2018 is winding down, the holiday season is coming up, which means the tax season is almost over. If you’re like the majority of the population, you like getting a nice tax refund in the spring because who doesn’t like a little extra money. Here are a couple tips you can use if you’re feeling in the giving spirit this holiday season and plan to donate money to charities, while also helping your taxes. The first option is instead of giving cash to your favorite charity, consider giving appreciated securities, such as stock. When you itemize your taxes, the taxpayer can take a deduction for the amount the stock is worth, and in turn the charity does not have to pay any capital gains tax on

Divorce is never easy, and the last thing on a recently divorced persons mind is likely taxes. The problem is, the new legislation under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act means divorcees need to be thinking about taxes. Starting January 2019, new tax laws will take full effect, which reverse the alimony law that has stood for 77 years. The old law allowed the spouse paying alimony to take a deduction, while the one receiving payments is taxed according to their individual income bracket. The new law changes all that, now alimony is not deductible, and the one receiving it will not pay tax on it. In the past, the tax deduction on alimony has often acted as an incentive by allowing higher-earning s

Many people remember late 2017 and early 2018 when the cryptocurrency market was booming. Bitcoin reached an all-time high worth over $19,000 per digital coin, there were new types starting up everywhere, and everyone seemed to be making a fortune. Then reality struck, as countries began to set regulations on the previously unregulated market, the prices dwindled. Now Bitcoin sits around $6,500, and the overall market cap is much smaller now that many people have pulled out their money. Yet, some people have stayed true and kept their investments, but this has left them with a question, how do they pay taxes on what they own? Recently, a group of lawmakers sent an open letter to the IRS c

Speculated since spring of 2018, the GOP has been talking about pushing forward with another round of tax cuts, since been dubbed Tax Cuts 2.0. Back in July the initial belief was an outline may come out in August, but August came and went with little news besides a very vague picture of what may come. Well that time may have come to an end, recently House Speaker Paul Ryan and Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy have said they plan to hold a floor vote on the bills by the end of the month. One obstacle that lies in the path of passing another round of tax laws is the Senate. Currently, the House is controlled by Republicans so passing it there would be less of a challenge; however, the Senate

Recently the IRS has been sending out repeated warnings to update people that they may need to review their withholding taxes at work to make sure they are paying the correct amount on their federal income tax. Retirees especially need to be keeping tabs because they will need to be keeping the correct amount of withholding from their pension or annuities. Failure to withhold the correct amount can result in a large tax bill in the spring. One of the big issues for retirees is when they were working, the retirees would automatically pay their withholding with each paycheck. Now after they have retired they will have to pay it four times a year with estimated amounts. Here are some tips t

Many investors and business owners know all about the potential of depreciating equipment they invest into their company. Depreciation is a common deduction that helps businesses, especially small businesses, buy the equipment they need to help their customers. But how does this apply to online businesses? Does it apply to online businesses? You might be thinking why should physical businesses with assets like machinery gain all the benefit? Well good news to you online retailers, there may depreciation for you as well. Under section 179 of the tax code, there is depreciation available for computer software, so long as it is not customized. For instance, buying standard retail software

The IRS has finally released guidance on the new Code Sec. 199A, or more commonly referred to as the “pass-through deduction”, or “qualified business income”. The new code brought forth by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, allows specific businesses to deduct up to 20% of their qualified business income from sole proprietorships, partnerships, trusts, and S corporations. The proposed regulations incorporate Section 162 into 199A, which will help determine what constitutes a trade or business. Confusion came when filing because a taxpayer may have multiple businesses or trade, but they had to be limited to one entity. The regulations will allow a taxpayer to aggregate trades or businesses if: Eac