Commonly around when tax season comes around, scammers take notice and begin trying to pass off as the IRS to fool individual taxpayers; however, right now the IRS and Security Summit are warning tax professionals to a new scam of spear phishing emails directed at the preparers themselves. Spear phishing emails aren’t your average every day, “hey, this is important” obvious scam style email, spear phishing is more directed and focused on the individual or company. The IRS is warning tax professionals that the scammers will researching and the email may appear to be from a colleague, client, software provider, or even the IRS. Once the email is opened it may unload malware, or it might cont

Recently, we did a piece highlighting common tax mistakes that will cost the taxpayer. The first piece highlighted the mistakes of not exploring your options when looking for tax beneficial accounts such as Roth IRAs or 401(k) plans. The other part looked at the incentive for keeping investments longer term in order to collect on capital gains rates instead of ordinary income. Here are some more common mistakes to avoid. When setting up a retirement account, it’s important to be aware of every option (as evidenced in the first piece). Something every retirement investor must be aware about is the required minimum distributions (RMDs). These are accompanied specifically with most IRAs, t

It’s been almost a year since the TCJA has passed, but the IRS is still proposing, altering, and clarifying pieces of the act. Most recently, the IRS issued proposed regulations that would offer clarity to how to use the first-year depreciation deduction for qualified property. As many will note, the TCJA pushed the first-year depreciation deduction for qualified property from 50% to 100%, it also extended and modified bonus depreciation. The TCJA altered the bonus depreciation so that eligible property is 100% deductible immediately as of the year it is placed in service. The amount of allowable bonus depreciation is then phased lower for the following 4 years. The proposed regulations c

As people save money it’s common to settle on accounts and savings that they’re familiar with instead of exploring all the options, when often times a little exploration will show better methods of saving money. Here we’ll explore and explain some mistakes people will make so you may better understand how to plan for the future. One problem that people face frequently is not using accounts that have tax advantages. For instance, many people will use traditional IRAs and 401(k) accounts in order to reduce their current taxable income. The issue with these is that they will still owe taxes when the money is withdrawn later. By setting up a Roth IRA, the taxpayer will pay taxes on the amoun

Every parent has the question in their lifetime, “how am I going to afford education for my child?” College expenses continue to raise with no end in sight and every parent wants what is best for their child. Some parents decide to plan ahead and begin saving, but what if there was a way for parents to save money for their children’s education with tax benefits? Luckily for them, there is, welcome to the 529 plan. A 529 plan is operated by a state or educational institution that provides tax advantages and some other incentives that make it easier for parents to save for their children’s future education. As of 2018, parents may even use the 529 to save for private education in elementar

The House GOP and President Trump are taking aim and working together to create a tax cut 2.0 outline that they hope to roll out sometime in August. Each time it is brought up to reporters there is a little more clarity for what they are targeting. House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady is the leader on the project, currently emphasizing their development of the framework before individual ideas. Moving forward Brady has stated that he wishes to hold listening sessions with other House Republicans to get more ideas for what could go in the new tax bill. This second phase of tax cuts will focus on making the original bill more permanent, as many of the standing pieces are only

Cost of higher education continues to rise while students are stuck fighting over scholarships and working minimum wage jobs. Seems like everything is stacked against you doesn’t it? Well luckily students may be in luck thanks to two tax credits available, the American Opportunity and Lifetime Learning credit. The American Opportunity (A.O.) credit for qualified education expenses allow for the taxpayer to claim up to $2,500 per individual attending college. Credit is intended to help cover tuition, books, and materials. Room and board do not qualify for the credit. The credit is also limited to the first four years of higher education, so graduate students will likely not qualify unles