To say COVID-19 has made 2020 a disastrous year for just about everyone would be an understatement. In response to the economic slowdown and losses of income, Congress passed several extensive laws to benefit individuals and businesses that suffered financial hardship because of COVID-19. However, 2020 has given rise to more than the usual tax-planning…

Article Highlights: Itemized Deduction AGI Limitations What Insurance is Deductible Above-the-Line Deduction for the Self-Employed Income Limitation Subsidized Limitation Health insurance premiums, especially in the wake of the Affordable Care Act, have risen dramatically and are one of the greatest expenses that most individuals pay. Although the cost of health insurance is allowed as part…

Attention Real Estate Agents. You hand out keys to property owners on a regular basis, well here is a key just for you. It is known as the S-election. Use it to unlock massive savings by eliminating Self-Employment tax on your commissions. Additional paperwork and expenses are involved, but the tax savings far exceed the…

Raise your hand if you want to track your business finances in one place that is easy and secure to access whenever you desire. If your hand is up, you need Quick Books Online. It is an advanced accounting software that is perfect for your business because you get 24/7 online access backed by the…

When it comes to food, taxes are a bit crazy especially for business owners. Food purchases are somewhere from zero to 100% deductible. It depends on whose mouth it ends up in. The full cost is deductible as an expense if the end user is: The General Public Employees that are working late Holiday office…

Sorry to get you down, but COVID-19 has been a miserable experience for all Americans. However it is a great feeling to help people when they are down, and now is your chance. You even get a special tax break on your 2020 tax return for your generosity. A win-win in this time of despair.…

The S-corporation election is a tax tool that saves business owners thousands of dollars in taxes each year. If you are just starting out, have a well established business or land somewhere in between, you must investigate the election and how it applies to you.  How does the S-election work? First you must get approval…

Businesses have a wide variety of retirement account options for owners and employees. The most common example is the 401-k. This blog concentrates on a less well-known option called SEP-IRA which stands for Simplified Employee Pension Individual Retirement Account. We are going to call them SEP for the rest of this article. They are really…

Article Highlights: Underpayment of Estimated Tax and Withholding Penalty Required Minimum Distribution Penalty Late Filing Penalty Late Payment Penalty Negligence Penalty Fraud Penalty Dishonored Check Penalty Missing ID Number Penalty Early Withdrawal Penalty Failure to Report Tips Penalty Foreign Reporting Excessive Claim Penalty Frivolous Return Penalty Failure to File Information Returns Penalty Most taxpayers don’t…

Once you get above a certain age, you start hearing about a magical thing called a credit score. You hear that everybody has one and that you need to do everything you can to bolster it. You hear that there are things you can do to hurt your credit score and that once you’ve messed…