You may have a vacation home that you only spend a small amount of time at each year, and the rest of the time you rent the home out to other folks who wish to vacation in your little slice of heaven. The rents that you receive is considered taxable income, to the extent that it exceeds the applicable expenses. Plus, if the vacation home is partly used for your own purposes, the expenses (allocated to the time the property is rented) cannot exceed the amount of rent income from the property (you can’t claim a loss). here are some tips on collecting rent on time. Recently the IRS issued their Summertime Tax Tip 2015-03 which details some tips you should know about Vacation Home Rentals for your tax reporting purposes. IRS Tips about Vacation Home Rentals If you rent a home to others, you usually must report the rental income […]
income tax
Traveling for Charitable Purposes
Sometimes charitable work involves travel – such as for the Red Cross, for example. Did you know that your travel expenses for charitable work can be a tax deduction? Recently the IRS sent out a Summertime Tax Tip (2015-12) that outlines some valuable information about this deduction. Tips on Travel While Giving Your Services to Charity Do you plan to donate your services to charity this summer? Will you travel as part of the service? If so, some travel expenses may help lower your taxes when you file your tax return next year. Here are several tax tips that you should know if you travel while giving your services to charity: Qualified Charities. In order to deduct your costs, your volunteer work must be for a qualified charity. Most groups must apply to the IRS to become qualified. Churches and governments are qualified, and do not need to apply to […]
Share, tweet, print, email, like or pin this post:
Selling your home? Here’s the income tax facts
Summer is a time when many folks choose to move to a new home. It makes a lot of sense, especially if you have children in school – this way if the move is to a new school district, the children will not have to switch schools during the academic year. Selling your home can have consequences for your income taxes. Recently the IRS issued their Summertime Tax Tip 2015-13, which details ten key tax facts about home sales. The text of the Tip is below: Ten Key Tax Facts about Home Sales In most cases, gains from sales are taxable. But did you know that if you sell your home, you may not have to pay taxes? Here are ten facts to keep in mind if you sell your home this year. Exclusion of Gain. You may be able to exclude part or all of the gain from the sale of […]
Share, tweet, print, email, like or pin this post:
File your tax return on time, even if you can’t pay
So you’re up against the deadline for filing your taxes, and when you run the final numbers you discover that you’re going to have to pay a boatload of tax. Panic-stricken, you look at your bank account and see single digits, and there’s nowhere near enough left over on payday to make the tax payment. What should you do? Go ahead and file your tax return on time, even if you can’t pay. If you have all of the information to file a correct tax return on time, you will avoid penalties for not filing. You’ll still have penalties for not paying on time, but at least you’re not compounding the problem by adding failure to file penalties as well. (In another article we’ll cover what to do if you don’t have all the information you need to file a correct tax return by April 15.) Recently the IRS issued […]
Share, tweet, print, email, like or pin this post:
IRS Gives 5 Good Reasons for Direct Deposit
Since we’re in the middle of income tax preparation season, I thought it was appropriate to share some of the tips that the IRS has put forth. Today’s tip is to take advantage of direct deposit for your tax refund. It can be very handy to have this option specified on your tax return, as you’ll see below. It’s faster, more secure, and much more convenient than the old paper check method. Below is the text of IRS’ Tax Tip 2015-23, which details some of the reasons that it makes sense to use direct deposit for your tax refund.
Share, tweet, print, email, like or pin this post:
What the Health Care Law Means to You
Since the Affordable Care Act has been in place for over a year now, it’s important to understand what affects the health care law will have on you and your tax situation. Recently the IRS issued a Health Care Tax Tip (HCTT-2015-06) which details how the health care law can effect you. The actual text of the Tip is reproduced below:
Share, tweet, print, email, like or pin this post:
Exploring free tax filing
Tax filing season is upon us! As you consider all of your options for filing your return this year, you might consider some of the exploring free tax filing for your return. Recently the IRS published their IRS Tax Tip 2015-06, which details information about two of the options for free tax filing that you might be able to take advantage of. The actual text of the Tip is below:
Share, tweet, print, email, like or pin this post:
Year-End Charitable Giving Tips
The end of the year, especially around the holidays, is a time when many folks’ thoughts turn to charitable giving. Many opportunities present themselves, from the gentleman with the bell and the red kettle to our local food and coat drives. With this in mind, the IRS recently published their Special Edition Tax Tip 2014-13 which details six tips for charitable giving. The actual text of the Tip is listed below. In addition to those tips, I’ll offer one more: if you are interested in utilizing the Qualified Charitable Distribution option from your IRA – presently this option has not been extended for tax year 2014. It’s possible that it might be extended yet this year, so check back here – we’ll keep you posted.
Share, tweet, print, email, like or pin this post:
You’ve still got time to avoid tax surprises
Even though there are only a few more weeks left in the calendar year, there are a few things that you can do to avoid some serious and consequential tax surprises come April next year. The IRS recently published their Special Edition Tax Tip 2014-21 which details some of the steps you could take now to avoid these surprises. Still Time to Act to Avoid Surprises at Tax-Time Even though only a few months remain in 2014, you still have time to act so you aren’t surprised at tax-time next year. You should take steps to avoid owing more taxes or getting a larger refund than you expect. Here are some actions you can take to bring the taxes you pay in advance closer to what you’ll owe when you file your tax return:
Share, tweet, print, email, like or pin this post:
Retrieving a Prior-Year Tax Return Copy
Sometimes you need access to a previous year tax return copy, and dadgummit you just pitched the box of tax copies from 2011, thinking you couldn’t possibly need it again! There are ways to get this information – some easier than others. First of all, if you prepared and filed your own return using one of the commercial programs, and you’ve maintained your access to the program over the years, you should be able to go back and re-print a copy of the return from that year. This is the quick and simple method. If you had a tax professional prepare and file the return for you, she should have a copy of your return – if not the fileable copy, then at least a client’s or preparer’s copy, which should be adequate for fulfilling most requirements. Many preparers retain these copies, with supporting documentation, for many years for just […]
Share, tweet, print, email, like or pin this post:
Starting a new job in the middle of the year? Use the part year withholding method to avoid excess tax withheld
When you file your W4 form with a new employer, this instructs the employer how much tax to withhold from your pay, based on a full year’s pay rate. There is a strategy you can employ that will reduce the amount of tax withheld from your pay – known as the part year withholding method. This method of tax withholding calculation takes into account that you are only working and earning for a part of the year, so your overall income will be less, and there would be less tax required. If you start working in the middle of the year (or worse, late in the year) the normal rate of withholding would result in significant over-payment of tax withheld. The standard tables used to calculate withholding make the assumption on each pay that you are earning at this rate over the entire period.
Share, tweet, print, email, like or pin this post:
A Quick Trick to Reduce Your Tax Liability
Now that most folks are recovering from tax time there may be some individuals that paid an excessive amount of tax to Uncle Sam and are looking for ways to reduce their tax liability for next year. This post will be short and sweet, but hopefully it will drive a few points home. The best way to explain this is through an example. Let’s say that Mary and her husband Paul both work and file their taxes jointly. Their tax liability for 2013 was $4,000 – meaning that’s the amount of the check they wrote to the IRS. Needless to say, they are both looking for a potential way to reduce that liability – at least in the here and now. In this case, their marginal tax rate is 25%. The quick trick in this example is to take their tax rate which is 25% and divide it into their […]
Share, tweet, print, email, like or pin this post:
Obamacare and Your 2013 Tax Return
So – you’re considering your income tax return (or maybe you’ve already filed) and you’re wondering if there are things you need to know with regard to Obamacare. Fortunately, it’s not much (for most folks), for your 2013 return anyhow. Next year will be a different story. The IRS recently produced their Health Care Tax Tip HCTT-2014-10 which lists some tips about how the health care law impacts your 2013 tax return. The actual text of the Tip is below: What do I need to know about the Health Care Law for my 2013 Tax Return? For most people, the Affordable Care Act has no effect on their 2013 federal income tax return. For example, you will not report health care coverage under the individual shared responsibility provision or claim the premium tax credit until you file your 2014 return in 2015. However, for some people, a few provisions may […]
Share, tweet, print, email, like or pin this post:
Avoiding Mistakes on Your Tax Return
When filing your tax return you want to make sure that you don’t make mistakes. Mistakes can be costly in terms of additional tax and penalties, as well as the extra time and grief they can cause you. Most of the time using e-filing software can help you to avoid these mistakes, but you should check over the return anyhow to make certain you haven’t fat-fingered something or if something didn’t go wrong with the software. The IRS recently issued their Tax Tip 2014-46, which lists out 8 common mistakes that folks make on their tax return, and how to avoid them where possible. The actual text of the Tip follows below: Eight Common Tax Mistakes to Avoid We all make mistakes. But if you make a mistake on your tax return, the IRS may need to contact you to correct it. That will delay your refund. You can avoid […]
Share, tweet, print, email, like or pin this post:
Capital Gains and Losses and Your Tax Return
When you own certain kinds of assets and you sell them, you may incur a capital gain or loss that is applicable to your income tax preparation. If the original purchase price plus applicable expenses associated with the asset (known as the basis) is less than the proceeds that you receive from the sale of the asset, you have incurred a capital gain. On the other hand, if the basis of your asset is greater than the proceeds from the sale, you have incurred a capital loss. Capital gains are taxable to you, using a separate tax rate – and capital losses can be deducted from your capital gains for the year. Excess capital losses (above your capital gains for the year) can be used to reduce your income by up to $3,000 per year, carried forward until used up (or for your lifetime). The IRS recently produced their Tax […]
Share, tweet, print, email, like or pin this post:
Simplified Home-Office Deduction Available
Beginning with your 2013 tax return you have a new option available for calculating the Home-Office deduction – based solely on the square footage of the dedicated space used for the home office. Instead of having to maintain records that are directly and indirectly associated with your home office, you can use the simplified method, which applies a flat $5 rate per square foot to the home office space, up to a maximum of $1,500. The record-keeping and tax preparation simplification is very beneficial: Form 8829 (the usual home-office deduction form) can cause a lot of headaches to prepare, especially if you have more than one home office and you itemize your home mortgage interest and real estate taxes. For a single home office your tax preparation software will do much of the work for you, but complications like a second home office (not that uncommon in these days of […]
Share, tweet, print, email, like or pin this post:
Can You Itemize? Or, Should You Itemize?
When you prepare your taxes each year, you’re faced with a decision – itemize deductions or take the standard deduction? Most of the time it’s not a question of whether you can itemize, but rather should you itemize. Most Anyone Can Itemize… This is due to the fact that most anyone can itemize. If you’ve paid state and/or local income or sales taxes, real estate taxes, or paid mortgage interest, you have deductions to itemize. Same goes for charitable contributions. All of these items that you’ve paid out are eligible to be deducted on Schedule A of your tax return, without a lower limit. If you have medical expenses, these can be deductible if the total of your medical expenses are more than 10% of your Adjusted Gross Income (AGI). For 2013 tax returns, if you’re 65 years of age or older, your medical expenses that are more than 7.5% […]
Share, tweet, print, email, like or pin this post:
Use Direct Deposit for Your Tax Refund
When filing your tax returns this year, consider using direct deposit for your refund. By doing this, you don’t have to worry about the mail “making the trip”, and also you won’t have to make a visit to the bank to cash or deposit the refund. On top of that, direct deposit refunds usually are deposited more quickly than a check is delivered by mail, getting you the money faster. Among the many alternatives for the places you can have the money deposited to are virtually any bank account, as long as you have the routing and account information, as well as transferring your funds to your TreasuryDirect account to purchase US Treasury marketable securities and savings bonds. You can also split your refund to be deposited in two or three different accounts – the account(s) need to be title in your name, your spouse’s name, or both, not someone […]
Share, tweet, print, email, like or pin this post:
Your Social Security Benefits: Are They Taxable?
If you’re receiving Social Security benefits, either for disability, retirement, or survivor’s benefits, when you file your tax return you will need to figure out if the benefits you’ve received during the prior year are taxable to you. You’ll receive a Form SSA-1099 from Social Security sometime in the first months of the year, showing what your benefits were in the prior year, as well as any deductions that were made throughout the year – including Medicare premiums (Part B and/or Part D) if applicable, and federal income taxes withheld. But are the benefits taxable to you? At most, 85% of your benefit might be taxed – and it’s possible that none of your benefit is taxable, all dependent upon your total income for the year. See this article for a detailed explanation of How Taxation of Social Security Benefits Works. The IRS recently published their Tax Tip 2014-23, which […]
Share, tweet, print, email, like or pin this post:
The Alternative Minimum Tax
You may not be aware of this, since income taxes are so complicated that not a lot of folks do much digging into the nuances, but there is another income tax rate that could affect you in certain circumstances. This other income tax is called the Alternative Minimum Tax, or AMT. This “alternative” tax applies when you have income above certain thresholds. Essentially it ensures that you pay a certain minimum amount of income tax if your deductions reduce your income so much that your ordinary income tax falls below the minimum applied by the AMT. It gets pretty complicated, but I’ll go over the high points below. Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) AMT has a separate set of rules for definitions of income and expenses, rules for accounting and timing, and exemptions and tax rates. AMT limits the tax benefit of certain types of income and deductions, otherwise available to […]
Sterling Raskie, MSFS, CFP®, ChFC®
The latest in our Owner’s Manual series, A 401(k) Owner’s Manual, was published in January 2020 and is available on 
A Medicare Owner’s Manual, is updated with 2020 facts and figures. This manual is available on 
Social Security for the Suddenly Single can be found on Amazon at 
Sterling’s first book, Lose Weight Save Money, can be 
An IRA Owner’s Manual, 2nd Edition is available for purchase on Amazon. Click the link to choose the 
Jim’s book – A Social Security Owner’s Manual, is now available on Amazon. Click this link for the 
And if you’ve come here to learn about queuing waterfowl, I apologize for the confusion. You may want to discuss your question with Lester, my loyal watchduck and self-proclaimed “advisor’s advisor”.