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 [...]
Stretch Your College Student’s Spending Money With the Dependent Tax Credit
If you’re the parent of a child who is age 17 to 23, and you pay all (or most) of his or her expenses, you may be surprised to learn [...]
Vehicle-Expense Deduction Ins and Outs for Individual Taxpayers
It’s not just businesses that can deduct vehicle-related expenses. Individuals also can deduct them in certain circumstances. Unfortunately, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) might reduce your deduction compared [...]
5 Last-Minute Ideas to Lower Your 2018 Taxes
It's almost Tax Day! But don't despair; there still may be time to make some moves that will save taxes for your 2018 tax year. Here are five tax-saving ideas [...]
Is An HSA Right For You?
Health care costs have skyrocketed over the last few decades. Fortunately, health savings accounts (HSAs) allow qualifying individuals to pay for certain medical expenses with pretax dollars. Here is what [...]
The 2018 Gift Tax Return Deadline is Almost Here
Did you make large gifts to your children, grandchildren or other heirs last year? If so, it’s important to determine whether you’re required to file a 2018 gift tax return [...]
I-9 Audits Are On the Rise: Be Prepared
Audits of I-9 records quadrupled in 2018 over the prior year (the federal fiscal year). That means nearly 6,000 employers were audited, which led to several dozen civil and criminal [...]
Beware the Ides of March — If You Own a Pass-Through Entity
Shakespeare’s words don’t apply just to Julius Caesar; they also apply to calendar-year partnerships, S corporations and limited liability companies (LLCs) treated as partnerships or S corporations for tax purposes. [...]
Some of Your Deductions May Be Smaller (or nonexistent) When You File Your 2018 Tax Return
While the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) reduces most income tax rates and expands some tax breaks, it limits or eliminates several itemized deductions that have been valuable to [...]
Charitable IRA Rollovers May Be Especially Beneficial in 2018
If you’re age 70½ or older, you can make direct contributions — up to $100,000 annually — from your IRA to qualified charitable organizations without owing any income tax on [...]