Tax Tip of the Week: Many Tax Breaks Set to Expire After 2011

by | Sep 7, 2011 | Accounting & Bookkeeping, Cash Flow, Current Affairs, Income Taxes, Tax Tip of The Week

The following is a list of tax breaks that are scheduled to expire at the end of this year: The 2 percent cut to the employee share of social security tax. College tuition write-offs. The $250 write-off of teacher supplies. The write-off of state sales tax. The 100...

Business Success Secrets: Lessons Business Owners Keep Learning the Hard Way! No Pain – No Change! The Unofficial Business Owner’s Slogan

by | Aug 29, 2011 | Accounting & Bookkeeping, Business Profit & Cash Flow Tips, Business Success Series, Cash Flow, Cost Cutting, Sales & Marketing, Small Business Owners, Surviving an IRS Audit Series

 The myth most business owners believe: I can still get the job done, it can wait. Why this myth causes a problem: Just about every week I meet with business owners who have waited too long to address an issue that has now become an emergency! The numbers of...

Tax Tip of the Week: What employer payments to an employee are not taxable to them?

by | Aug 16, 2011 | Accounting & Bookkeeping, Business Profit & Cash Flow Tips, Business Success Series, Cash Flow, Cost Cutting, Income Taxes, Small Business Owners

This is a frequent question I receive from both employers and employees. The debt fight in Washington has highlighted what the President calls, “tax loopholes that should be closed.” A “loophole” is a legal deduction that Washington has written in to the code to...

Tax Tip of the Week: Can I Deduct Interest I Paid on My Boyfriend’s House?

by | Jul 24, 2011 | Accounting & Bookkeeping, Current Affairs, Income Taxes, Tax Tip of The Week

A tax court ruled (Wheeler, TC Summ. OP. 2011-83) that a taxpayer could not deduct mortgage interest on payments she made on her boy friend’s house that she also lived in. The facts presented during the trial also showed that she paid the entire mortgage at one point,...

Tax Tip Of The Week: Tax Court Rules Cost Of Caregiver Qualifies As A Medical Expense

by | Jul 15, 2011 | Accounting & Bookkeeping, Current Affairs, Income Taxes, Tax Tip of The Week

The case involved a mother who was diagnosed with dementia. Her doctor certified that she needed continuous care to ensure that she took all her medicine. Her son hired caregivers to assist her. The tax court ruled (Est of Baral, 137 TC No.1) that these payments were...

Tax Tip of the Week – Standard Mileage Allowance Increases

by | Jul 2, 2011 | Accounting & Bookkeeping, Books, Business Profit & Cash Flow Tips, Current Affairs, Income Taxes, Small Business Owners

Due to the gas price increase this year, the IRS drives up the standard mileage rates for the last six months of 2011. The following are the revised rates effective 07/01/11: Business vehicle usage – 55.5 cents per mile, an increase of 4.5 cents per mile. Medical...