The announcement this week that $10,000 to $20,000 of student loan debt could be forgiven was welcome news to all who qualify to receive it. But because loan forgiveness and loan cancellation are usually reported as income on your tax returns (and are therefore taxable), you may be asking how this will affect you when… Read More
A Quick (but not comprehensive) List of What to Give Your Tax Preparer Everyone’s financial situation is unique, so it’s impossible to say what exactly you will need to give to your tax professional in order for them to prepare your returns, but here are some general guidelines on what documents and information to collect.… Read More
An End of Year To-Do List that Will Make Your Taxes (and therefore your life) Easier 1.) If you haven’t yet, create a folder on your computer desktop titled ‘2021 Taxes.‘ Into this folder you’ll put * All the tax documents you’ll receive electronically. It’s a good idea to scan the documents you receive on… Read More
As we near the end of 2021, many taxpayers are looking to decrease their tax liability by donating money to charities. (Reminder: the CARES Act allows individuals who take the standard deduction to deduct up to $300 in monetary donations and couples filing jointly to deduct up to $600. 2021 is presumably the last year… Read More
If you own a small business, you can deduct advertising and marketing expenses from your income. The expense must have the goal to keep existing customers or bring in new customers. The cost must be ordinary and necessary to be tax-deductible. An ordinary expense is one that is common and accepted in your industry. A… Read More
Hurricane Ida was a hard reminder that natural disasters can strike anyone, no matter where they live. We all need to be prepared. This includes an emergency supply kit, preplanned evacuation routes and meetup locations, and keeping your insurance up to date. But it also includes making sure you’ve backed up your important documents. Access… Read More
The obvious answer to the above question is, “When it’s time to get your taxes done,” and yes, you want your tax returns prepared correctly, but there are other times in the year when you may benefit from a meeting with your tax accountant. A New Job Starting a new job often means filling… Read More
Crowdfunding is small donations/investments of capital from many people so that businesses or individuals can finance new ventures and it has become more and more prevalent over the years. Through websites such as Kickstarter, GoFundMe, and Patreon, it’s easier to give funds that help people and small businesses in need. But what are the tax… Read More
If you itemize filing a Schedule A, you can deduct charitable contributions. In 2020 individuals who do not itemize can deduct up to $300 from gross income for their qualified cash charitable contributions to public charities, private operating foundations and federal, state and local government. Regardless of the amount, you must maintain a record of the… Read More