Be Aware of the Tax Consequences Before Selling Your Home
In many parts of the country, summer is peak season for selling a home. If you’re planning to put your home on the market soon, you’re probably thinking about things [...]
Capital Gains Rates Before and After the New Tax Law
Are you confused about the federal income tax rates on capital gains and dividends under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA)? If so, you're not alone. Here's what you [...]
Handle with Care: The Nanny Tax Rules
When you hire a nanny, housekeeper or other domestic worker, pay close attention to the tax rules. Over the years, there have been news stories about political appointees and others [...]
Individual Tax Calendar: Important Deadlines for the Remainder of 2018
While April 15 (April 17 this year) is the main tax deadline on most individual taxpayers’ minds, there are others through the rest of the year that you also need [...]
Home-related tax breaks are valuable on 2017 returns, but will be less so for 2018
Home ownership is a key element of the American dream for many, and the U.S. tax code includes many tax breaks that help support this dream. If you own a [...]
Leasing Property to Your C Corp
It's generally not a good idea for a closely held C corporation to own assets with high appreciation potential. A classic example is real estate. If your corporation owns property, [...]
Casualty Losses Can Provide a 2017 Deduction, but Rules Tighten for 2018
If you suffered damage to your home or personal property last year, you may be able to deduct these “casualty” losses on your 2017 federal income tax return. For 2018 [...]
Getting a Divorce? Divide Assets and Tax Bills
With a divorce, there are often major financial consequences and some important tax issues too. Here are the tax rules that generally apply when a couple's assets are split up in [...]
Size of Charitable Deductions Depends on Many factors
Whether you’re claiming charitable deductions on your 2017 return or planning your donations for 2018, be sure you know how much you’re allowed to deduct. Your deduction depends on more [...]
Sec. 179 Expensing Provides Small Businesses Tax Savings on 2017 Returns — and more savings in the future
If you purchased qualifying property by December 31, 2017, you may be able to take advantage of Section 179 expensing on your 2017 tax return. You’ll also want to keep [...]
Tax deduction for moving costs: 2017 vs. 2018
If you moved for work-related reasons in 2017, you might be able to deduct some of the costs on your 2017 return — even if you don’t itemize deductions. (Or, [...]
Families with College Students May Save Tax on Their 2017 Returns With One of These Breaks
Whether you had a child in college (or graduate school) last year or were a student yourself, you may be eligible for some valuable tax breaks on your 2017 return. [...]
TCJA temporarily lowers medical expense deduction threshold
With rising health care costs, claiming whatever tax breaks related to health care that you can is more important than ever. But there’s a threshold for deducting medical expenses that [...]
2 Tax Credits Just for Small Businesses May Reduce 2017 and 2018 Tax Bills
Tax credits reduce tax liability dollar-for-dollar, potentially making them more valuable than deductions, which reduce only the amount of income subject to tax. Maximizing available credits is especially important now [...]
Standard Mileage Rates for 2018 Up from Rates for 2017
The Internal Revenue Service today issued the 2018 optional standard mileage rates used to calculate the deductible costs of operating an automobile for business, charitable, medical or moving purposes. Beginning [...]