News & Updates
Understanding Marginal vs. Effective Tax Rates
Understanding marginal and effective tax rates are important for tax planning purposes; however, many taxpayers don't fully understand the differences. Let's take a closer look: Marginal Tax Rate The United States has a progressive tax system. The more money you earn,...
What To Know About IRS Letters and Notices
When the IRS needs to ask a question about a taxpayer's tax return, notify them about a change to their account, or request a payment, it often mails a letter or notice to the taxpayer. Taxpayers should know that the IRS sends millions of these letters and notices to...
Homeowner Records: What to Keep and How Long
Keeping full and accurate homeowner records is not only vital for claiming deductions on your tax return, but also for determining the basis or adjusted basis of your home. These records include your purchase contract and settlement papers if you bought the property,...
Retirement Plan Options for Small Businesses
According to the US Small Business Administration, small businesses employ half of all private-sector employees in the United States. However, a majority of small businesses do not offer their workers retirement savings benefits. If you’re like many other small...
Small Employer Health Reimbursement Arrangements
Small employer HRAs or QSEHRAs (Qualified Small Employer Health Reimbursement Arrangements) allow small businesses without group health plans to set aside money, tax-free, for employees to use toward medical expenses – including the cost of buying health insurance....
Key Tax Provisions of the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022
The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), signed into law on August 16, 2022, includes provisions affecting businesses, individuals, the clean-energy industry, healthcare, and more. Let’s take a look: Businesses Sec. 461(l) Business Loss Limitation. The pass-through tax...
New Job? Don’t Forget About Your 401(K)
One of the most important questions you face when changing jobs is what to do with the money in your 401(k) because making the wrong move could cost you thousands of dollars or more in taxes and lower returns. Let’s say you put in five years at your current job. For...
Understanding Your Rights as a Taxpayer
By law, all taxpayers have fundamental rights when interacting with the IRS, and all taxpayers should know and understand their rights. Ten categories of rights are presented in the Taxpayer Bill of Rights. Here’s an overview: 1. The right to be informed. Taxpayers...
Got Cash? What To Do With a Windfall
A cash windfall is any amount of money that you didn't expect to receive and is over your regular income. Most would consider it to be any amount over $1,000 - and quite often, the amount of money is much more than that. For example, you may have received a bonus at...
Tax Breaks for Teachers and Educators
It's almost time for the start of the new school year, and teachers and other educators should know that they can still deduct certain unreimbursed expenses. Deducting expenses such as classroom supplies, training, and travel helps reduce the amount of tax owed when...