Several court decisions affirmed IRS denials of taxpayers’ charitable contributions because they failed to satisfy all of the requirements of Sec. 170 and the regulations. These cases serve as reminders for taxpayers to consider their due-diligence standards for charitable contributions. Give us a call any time for advice on how to make contributions that will be safe from IRS challenge. Here is a summary of the cases:

It is never a good idea to file a tax return late. The IRS, State of Ohio and virtually every municipality will assess penalties on returns filed past the due date. If you simply run out of time, or don’t yet have all the needed information, it is perfectly fine to file for an extension.

In a recent report, the IRS says that in 2001 they closed 538,000 mail audits of individual tax returns and assessed about $1.4 billion in additional taxes.

If you were legally married on 12/31/12, the IRS considers you married for the entire year of 2012.

After months of senseless haggling, the Senate, early in the morning of Jan. 1, 2013, by a vote of 89–8, and the House of Representatives, late in the evening of Jan. 1, by a vote of 257–167, passed the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012, P.L. 112-240 (the Act). On Jan. 2, President Barack Obama signed the act into law, thereby avoiding the “fiscal cliff.” What was left on the table after the deal, which will set up another prolonged battle that will reinforce the divisiveness that has plagued Congress, are spending cuts, the budget, and the debt ceiling, not to mention basic tax reform.

How exactly does one account for the taxes on health care expenses? Forbes.com blogger Kelly Phillips Erb explains how ObamaCare does and does not change the tax treatment. This is part two of a two part Tax Tip on the changes in health care.