There’s a Favorable “Stepped-Up Basis” If You Inherit Property
A common question for people planning their estates or inheriting property is: For tax purposes, what’s the “cost” (or “basis”) an individual gets in property that he or she [...]
How Divorce Affects Eligibility for the Home Sale Gain Exclusion
It's common for couples who divorce to sell their homes. Not only does this move give former spouses fresh starts after the divorce is finalized, but it can also free [...]
Some Taxpayers Qualify for More Favorable “Head of Household” Tax Filing Status
When preparing your tax return, we’ll check one of the following statuses: Single, married filing jointly, married filing separately, head of household or qualifying widow(er). Filing a return as [...]
Protect the “Ordinary and Necessary” Advertising Expenses of Your Business
Under tax law, businesses can generally deduct advertising and marketing expenses that help keep existing customers and bring in new ones. This valuable tax deduction can help businesses cut [...]
Awarded Money in a Lawsuit or Settlement? It’s Only Tax-Free in Certain Circumstances
You generally must pay federal tax on all income you receive but there are some exceptions when you can exclude it. For example, compensatory awards and judgments for “personal [...]
Tax Law Changes that Could Affect Your Business Return
Every tax season, business owners must familiarize themselves with tax law changes that went into effect for that tax year. Fortunately, businesses don't have to contend with sweeping changes for [...]
Get a Head Start on College Savings
The Brookings Institution estimates parents will spend about $310,605 to raise a child born in 2015 until the age of 17. This figure is adjusted for future projected inflation but [...]
Tax Planning Can Reduce Adoption Costs
Adoptions plummeted during the COVID pandemic, but the adoption rate is slowly rebounding. If you're among those considering adopting a child, you need to know about the various tax breaks that [...]
What’s Happened with My Tax-Free Transportation Fringe Benefits?
Over the years, Congress has established some nice tax breaks for transportation-related employee fringe benefits to encourage taxpayers to be more ecology-minded when commuting to work. But, the Tax Cuts [...]
Federal Tax News for Individuals
Crypto Investors: Loss Deductions, Regulation and Oversight There have been three recent developments in the cryptocurrency arena: Loss tax deductions for FTX investors. Investors with inaccessible assets tied up [...]
Are You Missing the Roth IRA Boat?
Many self-employed individuals are eligible to make annual contributions to Roth IRAs, despite having healthy earnings from their businesses. But some haven't yet taken advantage of this retirement saving strategy. [...]
Important Tax Figures for 2023
The following table provides some important federal tax information for 2023, as compared with 2022. Many of the dollar amount increases are higher than in past years due to inflation. [...]
Do you qualify for the QBI deduction? And can you do anything by year-end to help qualify?
If you own a business, you may wonder if you’re eligible to take the qualified business income (QBI) deduction. Sometimes this is referred to as the pass-through deduction or [...]
Save for Retirement by Getting the Most Out of Your 401(k) Plan
Socking away money in a tax-advantaged retirement plan can help you reduce taxes and help secure a comfortable retirement. If your employer offers a 401(k) or Roth 401(k), contributing [...]
Let’s Be Reasonable about Owners’ Compensation
Is it possible to have too much of a good thing? The IRS thinks so, at least in the context of compensation paid to business owners. If an owner's compensation is [...]