Fredrick James-Educating the Masses to Help You Save On Taxes

Posts Tagged ‘taxes’

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.

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Want to be the Master of Your Universe?

I recently wrote a series on the various tax deductions and credits available to help you better afford continuing education like the Lifetime Learning Credit, the American Opportunity Credit & Student Loan Interest Deductions. If you’ve been toying with the idea of going for your Masters, I’ve got some good news for you especially if you’re a higher earning taxpayer that is having your Lifetime Learning Credit and the Tuition Deduction phased out.

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Pay the Piper Now or Deal With the Consequences

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new 1099 reporting requirements = massive paperjam

By now you’ve probably heard quite a bit about the new 1099 reporting requirements that were included in the Health Care Reform Bill and the concerns for the disproportionate burden it will place on independent contractors, freelancers and small business owners.

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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 »

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!”

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More Americans are headed back to school, Federal tax deductions help with the expense

So far we’ve discussed the American Opportunity Tax Credit (modified Hope Credit), the Lifetime Learning Credit and even Tuition & Fee Deductions. Today though, we’re going to cover the last in our 4 part series on education tax incentives—Student Loan Interest Deduction. The great thing about this deduction is that you can take this deduction even if you qualify for the other tax credits or deductions! Read the rest of this entry »

Post-secondary education costs are on the rise but Federal tax incentives attempt to provide some respite

While we’ve been talking about the Lifetime Learning Credit and the American Opportunity Credit (Hope Credit, modified for 2009-10), I would be remiss to leave out other options for taxpayers who may not qualify for either credit. If you don’t qualify for anything else, you may not be left completely on your own; you may still be able to claim a small deduction for some education expenses. Read the rest of this entry »

Federal Tax Credits Help Working Adults Return to the Classroom

Last week we discussed the benefits of the American Opportunity Tax Credit (or modified Hope Credit, this week we are going to take a look at the Lifetime Learning Credit.

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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.

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