Can You Be Classified as a Real Estate Professional?
While you might dabble in real estate, you must be classified as a real estate professional before you can deduct job-related losses in full on your income tax return.
Teaching Children About Budgets
Teaching children about the concept of money can be a simple lesson with a lifetime of benefits.
Using the Gift Tax Exclusion in Estate and Income Tax Planning
By using the Gift Tax Exclusion in your estate and income tax planning, you can give up to $12,000, per resident, per year, free of gift tax. This tax rule allows you to ensure the financial security of your family and loved ones. For more information about how to take advantage of a gift-giving program, read this C.P.A Insight.
Child Care Tax Breaks
If you pay for child-care expenses so that you may work, you may be eligible for the Child and Dependent Care Credit on your federal income tax return. The credit can be up to 35 percent of your qualifying expenses, depending upon your income. For more information on this tax credit and the limitations on the credit, read this C.P.A. Insight
Housekeeping for Your Business Records
Housekeeping for your business may sound out of place, but it is something that can be beneficial to your business. Keeping tidy information and records should improve your business’ efficiency. For a detailed look at the information a business should keep on hand, what should go to storage and what should be destroyed, read this C.P.A. Insight.
Selling Your Personal Residence
If you’ve been fortunate enough to be able to sell your house, the IRS had some rules that may allow you to exclude up to $250,000 of the gain of your main home from your income. The IRS also has some rules for reporting the sale of your home as well as deducting the remaining points you paid to secure a mortgage. For detailed information on these rules, read this C.P.A. Insight.
Little Known Tax Strategy Could Save Tax Dollars for Millions
If you are retiring and hold a significant amount of your company’s stock in your qualified retirement plan, you can choose to elect a special tax treatment for the distribution called net unrealized appreciation. Before you make this election, you’ll need to compare your tax liability on the distribution to future tax costs. For more information on this strategy, read this Financial Strategy.
Rental of Vacation Home Used as a Residence
If you’re fortunate enough to have a vacation or second home, you should consider some basic tax laws that will allow you to make the best tax use of your vacation home. You may consider taking advantage of tax free rental income, rental income deductions or a tax free sale of the home. For more information on these tax advantages and the rules that apply, read this C.P.A. Insight.
Business and Nonbusiness Bad Debt
Inevitably, you may incur a financial loss in your business or personal life. If this loss is due to a loan that cannot be repaid, it may be considered bad debt. From a tax standpoint, how you handle the bad debt is a complicated situation. For more information on determining if you have a bad debt and how it may offset your income, read this C.P.A. Insight.
The Estate Tax
Everyone knows about death and taxes, and if your estate is large enough, sometimes they go hand in hand. Estate tax is the transfer of property from one individual to another at the time of death. For more information on how estate tax is derived and the deductions and credits available to reduce the gross estate, read this Financial Strategy.