions. As everyone knows, swiss bank ubs closing hidden offshore holdings of american clients and might be obliged to report any offshore accounts to IRS.

IRS has announced that the 2010 IRS Tax Calendar for Small Businesses and the Self-Employed is now available for pre-order at IRS.gov.  The 2010 IRS Tax calender is available in english and spanish language.

This 2010 Tax Calender edition is a 12-month wall calendar filled with useful information on general business taxes, IRS and SSA customer assistance, electronic filing and paying options, retirement plans, business publications and forms, and common tax filing dates. Each page highlights different tax issues and tips that may be relevant to small business owners with room on each month to add notes, state tax dates, or business appointments.

You can pre-order now at this page. Please note that English version of the 2010 Tax Calendar will be shipped on November 1

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act Stimulus Bill provided $300 million to states for consumer rebates on the following ENERGY STAR qualified appliances:

• central air conditioners
• heat pumps (air source and geothermal)
• boilers
• furnaces (oil and gas)
• room air conditioners
• clothes washers
• dishwashers
• refrigerators/freezers
• water heaters

Each state will develop its own rebate program, and has the flexibility to select which appliances to include and what rebate amounts to offer.

State plans are due to DOE by October 15, 2009.  Once approved, and the funds are disbursed, states can begin to roll out their programs.  Rebates could be available for consumers by late 2009 or early 2010, though this will vary by state.

Amounts commonly offered range from $50 to $250, depending upon the product being purchased, purchase price, and other market factors. Federal tax credits and other financial incentives may be claimed for the same products, as long as they qualify under the rules of the programs and are not specifically excluded.