This post explains why you should follow a tax-saving strategy that considers designating your favorite charity or charities as beneficiaries of all or a portion of your IRAs. Then you can leave other assets to family members and other heirs....
Avoiding taxation should not be the only goal, or even the main goal, of your investment strategy. Still, you always have to keep taxes in mind to make sure you're not unnecessarily sending too much of your money to the government. This post talks about...
The Taxpayer First Act of 2019 is redesigning how the IRS works with taxpayers, even though it may take a while for many of the provisions to take effect. The Act includes provisions including an independent appeals process, cyber-security and identity protection, and innocent spouse...
If you're self-employed and work out of an office in your home and you satisfy certain strict rules, you will be entitled to favorable "home office" deductions. These deductions against your business income include direct and indirect expenses. Here's what you need to know to...
Deducting expenses for medical and dental care is easier when you know the rules.
If you itemize your deductions for a taxable year on Form 1040, Schedule A Itemized Deductions, you may be able to deduct unreimbursed expenses you paid that year for medical and...
Putting your children on payroll can help reduce the overall family tax bill and transfer assets to your children without introducing gift tax implications. This post explains the things you need to know to make this work for your family and your business....
If you were married this past year, congratulations! Getting married is a big step in your life and along with it comes many changes. One change is filing taxes as a married couple for the first time. This advice can help you get started....
When can you use bad debt to reduce business income? Even when you take the customer to court and you still don't get your money, there's a way to make lemonade from this lemon of a customer. This post explains what bad debt is, and...
Get started organizing paperwork now to make tax time less stressful.
Most of the papers you need to document the income, interest and withheld taxes you report arrive in your mailbox in January, with investment-related 1099s often coming in February. Get ready for their arrival by...
In determining gain or loss on sale of a partnership interest, taxpayers are often surprised to find they have a taxable gain. This post reviews some typical examples of such a sale and how they are treated for tax purposes....
