Today TaxMama hears from Alex in the TaxQuips Forum who is confused. “I’m wondering what my refund would be if I claimed exempt status for about half of 2011.I’m a full-time student, filing as single, with a gross income of about $10,000. I tried do

Today TaxMama hears from Jason in the TaxQuips Forum who wants to get it right. Let me summarize his issue – and you can read the details, here. He has hired Grandma to provide child-care in his home. He’s pretty sure that he is not required to treat

Today TaxMama hears from Kathy in the TaxQuips Forum who is in despair. Let me summarize her problem – and you can read the details, here. Her husband’s ex-wife keeps claiming their children on her joint tax return with her new husband, even though th

Today TaxMama hears from Scott in the TaxQuips Forum who needs guidance. “My mother in law babysits for me, and I pay her a flat amount every month to do so. Her only job is working for us right now. She needs 3 more years of income to earn enough credi

Today TaxMama hears from Cindy in the TaxQuips Forum with some great news. “I have recently been approved for disability through Social Security. I will receive a lump sum (retroactive back to the date I became disabled) as well as start receiving a mo

  Today TaxMama hears from RW in the TaxQuips Forum who is concerned about the new 1099-K reporting. “I am faced with either closing my e-commerce accounts or getting a tax ID number. I have no problem getting the number and making my business legiti

  Today TaxMama hears from James in the TaxQuips Forum with a disturbing problem. His fiancée got a bill from IRS for a student loan that was cancelled because she had excellent grades. Why is that taxable?   Dear James, Sheesh. You would th

Today TaxMama managed to crash the TaxQuips Forum. We’ll get it back up this morning. In the meantime, let’s talk about some of the issues that keep cropping up in the questions that I’ve seen these past few weeks. Dear Family, Somewhere, s

Today TaxMama hears from Geoff in the TaxQuips Forum who is frustrated. To make a long story short (you can read the long story here), Geoff didn’t file his tax return on time because he couldn’t afford to pay for the preparation fees. When he filed,

Today TaxMama hears from Leslie in the TaxQuips Forum who makes an excellent point. “When a Member of the Screen Actors Guild becomes disabled, in order to receive their Pension, they must sign paperwork. One of the acknowledgments is that “You have b