Are you making summer plans for visiting your vacation home? If so, do you have to schedule your stay around dates reserved by paying guests? When you use your vacation home personally and also rent it during the year, you may need to be aware of special tax rules. But there’s a benefit to knowing…
Let Uncle Sam Help You Become Energy-Efficient
If getting more energy efficient at home or work is on your to-do list, let Uncle Sam help get things kick-started with some timely tax incentives. One example: you can claim a tax credit equal to 30% of the cost of a qualified solar-electric system if the system is installed this year. In some cases,…
Hiring for the Summer? Know the ACA Rules
If you’re an employer, what you have to do to comply with Affordable Care Act (ACA) rules depends on the size of your workforce. When you have 50 or more full-time employees – a total that can include seasonal workers – you have to deal with additional reporting and coverage requirements known as the “employer…
Real Estate Matters: Know the Tax Rules
Taxes are an important part of the decision to own real estate. Here’s a brief overview of tax benefits you can realize while you own real property, as well as when you sell or otherwise dispose of the property. Current expenses. As a rental property owner, you can deduct current expenses to offset the tax…
Owe the IRS and Can’t Pay? You Have Options
What happens if you owe the IRS – and you can’t pay? First, be sure to file your return anyway to avoid penalties for nonfiling. Then consider the following options, and choose the one that fits your financial situation. Can you pay off the balance within 120 days? If so, apply for a short-term payment…
It’s Time to Come Clean on Past Due Tax Returns
Failing to file tax returns on time doesn’t necessarily make you a criminal, but the penalty for procrastinating can be punishing. What’s the price you’ll pay? The IRS can assess a failure to file penalty, which is usually 5% of your unpaid taxes per month, up to a maximum penalty of 25%. In addition, there…
Last-Minute Moves Can Lower Your Tax Bill
Only one month to go until tax filing day! That means you still have time to trim your 2015 tax bill. Here are last-minute moves to consider and deductions to remember. Maximize your 2015 IRA contribution. You have until April 18 (or April 19 if you live in Maine or Massachusetts) to make deductible 2015…
Look into the Tax Breaks for Supporting Adult Relatives
If you helped support your parents or other adult relatives in 2015, tax breaks are available that could lower your taxes. You may be able to claim your relative as a dependent, deduct extra medical expenses, or use a more beneficial tax bracket. Claiming a relative as a dependent. An adult dependent’s gross income must…
Tax News – 2016 Changes to Note
Effective beginning with 2016 taxable years, the de minimis tangible property safe harbor has increased to $2,500 per invoice or item. The change affects regulations issued in 2013 that clarified when your business could expense tangible real and personal business property. Previously, the de minimis safe harbor let you elect to deduct individual capital expenditures…
Consider Advantages and Disadvantages Before Making an S Corporation Election
Are you deciding whether to make your business an S corporation for 2016? Here are tax considerations to review before the March 15 due date of the election. When you make an S election, you’re opting to have your business’s income or loss “passed through” to you and other shareholders. That means you’ll report the…