Individual Taxes, Real Estate home office, Home purchase, Home Sale, ira withdrawals, qualifying home improvements, refinancing
Be aware that important tax consequences are often associated with some fairly common events involving your home. Here are some handy things to know. Home purchase. When purchasing a home, you may pay a portion of the mortgage interest in advance. This loan origination fee, or “points,” is a percentage of the total amount borrowed. If […]
Audit, Tax Planning audit, FORM ss-5, name mismatch, SS-5
If you were married, divorced, or changed your name for any reason during the past year, do not forget to file to change your name prior to preparing your tax return. The IRS automatically conducts a name match on the first few letters of your last name. If the name on your tax return does […]
Business Taxes, Tax Break Energy Tax Credits, environment, going green, paperless, recycling
We see, hear, and read every day that the world is becoming more environmentally conscious and taking steps to “go green.” While many of these may be out of reach for smaller businesses, there are several things that even small businesses can do to head toward going green. Recycling. Most communities these days provide recycling centers. […]
Individual Taxes, Tax Tips charity donations, gift tax, gifts, long-term capital gains, Property
Receiving a gift is not a taxable event to the one who receives the gift. If the gift is large enough, it could result in gift tax being due by the donor. In any case, you are not to report any gifts you receive on your income tax return. This is true whether the gift […]
Credit, IRS, Uncategorized cyber crime, malicious, phishing, sensitive information, stolen identity
With Tax Day only a few days away, cybercriminals are trying to take advantage of tax season through widespread phishing campaigns that aim to trick people into providing sensitive information, or opening malicious attachments containing malware designed to steal financial information or cause other trouble. In a new report ProofPoint researchers illustrate how campaigns are […]
IRS Rules, Loans applicable federal rates, Family, Gift, tax code, tax traps
Lending to friends and relatives is a tricky business, and not only because of the stress it can place on your relationships. There are tax issues involved as well. If you have to lend money to someone close, here are some tips to do it right in the eyes of the tax code. Charge interest […]
IRS Rules, Tax Tips business use, home office, safe-harbor rule
There is a simplified way to take a home office expense for a portion of your home. This ‘safe-harbor’ option greatly simplifies how to record valid expenses for business use of your home. Here is how it works. You may opt to take your office space square feet times $5 and use this as a […]
Individual Taxes, Retirement Direct Deposit, documentation, mistakes, retirement plan, tax surprises, tax-deferred accounts
Don’t let them happen to you Every year taxpayers are hit with tax surprises that could be avoided if they just knew the rules. Here are five big ones that are easy to avoid with some simple planning. Mistake #1. Withholding too little. This results in a tax surprise when filing your income tax. Don’t be […]
IRS, Money Management convenience fee, Installment payments, interest, penalties, tax bill
Your tax bill is now due and you may be considering paying the bill with your credit card. Is this a good idea? How does it work? Here is what you need to know. The IRS has contracted with a few credit card merchants to offer credit cards as a method of payment. Why not? […]
Audit, IRS additional tax, compliance, improper deductions, Tax gap, underreporting income
The “tax gap” is a concept developed by the Internal Revenue Service to measure voluntary compliance with the tax laws by taxpayers. The tax gap is the difference between what taxpayers should have paid and the amount that is actually paid voluntarily and timely. According to the latest tax gap figures, about 83% of all […]
