Size of Charitable Deductions Depends on Many factors
Whether you’re claiming charitable deductions on your 2017 return or planning your donations for 2018, be sure you know how much you’re allowed to deduct. Your deduction depends on more [...]
IRS Approved Family Loan
Today's relatively low-interest-rate environment makes it easy to loan money to family members on favorable terms with full IRS approval. Here's a rundown of what the law covers and why [...]
Sec. 179 Expensing Provides Small Businesses Tax Savings on 2017 Returns — and more savings in the future
If you purchased qualifying property by December 31, 2017, you may be able to take advantage of Section 179 expensing on your 2017 tax return. You’ll also want to keep [...]
Tax deduction for moving costs: 2017 vs. 2018
If you moved for work-related reasons in 2017, you might be able to deduct some of the costs on your 2017 return — even if you don’t itemize deductions. (Or, [...]
Families with College Students May Save Tax on Their 2017 Returns With One of These Breaks
Whether you had a child in college (or graduate school) last year or were a student yourself, you may be eligible for some valuable tax breaks on your 2017 return. [...]
2 Tax Credits Just for Small Businesses May Reduce 2017 and 2018 Tax Bills
Tax credits reduce tax liability dollar-for-dollar, potentially making them more valuable than deductions, which reduce only the amount of income subject to tax. Maximizing available credits is especially important now [...]
Inventory Your Possessions
Nearly 60% of Americans don't have a home inventory of their possessions, and of those that do, 48% don't have any receipts evidencing their value.¹ It's great to have insurance [...]
Standard Mileage Rates for 2018 Up from Rates for 2017
The Internal Revenue Service today issued the 2018 optional standard mileage rates used to calculate the deductible costs of operating an automobile for business, charitable, medical or moving purposes. Beginning [...]
Can you deduct home office expenses?
Working from home has become commonplace. But just because you have a home office space doesn’t mean you can deduct expenses associated with it. And for 2018, even fewer taxpayers [...]
Personal Exemptions and Standard Deductions and Tax Credits, oh my!
Under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), individual income tax rates generally go down for 2018 through 2025. But that doesn’t necessarily mean your income tax liability will [...]
The TCJA temporarily expands bonus depreciation
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) enhances some tax breaks for businesses while reducing or eliminating others. One break it enhances — temporarily — is bonus depreciation. While most [...]
When Can You Deduct Theft Losses?
The tax law allows you to deduct your personal losses resulting from casualties and thefts within certain limits. And a "theft" for tax purposes isn't strictly limited to house burglaries [...]
Tax Consequences of Borrowing From a Retirement Plan
If you participate in a qualified retirement plan through your job or self employment — such as a 401(k), profit-sharing, or Keogh plan — you might be allowed to borrow [...]