| Household Employees |
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| A few years ago, there were a number of scandals involving federal nominees or officials who had failed to pay "nanny" taxes on their employees. Despite the fact that many household employees request "under the table" payments in cash and that many employers do not want to bothered with the paperwork or additional expense, employers who do not make the required withholdings and payments may be subject to interest and penalties assessed by the Internal Revenue Service. More... |
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| Drilling and Exploration Costs |
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| The costs of developing oil, gas, or geothermal wells include wages, fuel, repairs, hauling, and supplies incident to and necessary for the preparation of the wells. A taxpayer who is developing these wells in the United States has the choice of treating the costs as capital expenditures and recovering them through depreciation or depletion or deducting the costs as current business expenses. If the costs of determining the existence, location, extent, or quality of any mineral deposit lead to the development of a mine, they are usually treated as capital expenditures and recovered through depletion as the mineral is removed from the ground. However, the taxpayer can choose to deduct exploration costs in the United States paid or incurred before the development stage began. This rule does not apply to oil, gas, or geothermal wells.
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| History of the Internal Revenue Service |
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| Believe it or not, the Internal Revenue Service did not come over to this country on the Mayflower with the Pilgrims. The agency's history goes back to 1862 when Congress and President Lincoln created the position of the Commissioner of the Internal Revenue and enacted the first income tax to pay for the Civil War. After that tax was repealed on the ground that it was a direct tax and not apportioned among the states on the basis of population, Congress revived the income tax in 1894, but the Supreme Court determined that it was unconstitutional. More... |
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| Adoption Tax Credit |
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| A substantial tax credit is available for the qualifying costs of adopting an n eligible child. The credit is phased out if the taxpayer's modified adjusted gross income exceeds an amount set by the Internal Revenue Code. More... |
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| Expatriation Tax |
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| The Internal Revenue Code imposes a tax on an individual who abandons his U.S. citizenship for the principal purpose of avoiding U.S. taxes. The expatriation tax applies to citizens who lose U.S. citizenship and to long-term permanent residents who terminate U.S. residency or who are treated as residents of another country pursuant to a treaty and who fail to waive treaty benefits. This tax may be assessed on U.S. source income for 10 years after the loss of the individual's citizenship or residency. More... |
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