Posts Tagged ‘taxable income’
5 Ways Tax Planning Can Help the Average Joe
August 18th, 2010 | 
Author: 
Tax planning for Average Joes? You bet!
Many people don’t think they make enough to worry about tax planning, but what they don’t realize is no matter what your income level, tax planning can help you make adjustments that will significantly reduce your tax liability.
Small Business to be Hit Hard by New SECA Rules
IRS closing S-Corp Tax Loop Holes
As a trusted tax advisor I am in the position of researching new proposed tax laws and passing that information on to my clients. Sometimes a new bill comes along that I feel is important for my clients and readers to get a heads up on due to the major tax implications. This latest bill has quietly moved through the House and is on its way up the ladder.
Posted in Business Finance, Self Employment, taxes | 
Tags: American Rcovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, audits, capital gains, H.R. 4213, Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act, House Ways and Means Committee, IRS, Medicare, personal services income, S Corporations, SECA, self employment tax, small business, sole proprietorship, tax, tax law, tax loop hole, tax loophole, taxable income | 
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Bad Debts Gone Wild: Part III, Business Debt
Business failure can leave you feeling totally de-railed
In the last part of this series, we covered the consumer side of bad debt charge-offs and how the IRS handles that from a tax perspective. Today I want to delve into the business side of bad debt charge-offs. This side of things is usually quite complex and hard to generalize but I will attempt to keep my “tax guru” side in check and you on board. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Business Finance, taxes |
Tags: 1099-C, accounting, business assets, canceled debts, discharged debt, net worth, ordinary business loss, recession, small business, tax, taxable income, taxes |
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Bad Debts Gone Wild: Part II, Consumer Debt
Earlier we discussed the tax implications of discharged debt and that the tax code, at face value, considers discharged bad debt (absent of any special exceptions) as taxable income. But of course, nothing is as simple as that in the world of Federal tax laws, so let’s delve into a few of the different ways this debt is viewed by our government.
There are two general categories for discharged debts: consumer loans (credit cards, automobile loans, mortgages) or business related loans (bonds, commercial mortgages, equipment loans). Each type is treated slightly differently when it comes to income tax recognition and/or exclusion. Today we’re going to cover the personal or consumer related loans.
1099-C & 1099-A: Bad Debts Gone Wild – Part I
The bleak economic environment over the past couple of years has resulted in a wave of credit defaults & foreclosures striking many individuals and small companies. In addition to dealing with stress and damaged credit scores, there is something even more sinister lurking in the shadows waiting to attack unsuspecting debtors…good ol’ Uncle Sam.
At first, it may not make sense that the IRS would be concerned with a debtor’s written off debt. But the tax code is quite clear in stating that (under many circumstances) discharged debt is considered taxable income. This fact may leave you scratching your head and saying to yourself, “What?!? If I don’t have the money to pay off my debts, then how can I pay income taxes on my discharged debt? It makes no sense to me!”
Posted in taxes |
Tags: 1099-A, 1099-C, bad debt, canceled debts, discharged debt, tax code, tax law, tax return, taxable income, taxes |
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Federal Tax Incentives for Continuing Education (Part 1 of 4): American Opportunity Tax Credit
Looking to advance or change careers, many working adults are headed back to the classroom
For many American’s, the ideal of living in the “Land of Opportunity” seems to be quickly fading into nothing more than a distant memory. It’s unfortunate that the turn of our economy has dimmed the hopes of so many, but there is still opportunity to be had.
Posted in Personal Finance, taxes |
Tags: American Opportunity Tax Credit, American Rcovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, bachelor's degree, back to school, continuing education, federal tax incentives, get you degree, graduate school, higher education, Hope Tax Credit, master's degree, post-secondary education, refundable tax credit, tax credits, taxable income, taxes, underemployed, unemployed workers, unemployment |
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Making Work Pay Tax Credit
Yes, we are back, rested and ready to hit the road running after a little break over the Holiday season! To start off the new 2010 tax year, I wanted to cover a topic that will affect most taxpayers in a positive way , the Making Work Pay Tax Credit.
Posted in Personal Finance, taxes |
Tags: accounting, American Rcovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, earned income, earned income credit, find a good accountant, Fredrick James, independent contractor, IRS form 2210, Making Work Pay Tax Credit, Schedule M, tax, tax credit, taxable income, taxes |
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Unemployment Benefits: No Free Bailout For You
It’s been a tough year for Americans, and the numbers are looking pretty grim as we go into the Holiday Season. Florida’s overall unemployment rates are hovering just over 11% and nationwide they’re around 9.6%. According to The Wall Street Journal, the average length of official unemployment increased to 24.5 weeks, and the numbers of long-term unemployed has jumped to an all-time high of 4.4million. Everyone feeling jolly yet?
Well, there is one small ray of sunshine: Last week President Obama signed the unemployment extension legislation which provides for 14 weeks of extended benefit coverage for every state and an additional 6 weeks, for a total of 20 weeks, in high unemployment states where unemployment is over 8.5%. Read the rest of this entry »
New to Self-Employment Business Orientation: How to Avoid Tax Problems & Pave the Way to Success
Today people have more choices than ever before when it comes to making a living. Even those who keep their regular full time positions as employees are taking on side work as independent contractors and some are choosing to make the leap to full time self employment or starting their own small business.
Make sure you have your “parachute” packed when making the leap from employee to sole proprietor!
Starting Your Own Business: Choosing Your (Tax) Words Carefully
“Small businesses create most of the nation’s new jobs, employ about half of the nation’s private sector work force, and provide half of the nation’s nonfarm, private real gross domestic product (GDP), as well a s a significant share of innovations.” -SBA 2008 report to the President
There has been so much media coverage about the current economic decline here in the US that it is easy to find ourselves feeling helpless and, at times, hopeless that the situation will ever turn around. Fear not, my fellow Americans, the end is far from near. Adversity is actually a good thing for our economy—economic upheavals, historically, have proven to be the motivation needed to shake Citizens out of their industrial stupor and get them thinking about new ways to do business, new niche products or services that are not being provided and creative ways to make a living.
Posted in Business Finance, taxes |
Tags: deductions, economic downturn, employees, federal tax, income taxes, independent business, independent contractor, Medicare, new business, payroll taxes, Social Security, tax, tax deductions, tax law, tax payments, tax withholding, taxable income |
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