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Federal                    

Internal Revenue Service (IRS)

IRS Tax Forms and Publications

IRS FAQs - general questions and answers.

IRS Withholding Calculator - Are you having difficulty filling out Form W-4 with your employer? Or try Kiplinger's easy-to-use withholding calculator.

IRS Where's My Refund - Access this secure Website to find out if the IRS received your return and whether your refund was processed and sent to you.

IRS Understanding your notice - Do you need to see what an IRS notice says, but don't have it in front of you? If you know the notice number, you can look up its purpose, basic message, possible enclosures, and other useful details.  What to do if you receive an IRS notice.

Federal hybrid car deduction for 2010 Model Year Vehicles - For hybrids purchased in 2006 and after, the tax deduction has changed to a tax credit.  See my November, 2005 newsletter, Updated, larger tax incentives for hybrid vehicles for more information.

Social Security Number Verification - Employers:  Verify employees' Social Security numbers over the internet

Social Security benefits calculator

Tax Almanac  - a free online tax research resource and community, Wikipedia style.

Colorado

Colorado Department of Revenue

Tax Account Information Service - Get information about the status of your current income tax refund and other information about your Colorado income tax account

Colorado Department of Revenue Tax Information - Individuals

Colorado Child Care Contribution Credit - Taxpayers that make a monetary contribution to promote child care in Colorado may claim an income tax credit of 50% of the total contribution on their Colorado income tax return.  See my December, 2007 newsletter, The Colorado Child Care Contribution Credit - What a deal!

Colorado Alternative Fuel (Hybrid) Vehicle Credit - Receive a tax credit for thousands of dollars if you purchase an alternative fuel vehicle.

Larimer County, Colorado Enterprise Zone "project" Tax Credit - In addition to the federal charitable contribution deduction, receive a 25% Colorado credit when you contribute to an Enterprise Zone "project."  Click here for a list of current Larimer County Enterprise Zone projects.

Colorado Department of Revenue Tax Information - Businesses

Colorado Department of Labor and Unemployment

All States

Federation of Tax Administrators - Links to All 50 States' Tax Forms

State individual income tax rates comparison - updated January 1, 2008

Fun Stuff (for tax geeks like me, that is)

U.S. President, Vice President and candidate's tax returns

History of American taxation from The Tax History Museum

Tax statistics - produced by the Statistics of Income Division and Other Areas of the IRS

Top federal income tax rates since 1916

The first 1040 and instructions in 1913 - Wow!  Only 4 pages... The Tax History Project has collected the U.S. 1040 tax forms from 1913 to 2006 here.

FindLaw's U.S. Federal and State laws - cases, codes, statutes, regulations

Individual Income Confession - Just think, you could be filing a return like this.

Tax Freedom Day was April 12, 2011.  TFD is the first day of the year in which a nation as a whole has earned enough income to pay its annual tax burden.  To make you feel better, Denmark and Sweden's Tax Freedom Day is sometime towards the end of July.

Inflation Calculator - The U.S. Inflation Calculator measures the buying power of the dollar over time.  Start from any date from 1913 on.

Joke by Randy Bish, Pittsburgh, PA -- the Tribune-Review:

Yes, an accountant's idea of fun is different from everybody else's...

In the news

TAX REFORM TALK (again)!

August , 2010.  The President's Economic Recovery Advisory Board (PERAB) has delivered its long-awaited report on tax reform options, carrying a host of reform options for the Administration to consider in drafting tax policy. The Report covers a wide range of reform proposals in areas such as corporate and international taxation, retirement plan simplification, individual taxation, and small business simplification.

PERAB is an outside advisory panel established by the President and is not part of the Administration. The Report, which doesn't represent Administration policy, may figure in the upcoming Congressional debate over EGTRRA sunsets and extenders.

The full report can be viewed here.

November, 2009. - On November 30, the President's Economic Recovery Advisory Board (PERAB) Chairman Paul Volcker announced that the report on tax reform scheduled to be release on December 4 will be delayed. He stated that the tax reform Task Force had received more than 500 submissions of serious tax reform ideas from the public and that they had to cut them off to meet their original deadline. In order to review as many suggestions as possible and to have sufficient time to fully consider the hundreds of suggestions that have already come in, Volcker stated that they will be reopening the web submission form and extending the deadline for any suggestions in keeping with their mandate (suggestions may also be submitted via email) and will be scheduling more public meetings over the coming weeks. He expects to report back to the Administration after the holidays.

The Task Force on tax reform has the following objectives: tax simplification, closing tax loopholes and reducing tax evasion, and reducing corporate welfare. The task force will present its reports to PERAB which, in turn, will forward its recommendations for tax reform. There are few constraints on the activities of the task force, but it's mandated that no proposal should raise taxes on families making less than $250,000.

March, 2009 - White House Announces Task Force on Tax Reform.

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See what states are the most "tax-friendly" in 2007.  Where does your state rank?

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How do you rank as a taxpayer?  Go to Kiplinger.com to find out what portion of the tax burden you bear according to your income status.

Tax Legislation
Wow! Congress has passed an average of at least one tax bill per year since 1940.  Here's a summary from the Tax Policy Center.

CCH has a nice summary of and quick links to recent tax legislation, including acts signed into law and legislation that is making it's way through the House and Senate.

Below are links to summaries of the tax legislations that were signed by Presidents Bush and Obama from 2007 through now.

Three Percent Withholding Repeal and Job Creation Act (November 21, 2011)

Budget Control Act of 2011 (August 2, 2011)

Comprehensive 1099 Taxpayer Protection and Repayment of Exchange Subsidy Overpayments Act of 2011 (1099 Repeal Bill) (April 14, 2011)

2010 Tax Relief Act (December 6, 2010)

Small Business Jobs Act of 2010 (September 27, 2010)

Homebuyer Assistance and Improvement Act of 2010 (July 2, 2010)

Preservation of Access to Care for Medicare Beneficiaries and Pension Relief Act of 2010 (June 25, 2010)

Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 (March 30, 2010)

Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (the Patient Protection Act) (March 23, 2010)

Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment (HIRE) Act (March 18, 2010)

Worker, Homeownership, and Business Assistance Act of 2009 (November 5, 2009)

American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (the key tax provisions at a glance) (February 17, 2009)

Worker, Retiree, and Employer Recovery Act of 2008 (December 11, 2008)

Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 (October 3, 2008)

Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 (July 30, 2008)

Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 or Farm Bill (May 22, 2008)

Economic Stimulus Act of 2008 (February 14, 2008)

AMT Patch, Foreclosures Relief and More (December 2007)

Small Business and Work Opportunity Tax Act of 2007 (May 25, 2007)

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Remember, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.  Read about the IRS's top Tax Scams.

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Didn't you always want to know more about the IRS?  Here's Historical Highlights of the IRS, dating back to its inception in 1862.