5 Things You Should Know about the Child Tax Credit

The Child Tax Credit is an important tax credit that may save you up to $1,000 for each eligible qualifying child. Be sure you qualify before you claim it. Here are five useful facts from the IRS on the Child Tax Credit: 

Deciding Whether to Itemize or Use the Standard Deduction - 5 steps

Most people claim the standard deduction when they file their federal tax return, but you may be able to lower your tax bill if you itemize. You can find out which way saves you the most by figuring your taxes both ways. The IRS offers these six tips to help you choose:

1. Figure Your Itemized Deductions. Add up deductible expenses you paid during the year. These may include expenses such as:

• Home mortgage interest
• State and local income taxes or sales taxes (but not both)
• Real estate and personal property taxes
• Gifts to charities
• Casualty or theft losses
• Unreimbursed medical expenses
• Unreimbursed employee business expenses

Special rules and limits apply. Visit IRS.gov and refer to Publication 17, Your Federal Income Tax, for more details.

Obtaining and Claiming a Health Coverage Exemption

The Affordable Care Act requires you and each member of your family to have minimum essential coverage, qualify for an insurance coverage exemption, or make an individual shared responsibility payment for months without coverage or an exemption when you file your federal income tax return.

You, your spouse or your dependents may be eligible to claim an exemption from the requirement to have coverage and are not required to make a payment. .For any month that you do not qualify for a coverage exemption, you will need to have minimum essential coverage or make a shared responsibility payment.

You can claim most exemptions when you file your tax return. However, you must apply for certain exemptions in advance through the Health Insurance Marketplace, You may be exempt if:

• The minimum amount you must pay for the annual premiums is more than 8.05 percent of your household income
• You have a gap in coverage that is less than three consecutive months
• You qualify for an exemption for one of several other reasons, including having a hardship that prevents you from obtaining coverage, or belonging to a group explicitly exempt from the requirement

Hiding Money or Income Offshore Resides on the “Dirty Dozen” List of Tax Scams for the 2016 Filing Season

WASHINGTON — The Internal Revenue Service today said avoiding taxes by hiding money or assets in unreported offshore accounts remains on its annual list of tax scams known as the “Dirty Dozen” for the 2015 filing season.

"Our continued enforcement actions should discourage anyone from trying to illegally hide money and income offshore," said IRS Commissioner John Koskinen. "We have voluntary options to help taxpayers get their taxes and filing obligations in order."

Since the first Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Program (OVDP) opened in 2009, there have been more than 54,000 disclosures and we have collected more than $8 billion from this initiative alone.  The IRS conducted thousands of offshore-related civil audits that have produced tens of millions of dollars. The IRS has also pursued criminal charges leading to billions of dollars in criminal fines and restitutions.

The IRS remains committed to our priority efforts to stop offshore tax evasion wherever it occurs.  Even though the IRS has faced several years of budget reductions, the IRS continues to pursue cases in all parts of the world, regardless of whether the person hiding money overseas chooses a bank with no offices on U.S. soil.

Through the years, offshore accounts have been used to lure taxpayers into scams and schemes.

Compiled annually, the “Dirty Dozen” lists a variety of common scams that taxpayers may encounter anytime, but many of these schemes peak during filing season as people prepare their returns or hire people to help with their taxes.

Illegal scams can lead to significant penalties and interest and possible criminal prosecution. IRS Criminal Investigation works closely with the Department of Justice (DOJ) to shut down scams and prosecute the criminals behind them.