If you worked from home for the first time in 2020, you may be wondering if your home office is tax deductible. The bad news? If you’re working from home for an employer, you normally can’t deduct your home office expenses. Here’s a quick look at the basic requirements to be able to deduct your […]
Turn Your Home Office Into a Tax Deduction
Posted on 18. Feb, 2021 by Linda in IRS, Small Business Tips, Tax Tips
Make Preparations for Form 1099s This Year
Posted on 29. Jan, 2021 by Linda in IRS, Tax Tips, Tax Updates
Be looking for new Form 1099-NEC! Here are three tasks to consider that will make meeting your business’s information reporting requirements less stressful this tax season. Review your general ledger. Even if you’ve already identified 1099 vendors in your payables system, review current year expenses to make sure no new or infrequent payments have been overlooked. […]
Is a Tax Trap Lurking in Your Paycheck?
Posted on 21. Oct, 2020 by Linda in Small Business Tips, Tax Tips, Tax Updates
Does your paycheck look a little higher than normal? If so, it could be a tax trap. The ProblemA payroll tax holiday, effective September 1, was recently signed via a presidential executive order. Payroll tax holidays typically provide forgiveness of Social Security and Medicare taxes that are normally withheld from your paycheck. This year’s tax […]
IRS Announces Common Tax Scams
Posted on 16. Sep, 2020 by Linda in Identity Theft, IRS, Small Business Tips, Tax Tips
The IRS recently announced its 2020 edition of its annual Dirty Dozen list of tax scams. This year includes a special emphasis on aggressive and evolving schemes related to COVID-19 tax relief, including Economic Impact Payments. Here are six of the more common scams. Phishing. Phishing refers to potential fake emails or websites looking to steal your personal […]
NEW Tax Rules for 2020!
Posted on 11. Sep, 2020 by Linda in Charitable Contributions, Charitable Giving, IRS, Small Business Tips, Tax Tips, Tax Updates
Here are several new tax laws to consider as you start planning your 2020 tax obligation. Make up to $300 of charitable contributions. For the 2020 tax year only, an above-the-line deduction of $300 is available to all Americans who want to make a charitable contribution. You can donate to more than one charity, but the […]
Should You Incorporate Your Business?
Posted on 09. Sep, 2020 by Linda in IRS, Small Business Tips, Tax Tips
You may have started your business as a simple sole proprietorship that files its taxes as a Schedule C on your Form 1040. As your business grows, you may want to change the structure. Here are several scenarios where it may make sense to do just that. Reasons to Create Business Entities Establishing limited liability. The […]
How to Eliminate a Tax Surprise
Posted on 01. Sep, 2020 by Linda in IRS, Small Business Tips, Tax Tips
What is normally a reliable estimate of your taxes – the amount of money withheld from your paychecks by your employer – may be an unreliable estimate this year thanks to the current pandemic. Even worse, using the safety net of paying in what you did last year may not be practical if your financial […]
Be Prepared for Pandemic Tax Surprises
Posted on 14. Jun, 2020 by Linda in COVID-19, IRS, Retirement Accounts, Small Business Tips, Tax Tips
Numerous new laws provide economic relief to individuals and businesses hardest hit by this year’s pandemic. This much-needed financial assistance, however, comes with a few strings attached. Here are three potential surprises if you use the available economic relief packages: Getting a tax bill for unemployment benefits. While the $1,200 economic impact payments most Americans received […]
Get Your Money: Ensure You Receive a Stimulus Payment
Posted on 12. May, 2020 by Linda in COVID-19, IRS, Small Business Tips, Tax Tips
Your COVID-19 stimulus checks are in the mail! Find out how much you qualify for and when to expect the money. The IRS has two websites to help with stimulus payments: One for non-tax filers to register to receive their economic impact payment and a new “Get My Payment” tool. BackgroundAs a response to the […]
Finding the Balance of Income vs. Spending: The IRS primer every voter should know
Posted on 12. Mar, 2020 by Linda in Tax Tips
Every year the IRS publishes instructions to prepare your Form 1040, individual tax return. The publication for 2019 is a whopping 108 pages! On page 103 of the IRS booklet is a summary of collections (income) and spending (outlays) by the federal government. Given the election year, here is a summary of this recap and […]