01/28/2010 A very bright young man now entering an MBA program emailed us an article from the New York Times last week with the hopeful question: “Does this apply to me?” The article recounted the recent Tax Court case wherein a registered nurse, representing herself, took on the IRS and won! She was allowed to… Continue Reading
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Author Archives: Kathy Zaffore
CONTRIBUTE TO HAITI NOW AND TAKE A TAX DEDUCTION ON 2009 RETURN
01/25/2010 As we told you last week, the House of Representatives had sent HR 4462 to the Senate for approval. HR 4462 permits us all to choose to take a deduction on our 2009 returns for contributions made for Haiti relief in 2010–thus accelerating our tax deduction by a whole year. Late last week the… Continue Reading
Real Estate Investing – Second Home Tax Realities (Part I)
01/24/2010 Have you caught yourself driving around neighborhoods looking for bargain real estate to start a rental property portfolio? Or perusing the listings in your favorite vacation destinations, just on the outside hope of finding a great price on a retreat or a retirement home? I have. You know that I must spend a few… Continue Reading
When the IRS DOES Call You on the Phone – Here Comes the Annual Survey
01/22/2010 Just out from the IRS: The Small Business/Self-Employed division of the IRS will conduct its annual telephone survey of taxpayers starting this week and ending mid-April 2010. The survey targets small businesses (S corporations, C corporations, LLCs, partnerships) and self-employed taxpayers (sole proprietorships, rental property owners, farmers). The point of the survey is to… Continue Reading
Military Domicile – Spouses Get State Tax Relief
01/21/2010 A friend of our practice called a few weeks ago, concerned that his daughter might be breaking the law. She is in the military and is currently stationed in Florida. She loves Florida and wants to make it her home – someday. She told her dad that she could declare that Florida was her… Continue Reading
Even in Recession – We Give [and get some tax relief for our generosity]
01/20/2010 Americans give – more than any other national group on earth. Even in the midst of the 2008 Grecession (as in Great Recession), charitable giving exceeded $300 billion, according to the AFFRC Trust for Philanthropy. Here are a few other interesting statistics: • In 2008, charitable giving represented 2% of the GDP, down 2%… Continue Reading
You Gotta Eat – How to Deduct Meals
01/14/2010 We all deduct meal expenses in our businesses and some of us get unreimbursed business expense deductions from our jobs. Do you know what is and isn’t actually deductible? Give yourself a quiz: 1. You, the business owner or local sales rep, make several service calls every day. You stop for lunch wherever and… Continue Reading
Death and Taxes – Part II
01/13/2010 So – the estate tax is gone for 2010. But before we all rejoice, we need to ask the question – what does this mean? And more importantly, who WILL pay the tax if the estate does not? No estate tax does not mean no tax. And the corollary could be, where there is… Continue Reading
Death and Taxes in 2010 – Part I
01/12/2010 We all know the tired phrase, “All that is certain is death and taxes.” As of January 1, 2010, while death remains a certainty, the taxes surrounding it are anything but certain. The Estate Tax was not repealed…it just goes away for a year and then it comes back on January 1, 2011 with… Continue Reading
If You Are Trying to Deduct Your Pets as Dependents…
01/11/2010 You are not alone. Congressional Representative Thaddeus McCotter (R-Mich) last summer introduced The HAPPY Act (HR 3501). That is “The Humanity and Pets Partnered Through the Years Act.” The Bill asserts that 63% of American households include pets and that the “human-animal bond has been shown to have positive effects upon people’s emotional and… Continue Reading