Vacation Home Usage Has Tax Implications
Do you own a vacation home that's classified as a rental property for tax purposes? Rental property owners may be tempted to use their rental properties for their personal "staycations" or [...]
Working in the Gig Economy Results in Tax Obligations
Before the COVID-19 pandemic hit, the number of people engaged in the “gig” or sharing economy had been growing, according to several reports. And reductions in working hours during the [...]
Providing Education Assistance to Employees? Follow These Rules
Many businesses provide education fringe benefits so their employees can improve their skills and gain additional knowledge. An employee can receive, on a tax-free basis, up to $5,250 each year [...]
How Virtual Currency Transactions Affect Your Tax Situation
The IRS wants to know about any virtual currency transactions. However, many taxpayers are surprised to learn that Bitcoin and other forms of virtual currency are considered "property" for tax purposes, [...]
Trader Status Offers Significant Tax Benefits
In January 2021, online day traders trapped institutional short sellers in a short squeeze by buying up shares of the video and computer game retailer GameStop. This episode brought attention to [...]
Why It’s Important to Meet Tax Return Filing and Payment Deadlines
The May 17 deadline for filing your 2020 individual tax return is coming up soon. It’s important to file and pay your tax return on time to avoid penalties imposed [...]
Hobby-Related Loss Deductions Are Disallowed, but Don’t Give Up Hope
Let's say you have an unincorporated sideline activity that you think of as a business, including an activity involving horses. If you have a net loss (deductible expenses exceed revenue) on [...]
Unemployed Last Year? Buying Health Insurance This Year? You May Benefit From Favorable New Changes
In recent months, there have been a number of tax changes that may affect your individual tax bill. Many of these changes were enacted to help mitigate the financial damage [...]
Who Qualifies for “Head of Household” Tax Filing Status?
When you file your tax return, you must check one of the following filing statuses: Single, married filing jointly, married filing separately, head of household or qualifying widow(er). Who qualifies [...]
New Law Tax Break May Make Child Care Less Expensive
The new American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) provides eligible families with an enhanced child and dependent care credit for 2021. This is the credit available for expenses a taxpayer pays [...]
New Law: Parents and Other Eligible Americans to Receive Direct Payments
The American Rescue Plan Act, signed into law on March 11, provides a variety of tax and financial relief to help mitigate the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Among the [...]
4 Important Changes on Your 2020 Tax Return
Tax season has started. Your tax professional is ready to prepare your 2020 federal and state returns — but are you ready? The pandemic has led to several changes to the [...]
If You Run a Business From Home, You Could Qualify For Home Office Deductions
During the COVID-19 pandemic, many people are working from home. If you’re self-employed and run your business from your home or perform certain functions there, you might be able to [...]
Can You Claim the QBI Deduction for 2020?
For tax years beginning in 2020, you can potentially claim a personal federal income tax deduction for up to 20% of qualified business income (QBI) from a so-called "pass-through" business, [...]
Bad Debts: What Losses Can You Deduct and When?
Attempts to claim write-offs for bad debt losses have fueled controversies with the IRS for many years. Unfortunately, bad debt losses are increasingly common during the COVID-19 pandemic. Here's an overview [...]