Helpful Tax Websites

There is a wealth of information available on the internet that we use daily this time of year as we prepare tax returns.  We thought it might be helpful to share some of that information with you.  You might not need these sites this year because (hopefully) you have already provided us with all your tax information!  But this might be a good page to bookmark for next year so you can refer back to it when gathering your 2012 tax information or throughout the year as you have tax questions.

Are you wondering what you paid in real estate taxes last year?  These are reported by county and can easily be found online.  Below are some of the more common counties we see.  If we haven’t listed your county, just google your county name along with “real estate taxes” and odds are you will find them online.

●        Baltimore County: http://www.baltimorecountymd.gov/agencies/budfin/taxsearch/

●        Baltimore City: http://cityservices.baltimorecity.gov/realproperty/

●        Harford County: http://www.harfordcountymd.gov/Treasury/Bills/

●        Anne Arundel County: https://aacounty.munisselfservice.com/citizens/default.aspx

●        Montgomery County: https://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/apps/tax/index.asp

●        Carroll County: http://ccgovernment.carr.org/ccg/collect/bill-inq.asp

You can also find out more information about your property, such as what you originally paid to purchase your home, at the MD state department of assessment and taxation website here: http://sdatcert3.resiusa.org/rp_rewrite/searchtype.aspx?County=07&SearchType=street

We are often asked if certain purchases or improvements to their house might qualify for the energy tax credit.  This website has a summary of all the different types of energy efficient property that qualify and for what years they are valid: http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=tax_credits.tx_index

Many of our clients invest in publicly traded partnerships that issue K-1’s.  Many of these companies offer their K-1’s electronically on this website: www.taxpackagesupport.com/.  You just need to sign up and enter your SSN and last name.

If you are lucky enough to be expecting a refund from your filed returns, you probably want to know when you will receive that check or electronic deposit.  You can check on the status of your refunds here: https://sa2.www4.irs.gov/irfof/lang/en/irfofgetstatus.jsp.  A tip for those of you who want that money quicker - the earlier we get your tax information and file the returns, the quicker you will get the refund!  The closer we get to the deadline, the slower they are with issuing the refunds.

Do you invest in gold funds like SPDR gold or ishares Silver?  They sell shares throughout the year to pay expenses and calculating the basis in the sold shares can be a pain.  This site can help: http://www.costbasis.com/calculators.html.  It will also help you calculate your new basis in shares of companies that have been involved in mergers or spin-offs, among other things.

Are you a Maryland resident who invests in municipal or government bonds?  Some of these bonds qualify as non-taxable in Maryland.  This administrative release helps explain: http://www.marylandtaxes.com/publications/bulletins/it/ar_it13.pdf

If you are currently receiving social security or getting close to that age, you might find the Social Security website helpful.  There are a number of services available there, such as applying for benefits and estimating your future benefits.

If you are over age 70 ½ and need to take required minimum distributions (RMD), there are several sites that help you determine your next distribution.  T. Rowe Price and Charles Schwab both offer nice calculators for this.

The IRS offers many resources that you can search through on their website at www.irs.gov.  Maryland does as well: http://individuals.marylandtaxes.com/taxforms/default.asp.  You can find information for any other state with a quick search on google.

Last but not least we can’t forget some of our own helpful articles from the past.  Here are a few:

●        Tips on organizing your tax information

●        Random observations from the tax desk

●        Establishing your residency in another state

●        Record retention guidelines

●        Sale of your residency rules

●        How to help keep us efficient in preparing your returns

●        What to do with your completed tax returns when they arrive in the mail

To download a Word version of this article, click here.