Last week, I had the opportunity to serve my Ruritan Club and the Jefferson community by working every night at our annual carnival. Most people are unaware of the recordkeeping and statistical tracking that goes on at a carnival. Each major activity is a separate profit center. The revenues and the related expenses of that… Continue Reading
The 2018 IRS Forum was a valuable source of information regarding the upcoming tax filing season. Among the many tidbits I gleaned were issues of IRS concern relating to small businesses. The IRS has announced they are going to scrutinize such things as: personal use of the business assets such as cell phones and laptops,… Continue Reading
Last week I spent three fantastic days at the IRS Nationwide Tax Forum! Many new tax laws and changes to the tax forms are slated for the next filing season. The amount of new information, procedural changes and tax form modifications discussed was at times, overwhelming. The increasing number and types of new tax scams… Continue Reading
This week, I will be attending the IRS Tax Forum at the Gaylord Hotel in National Harbor, Maryland. The forum is a special opportunity for Tax Practitioners to attend presentations where the internal processes of the IRS are discussed. This offers insight in to resolving complex issues with a minimum of delay and confusion. Special… Continue Reading
The new tax law will cause many casual gamblers to incur bigger losses than before! Prior to 2018 you could deduct your losses up to the amount of your winnings. You did this by claiming your losses as itemized deductions. The new tax law for 2018 doubles the standard deduction. This will cause many taxpayers… Continue Reading
Do you read the “junk mail” inserts included with your electric bill? If not, you may have missed an opportunity to be paid for recycling your old refrigerator or freezer. From now until July 31, 2018 Potomac Edison is offering a $75 credit for any working refrigerator or freezer recycled through their Appliance Recycling Program.… Continue Reading
The 2018 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act limits the deduction for home equity loans and home equity credit lines. The media has done a poor job of informing the public about this issue. Many of the newspaper and radio accounts have indicated there is no provision for deducting interest paid on equity loans and credit… Continue Reading
Employees beware! The new withholding tax tables that have been published may cause your employers to under withhold the federal tax from your paychecks. If your employer utilizes these new tables, they are doing nothing wrong. However, the tables incorporate the tax cuts under the new law by lowering the withholding amounts. While this gives… Continue Reading
For any divorce decree that becomes final after 12/31/18, the alimony payments will no longer be deductible by the payor or taxed as income to the recipient. This only applies to new divorce decrees. Any alimony arrangement that exists prior to 2019 will be grandfathered into the new provisions. As a tax planning move, if… Continue Reading
Many clients I have spoken with since tax season have incorrectly assumed the requirement to have health insurance coverage has been repealed. This is only partially correct. The requirement to carry health insurance on one’s self and every dependent in their household has been repealed, but not until 2019! For 2018, you still must have… Continue Reading