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If you are married, you need to know three special rules that can benefit your Section 179 deductions: The Section 179 business income limit includes W-2 income earned by both you and your spouse. Section 179 expensing treats you and your spouse as one taxpayer. If you and your...

If you have employees in your business, this story should have your attention. Timothy McCloskey, president and sole shareholder of Brosius, delegated financial responsibility to Kathleen Lawson, his bookkeeper and chief financial officer.  Ms. Lawson embezzled more than $800,000 from Brosius and failed to remit employee withholding taxes to...

Three bad things happen when you file your tax return late. What’s Late? You can extend your tax return and file during the period of extension; that’s not a late-filed return. The late-filed return is filed after the last extension expired. That’s what causes the three bad things to...

The $250,000 ($500,000, if married) home sale gain exclusion break is one of the great tax-saving opportunities. Unmarried homeowners can potentially exclude gains up to $250,000, and married homeowners can potentially exclude up to $500,000. You as the seller need not complete any special tax form to take advantage. ...

If you own rental properties that can provide you tax shelter with their losses and your Form 1040 adjusted gross income is less than $150,000 (without considering rental losses), you need to overcome the tax code passive loss rules. Here are some important points. Keep a time log. Make...

When you travel to a business location where you spend the night, you are in travel status. But will the tax rules make this a business or personal night? The rules also affect your costs during the day. When you have an overnight business travel day, you generally deduct...

Qualifying for tax deductions on a yacht or other luxury boat requires tax knowledge. First, more than 50 percent of your use of the yacht must be for business transportation. Once you meet the “more than 50 percent” test, your potential tax deductions include fuel costs, insurance, repairs, dock...

Here’s something to know about cryptocurrencies. Because cryptocurrencies are classified as “property” rather than as securities, the wash-sale rule does not apply if you sell a cryptocurrency holding for a loss and acquire the same cryptocurrency before or after the loss sale.  You just have a garden-variety short-term or...

Let me tell you about Lisa and Jimmy. They had a very unsatisfactory visit with the IRS. The auditor examined their three rental properties, disallowed their losses, and told them to expect a tax bill for $55,000. Current score: IRS $55,000 ahead. But one good thing happened during the...

If you are suffering or about to suffer an IRS audit, you should know how your tax positions stack up against the IRS examiners’ positions.  In most cases, you are discussing the facts, not the law, and you prove your facts with receipts, canceled checks, and logbooks.  Once you...

If you made an error on your tax return, don’t worry—there are two easy ways to fix it:  A superseding return A qualified amended return A superseding return is an amended or corrected return filed on or before the original or extended due date. The IRS considers the changes...

Do you claim a tax deduction for a home office? Should you include or exclude your garage space in your calculations of business-use percentage? Ronald Culp earned an office deduction for 78 percent of his home. That’s a nice percentage, but what’s really interesting is how the court looked...