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Can Taxpayers Who Manage Their Own Investment Portfolios Deduct Related Expenses?
Do you have significant investment-related expenses, including the cost of subscriptions to financial services, home office expenses and clerical costs? Under current tax law, these expenses aren’t deductible through 2025 if they’re considered investment expenses for the production of income. But they’re deductible if they’re considered trade or business expenses. For years before 2018, production-of-income [...]
Who in your Business Can Be Hit with the “Trust Fund Recovery Penalty”?
There’s a harsh tax penalty that you could be at risk for paying personally if you own or manage a business with employees. It’s called the “Trust Fund Recovery Penalty” and it applies to the Social Security and income taxes required to be withheld by a business from its employees’ wages. Because taxes are considered [...]
Prevent Conflicts of Interest from Costing Your Business
Without trust between you and your employees, your business probably wouldn’t be very successful. Delegating responsibility, sharing ideas, working as a team — all require a certain level of trust. However, too much trust can lead to occupational fraud and conflicts of interest. To maintain the proper balance, establish a policy that outlines your disclosure [...]
How Fraud Perpetrators Target Military Personnel and Veterans
According to the Federal Trade Commission, veterans lost approximately $60 million to fraud in 2020. Active-duty military personnel and their spouses and dependents also suffered big financial losses to fraud last year. In fact, in 2020, military consumers lost more than the general public to fraud — a median $600 compared to $311 for nonmilitary [...]
10 Facts About the Pass-Through Deduction for Qualified Business Income
Are you eligible to take the deduction for qualified business income (QBI)? Here are 10 facts about this valuable tax break, referred to as the pass-through deduction, QBI deduction or §199A deduction. It’s available to owners of sole proprietorships, single member limited liability companies (LLCs), partnerships and S corporations. It may also be claimed by [...]
IRS Audits May Be Increasing, So Be Prepared
The IRS just released its audit statistics for the 2020 fiscal year and fewer taxpayers had their returns examined as compared with prior years. But even though a small percentage of returns are being chosen for audit these days, that will be little consolation if yours is one of them. Latest statistics Overall, just 0.5% [...]
Can Non-Working Spouses Contribute to an IRA?
Married couples may not be able to save as much as they need for retirement when one spouse doesn’t work outside the home — perhaps so that spouse can take care of children or elderly parents. In general, an IRA contribution is allowed only if a taxpayer earns compensation. However, there’s an exception involving a [...]
Are You Liable for Fraudulent Credit and Debit Card Charges?
Credit and debit card fraud was already a big problem when COVID-19 hit. Although how much payment card fraud increased in 2020 depends on the source, most experts agree that, like most types of fraud, it flourished during the pandemic. COVID-19-related prevention and treatment scams and increased online shopping likely contributed to this rise. If [...]
Seniors May Be Able to Write Off Medicare Premiums
Are you age 65 and older and have basic Medicare insurance? You may need to pay additional premiums to get the level of coverage you want. The premiums can be expensive, especially if you’re married and both you and your spouse are paying them. But there may be a bright side: You may qualify for [...]
Don’t Let Fraud Ruin Your Restaurant’s Reopening
Most restaurants are finally reopening to in-person dining. And while you may now be thinking about luring customers back, hiring enough workers and managing supply-chain shortages, one issue has remained the same: fraud. Restaurants often face fraud threats from employees, customers and vendors. So now isn’t the time to drop your guard. Potential risks Your [...]
Traveling for Business Again? What can you Deduct?
As we continue to come out of the COVID-19 pandemic, you may be traveling for business again. Under tax law, there are a number of rules for deducting the cost of your out-of-town business travel within the United States. These rules apply if the business conducted out of town reasonably requires an overnight stay. Note [...]
Tax Favored Ways to Build up a College Fund
If you’re a parent with a college-bound child, you may be concerned about being able to fund future tuition and other higher education costs. You want to take maximum advantage of tax benefits to minimize your expenses. Here are some possible options. Savings bonds Series EE U.S. savings bonds offer two tax-saving opportunities for eligible [...]
The Risks and Rewards of Accepting Cryptocurrency Payments
To use their ill-gotten cash, criminals must make it appear legitimate. That’s the job performed by money launderers, who increasingly use cryptocurrencies. According to digital currency analytics company Elliptic, crooks use them to launder $3 to $4 billion per year. With over 4,000 digital currencies to choose from, they gain access to a liquid asset [...]
Q3 2021 Tax Deadlines for Businesses
Here are some of the key tax-related deadlines affecting businesses and other employers during the third quarter of 2021. Keep in mind that this list isn’t all-inclusive, so there may be additional deadlines that apply to you. Contact us to ensure you’re meeting all applicable deadlines and to learn more about the filing requirements. Monday, [...]
Retiring Soon? 4 Tax Issues You May Face
If you’re getting ready to retire, you’ll soon experience changes in your lifestyle and income sources that may have numerous tax implications. Here’s a brief rundown of four tax and financial issues you may deal with when you retire: Taking required minimum distributions This is the minimum amount you must withdraw from your retirement accounts. [...]
Disclaimer
This blog is designed to provide competent and reliable information regarding the subject matter covered. However, it is being provided with the understanding that the blogmaster is not engaged in rendering investment advice. Laws and practices often vary from state to state and if investment assistance is required, the services of a licensed investment professional should be sought. The blogmaster resolutely encourages the reader/viewer to do their own research and due diligence before acting on any information contained herein. As such, Roger Rossmeisl specifically disclaims any liability that is incurred from the use or application of the contents of this blog. It should also be noted that the views contained in this blog are not necessarily representative of the opinions/beliefs of the other owners, management and/or employees of Kho & Patel CPAs.
