TAX TIP OF THE DAY... DEDUCT CHRISTMAS?
1) deduct greeting cards to coworkers. 2) deduct holiday gifts to your staff. 3) deduct holiday donations... monetary, clothing, goods. 4) deduct holiday meals with coworkers by discussing business before, during or after. 5) deduct a % of holiday parties... based upon # of co-workers attending vs total attendees. SHARE WITH A FRIEND. If you need any help... www.baboiancpa.com TAX TIP OF THE DAY... MAXIMIZE YOUR DAYCARE CREDIT
1) use SUMMER CAMP tuition (no overnight camps). 2) use after school CLEANING LADY if kids are home alone. 3) BABYSITTERS can be used; but you'll never see that sitter again if you ask for their social security number. 4) use daycare for dependent PARENT WITH DEMENTIA. 5) Daycare FLEXIBLE SPENDING ACCOUNTS (FSAs) at work usually save more tax, but at the risk of the "use it, or lose it" feature. 6) Parents must be working, JOB HUNTING, STUDENT or DISABLED. 7) applies to children under age 13, disabled children of any age or dependent PARENTS WITH DISABILITIES. 8) Always list a 2nd child on the form even if child #2 was not in daycare. This quirky rule can save you $600 or more. 9) child of DIVORCE... the custodial parent gets the credit EVEN IF NOT CLAIMING THE CHILD as a dependent on the tax return. SHARE WITH A FRIEND. If you need any help.. www.baboiancpa.com TAX TIP OF THE DAY... DEDUCT THANKSGIVING?
1) deduct greeting cards to coworkers. 2) deduct holiday gifts to your staff. 3) deduct holiday donations... monetary, canned goods. 4) deduct holiday meals with coworkers by discussing business before, during or after. 5) deduct a % of holiday parties... based upon # of co-workers attending vs total attendees. SHARE WITH A FRIEND. If you need any help... www.baboiancpa.com TAX TIP OF THE DAY...
If your small business needs LARGE tax breaks before year-end, then don't play around. These are the BIG 4: 1) Upgrade equipment before 12/31 and expense in full. 2) 2015 SEP pension-- you can start and fund as late as 10/15/16. 3) LLCs... make a retroactive election to be taxed as an S corp for 2015. 4) Expense the full price of a heavy SUV or truck purchased by 12/31. Special bonus loophole-- use 100% for business during December and it won't matter if you have personal use in later years (as long as you maintain at least 50% business use). SHARE WITH A SELF-EMPLOYED FRIEND. If you need any help... www.baboiancpa.com TAX TIP OF THE DAY...
Overlooked deductions for school teachers & administrators: 1) classroom supplies (handouts, decorations, student treats & rewards) 2) admin. supplies (calendar, binder) 3) home research supplies (ipad, printer) 4) copying expense (home printer ink cartridges, Staples) 5) low tech information services-- newspaper, magazines, journals. 6) hi-tech information services-- portion of home internet, tablet data plan, internet subscriptions. 7) unreimbursed portion of education 8) unreimbursed mileage for meetings, continuing education, supply purchases. 9) union dues 10) business gifts to co-workers (holidays, greeting cards) 11) charity donations for dress down day & food drives 12) back support pillow 13) comfort shoes to protect your feet due to excessive standing 14) business meals where work was discussed with co-workers... lunch, break room donuts, coffe, snacks, dinner with co-worker. 15) if you deduct lunch, also deduct % of tupperware & lunch bag. 16) portion of personal cell phone -- after hours phone consultations with co-workers 17) professional memberships and dues SHARE WITH A FRIEND. If you need any help... www.baboiancpa.com TAX TIP OF THE DAY...
Deduct your work clothing? The general answer is "no", but let's dig deeper to find the "YES" EXCEPTIONS! 1) protective clothing... includes if you work in the heat/cold/rain (bus drivers, truckers, pizza delivery, construction, utilities, police). 2) not suitable for everyday wear in public... includes if your job results in stains (hair salons, construction), odors (food service), outlandish (clown, fast food). 3) includes home laundry, dry cleaning, maintenance, alterations. 4) any clothing with company name. 5) uniform accessories... gloves, back support belt, name badge, decorative badges. 6) footwear... any shoe that protects... steel toes, work boots, special comfort shoes for someone on their feet all day such as a waitress or nurse (sneakers), shoes that get grass stained or otherwise trashed (landscapers). 7) normal suits and ties... sorry but NO WAY TO GET THIS TO WORK unless you are willing to embroider company name on all your clothing! SHARE WITH A FRIEND. If you need any help... TAX TIDBIT OF THE DAY... Is it possible Trump paid zero in tax?
Yes. Our current tax code favors real estate ventures by full-time professionals who rent and develop properties. Many real estate ventures report tax losses for the years of operation and then have very large gains in the year they sell the property. However a special rule allows real estate investors to re-invest the sale proceeds and delay the taxation until the next building is sold... and there is no limit to how many times you can do this. One strategy is to continuously do this until your death. If I was preparing Mr. Trump's tax return, these are the strategies that I would suggest to get his tax bill to zero: 1) use prior year net operating loss carryovers from when the real estate business lost money. 2) use repeated 1031 exchange "re-investing" to delay gain taxation... possibly indefinitely until death. 3) sell off capital loss investments to offset capital gains from investments 4) strategically keep annual income under $75k to pay zero tax on long-term capital gains. 5) investing in tax-free municipal investments (state and county bonds). 6) borrowing money from banks to spend on real estate tax deductions. Why did Congress create these rules to purposely allow zero taxation? To motivate taxpayers to keep their money in certain segments of the economy... real estate, the stock market and state & local governments. SHARE WITH A FRIEND. http://www.baboiancpa.com/blog TAX TIP OF THE DAY... 2016 Obamacare penalties soar
The individual fines for going without health insurance in 2016 start at $695 per adult and $347 per child. The penalties increase from there based upon household income. Send me a message if you need advice on exceptions to these harsh penalties. SHARE WITH A FRIEND. http://www.baboiancpa.com/blog TAX TIP OF THE DAY... considering leaving the country if your nightmare candidate wins in November?
If you move but keep your citizenship, the US will continue to tax you. The US taxes its citizens on worldwide income, no matter where they reside. Tax credits and foreign income exclusions are available to provide relief in certain situations. You can email me your tax info from Canada, and I can still help you out! Source: Kiplinger Tax Letter SHARE WITH A FRIEND. http://www.baboiancpa.com/blog TAX TIP OF THE DAY... payments to family caregivers are tax-free
State programs sometimes pay family members for in-home care for their elderly/disabled relatives who would otherwise require institutional care. The IRS ruled that these payments can be received tax free. SHARE WITH A FRIEND http://www.baboiancpa.com/blog |
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AuthorDavid S. Baboian, CPA Archives
February 2018
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