Identity Theft and Your Taxes Tax-related identity theft occurs when someone uses your stolen Social Security number to file a tax return claiming a fraudulent refund. It presents challenges to individuals, businesses, organizations and government agencies, including the IRS. Learning that you are a victim of identity theft can be a stressful event. In many…
Credit for Plug-in Electric Vehicles Winds Down The tax credit available for purchasers of new General Motors plug-in electric vehicles begins phasing out on April 1, 2019. The phaseout was triggered because General Motors, LLC has sold more than 200,000 vehicles eligible for the plug-in electric drive motor vehicle credit during the fourth quarter of…
Six Tips for Last-Minute Tax Filers Earlier is better when it comes to working on your taxes but many people find preparing their tax return to be stressful and frustrating and wait until the last minute. Complicating matters this year is tax reform and the newly redesigned Form 1040. If you’ve been procrastinating on filing…
The Qualified Small Business Stock Exclusion As the driving force in today’s economy, small businesses benefit from numerous tax breaks in the tax code. One of these, the Qualified Small Business Stock (QSBS), was made permanent by the PATH Act (Protecting Americans from Tax Hikes Act of 2015). If you’re a small business investor, here’s…
Refundable vs. Non-Refundable Tax Credits Tax credits can reduce your tax bill or give you a bigger refund, but not all tax credits are created equal. While most tax credits are refundable, some credits are nonrefundable, but before we take a look at the difference between refundable and nonrefundable tax credits, it’s important to understand…
Fraud Alert: Fake calls from Taxpayer Advocate Service Like clockwork, every year, there’s a new twist on old scams. This year, it is the IRS impersonation phone scam whereby criminals fake calls from the Taxpayer Advocate Service. The TAS is an independent organization within the IRS that help protect your taxpayer rights. TAS can help…
Four Tax Deductions that Disappeared in 2018 Tax reform eliminated a number of deductions that many taxpayers counted on to reduce their taxable income. Here are four that could affect you. 1. Personal Exemptions Personal exemptions enabled individual taxpayers to reduce taxable their income in addition to the standard deduction, but were repealed for tax…
The Small Business Health Care Tax Credit If you’re a small business owner with fewer than 25 full-time equivalent employees you may be eligible for the small business health care credit. What is the Small Business Health Care Credit? The small business health care tax credit, part of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act…
Are Social Security Benefits Taxable? Social Security benefits include monthly retirement, survivor, and disability benefits; they do not include Supplemental Security Income (SSI) payments, which are not taxable. Generally, you pay federal income taxes on your Social Security benefits only if you have other substantial income in addition to your benefits such as wages, self-employment,…
Is Home Equity Loan Interest still Deductible? The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act has resulted in questions from taxpayers about many tax provisions including whether interest paid on home equity loans is still deductible. The good news is that despite newly-enacted restrictions on home mortgages, taxpayers can often still deduct interest on a home equity…