Every year, the Internal Revenue Service announces cost-of-living adjustments that affect contribution limits for retirement plans, thresholds for deductions and credits, and standard deduction and personal exemption amounts. Here are a few of the key adjustments for 2017. Retirement plans Employees who participate in 401(k), 403(b), and most 457 plans can defer up to $18,000 …
Substantiating Your Charitable Gifts
When you claim a federal income tax deduction for charitable contributions, you must substantiate the contributions by maintaining certain records. The records must establish the charity to whom the gift was made, the amount of cash or the type and value of other property donated to charity, whether anything was received in consideration for the …
Tougher Rules For Claiming the Child Tax Credit
A number of changes went into effect this year as a result of the Protecting Americans from Tax Hikes (PATH) Act of 2015 and other recent legislation. One of the changes added tougher compliance rules for those claiming the Child Tax Credit.
When Your Home is Not a Principal Residence
“Houston, we have a problem.” Who could ever forget those famous words as one catastrophe after another unfolded for the astronauts in the movie, Apollo 13? After considering a recent client related situation, it hit me – America, we have a problem! OK, I know that’s the number one topic these days – the problems …
Donating a Building to the Local Fire Department – A Few Things You need to know
Suppose you have an old house on your property, but you would really like to tear it down and build a new one. The demolition will cost $10,000 and you just really do not want to spend the money. A good friend offers you advice, or maybe the idea just pops into your head. I will …
Individual Federal Tax Return Deadline (It’s NOT 4/15/2016)
For 2016, the individual tax filing deadline is not Friday April 15 as you might think. It is actually Monday, April 18. Why? As it turns out, April 15 is a legal holiday in Washington, DC – Emancipation Day. Therefore Federal individual returns and Form 4868 automatic extension requests are not due until Monday, April 18. …
How Will Health Care Reform Affect you and Your Taxes?
It’s massive, and it’s complicated. At more than 2,000 pages, the Affordable Care Act (ACA for short) has left businesses and individuals confused about what the law contains and how it affects them. The aim of the law is to provide affordable, quality health care for all Americans. To reach that goal, the law requires …
No Increased Tax Withholdings – What a Bad Idea
BACKGROUND A piece in the LA Times reports that taking the country over the “fiscal cliff” would cost American households $3,500, on average in higher taxes next year. It goes on to say that almost 90% of Americans would see a rise in their tax liability. First, a quick review. “Fiscal cliff” is a term being …
New Tax on Home Sales? – Read Carefully
Have you ever noticed how a title can often mislead you? There is not so much about the moon in the movie “Twilight: Eclipse” nor was “Silence of the Lambs” about happy sheep offspring. And while the Health Care Act is in fact much about health care, it contains some provisions that might aptly belong under another title. For example, …
Health-Care Reform: Tax Issues For Individuals
The health-care reform legislation that was recently signed into law contains a number of tax changes. Some of these changes take effect immediately; others won’t have an impact for a few years. Here’s a year-by-year breakdown of some of the changes worth taking note of. Changes taking place in 2010 Bad news if you frequent …