Are you a business owner looking into purchasing a new vehicle? The IRS provides a deduction when a business owner purchases a vehicle that weighs more than 6,000 pounds. Section 179 of the IRS tax code essentially allows businesses to deduct the full purchase price of certain equipment and vehicles purchased before December 31st of a given tax year. This means that you may be able to deduct the entire purchase price of that vehicle from your gross income. The equipment and v

If you are in the process of adopting, or you know someone that is, you will know that it is a very financially daunting process. The IRS appears to know this, too, as it offers an adoption tax credit for qualifying expenses related to adoption. The credit is available for qualified adoption expenses, which IRS Code Section 23(d)(1) defines to include “reasonable and necessary adoption fees, court costs, attorney fees, and other expenses . . . directly related to, and [with]

Has your company devoted time and resources to create a new or innovative product? Have they committed to improving a current product or process? If so, you may be eligible for a tax credit offsetting income tax, payroll tax, or even the alternative minimum tax. The IRS allows businesses that perform qualified research and development activities to utilize the federal research and development tax credit and reduce their tax liability. Most states provide a similar credit. To

As first payments of the Advance Child Tax Credit begin and the IRS continues to provide more information, this blog post contains an update regarding opting out of the Advance Child Tax Credit. As mentioned in the prior post, one reason for opting out may be to avoid IRS overpayments that you may have to reimburse come tax time. How does this happen? Because eligibility to receive the monthly Advance Credit is based on information the IRS obtained using 2020, and in some cas

For many people, college tuition can be very daunting. There are so many expenses to consider in addition to tuition – books, supplies, etc. While the government does not provide free college, it has created some tax write-offs that can be available for certain college expenses. Let’s briefly explore a few of these. Self-employed individuals can deduct the cost of certain work-related education. According to the IRS, if your education maintains or improves the skills you need

Have you noticed that when you buy something for $1.00 in one state, it might cost a few cents more when you buy it in another? Even among towns in the same state, the prices may still vary. This is because each state imposes its own sales tax rate, and most states allow local governments within them to add additional sales taxes if they choose. Only five states do not impose a sales tax: Alaska, Delaware, Montana, New Hampshire, and Oregon. Out of the states that do, Colorad

For many people, selling a home is an exciting event that symbolizes a new chapter in life. Under Internal Revenue Code (IRC) Section 121, sellers can exclude up to $250,000 (or $500,000 if a married couple) of the gain from the sale of their residential home. The personal home exclusion has a strict set of rules. It only applies to the sale of your principal residence. You must own the home at least two out of the five years immediately before the sale. It also requires owne

At the beginning of 2021, a new tax law extended the Covid-19 Employee Retention Credit (ERC) that was available in 2020. The new law continues the program through the first half of 2021. The maximum credit available for 2021 wages is $7,000 per quarter per employee, while the 2020 maximum was $5,000 per quarter per employee. Under this pandemic-induced tax relief program, eligible small-business employers can receive a tax break for certain qualified wages paid to employees