Here are four tactics that could help you get your tax bills under control. Taxes are complicated, but if you get behind on paying them, things can get even more complicated — and quickly. If you owe back taxes, here are four common options that could help you find some tax relief, plus guidance on how many years can you file back taxes and how to file back taxes. 1. IRS payment plans If you need more time to pay your tax bill, the IRS will probably give it to you in the form of a payment plan.

  Tax credits are the gold nuggets of the tax world. Qualifying for one feels better than finding $100 in your pants pocket. Here’s a brief look at how some of the most common ones work — maybe you’ll find some cash here, too. Here are a few common ones for people raising kids, saving for retirement, paying for college or just buying stuff.

If you’re living abroad and paid by a US company, you’ll pay self employment tax on your earnings. If you’re living offshore and operating a business without an offshore company or LLC, you’ll pay self employment tax on your profits. Here’s how self employment tax works when you’re offshore and how to avoid it.  All Americans that are self employed or who business owners are responsible for paying self employment tax in one form or another. It doesn’t matter where you live or work… if you’re self employed and hold a blue passport, you must pay SE taxes. 

1. The tax code is even more confusing than ever before The tax code has always been loaded with rules, but this is the first season where the massive 2018 tax overhaul comes into play. As such, many accountants are struggling to interpret some of the changes, and if they're having a hard time, it means that the average income-earner is even less equipped to tackle those new laws.

Congressional auditors say about 30 million people — 21 percent of U.S. taxpayers — will have to come up with more money to pay their 2018 taxes next year because their employers withheld too little from their paychecks under government tables keyed to the new tax law.

Last year, three out of four tax filers got refunds from the IRS, averaging $2,782, as of 3rd quarter ($2,895 by year-end). Where did all that money go? American taxpayers report using their refunds primarily to pay down debt, build up rainy day bank accounts and make big purchases. But there’s another option: deposit your refund directly into an individual retirement account.

Author: Emily Brandon The new year is an excellent time to start saving a little more for the future. There are also a variety of perks you might qualify for if you put some extra money aside for retirement. Aim to take advantage of these incentives to save for retirement this year.

n an earlier era, typical divorced people might have been stressed-out parents in their 30s fighting for custody. Today, however, they're as likely to be empty nesters fighting over their rightful share of the 401(k) account. While divorce for younger couples is becoming less common, the rate for people 50 and older has doubled since 1990, according to the Pew Research Center.

Tax reform bill has some hidden gotchas The tax reform legislation that Congress approved Wednesday has a number of complexities that could prove problematic for tax professionals and their clients.

Amanda Coston was preparing for a meeting with her advisor Monday afternoon when her friend, another first-year PhD student in Carnegie Mellon's machine learning department, knocked on her door. Had she seen the email? A few minutes earlier, the university's Graduate Student Assembly had sent a Google Doc to department representatives across the university, and those reps had forwarded the document to their grad students.