Posts by Yuriy Akopyan
Tax Issues Related to Hobbies
Article Highlights: Hobby Losses Not-for-Profit Rules Determining Factors Trade or Business Presumption Hobby Tax Reporting Self-Employment Tax Generally, when individuals have a hobby, they have it because they enjoy it and are not involved in their hobby with the goal of making money. In fact, most hobbies never make money or don’t even create any…
Read MoreWho Owes You? 5 QuickBooks Online Reports That Can Tell You Fast
Keep a constant watch on your accounts receivable to improve cash flow. Quick: How many of your invoices are unpaid? Have any of your customers gone over 30 days past due? Did you bill all of the time and expenses for that project you just completed for a customer? If you’re doing your accounting manually,…
Read MoreTax Benefits for People with Disabilities
Article Highlights: ABLE Accounts Disabled Spouse or Dependent Care Credit Medical Deductions Home Modifications Special Schooling Nursing Services Individuals with disabilities as well as parents of disabled children are eligible for a number of income tax benefits. This article explains some of these tax breaks. ABLE Accounts – A federal law allows states to offer…
Read MoreEarned Income Tax Credit: Used, Abused and Altered
Article Highlights: Purpose of the Earned Income Tax Credit Qualifications Earned Income Qualified Child Credit Phaseout Computing the Credit Investment Income Limit Combat Pay Election Fraud Safeguards Any discussion of the earned income tax credit (EITC) needs to begin with a discussion of why Congress created it in the first place. It has a twofold…
Read MoreChild Daycare and Taxes
Article Highlights: Daycare Providers Simplified Food Deduction Special Rules for Business Use of the Provider’s Home Home Sale Consequences Other Expenses Other Daycare Provider Issues Daycare User Credit Employer Dependent Care Benefits Other Credit Criteria When discussing daycare for children so their parents can work, there are two primary areas of discussion: one from the…
Read MoreDeducting the Costs of Modifications for Senior-Proofing a Home
Article Highlights Improvements for Medical Care or Treatment Improvements That Increase the Home’s Value Improvements That Do Not Increase the Home’s Value Medical AGI Limitations While Americans may argue about any number of hot-button political topics, there’s no disagreement on one issue: the country’s population is aging…fast. According to the Social Security Administration, 10,000 baby…
Read MoreTake Advantage of the Education Tax Credits
Article Highlights: American Opportunity Tax Credit Lifetime Learning Credit Who Gets the Credit? Qualified Tuition and Related Expenses Eligible Educational Institutions Form 1098-T Scholarships Tax Fraud As with everything taxes, the devil is in the details, and that includes the education tax credits, which come in two types with some different rules for each. Many…
Read MoreExcess Retirement Plan Contributions Can Be Taxing
Article Highlights: Excess IRA Contributions Excess Contribution Penalty Correcting Excess IRA Contributions Applying the Excess to a Future Year Excess 401(k) Contributions Failing to Timely Correct 401(k) Excess Contributions Some individuals financially struggle just to be able to make a nominal contribution to their tax-favored retirement plan, whether it be an IRA, 401(k) plan, or…
Read MoreSmart Money Moves to Make Once You Turn 50
Congratulations, you made it to half a century! Your fifties can be a tumultuous time: Not having to work anymore sounds like a dream, but you might be concerned you don’t have enough saved for retirement. Those concerns definitely aren’t unfounded as 40 million households in America have no retirement savings at all. Additionally, the Federal…
Read MoreDid You Just Get an IRS Notice of Deficiency? Here’s What to Do Next
Nobody likes getting mail from the IRS — especially when it’s something you weren’t expecting. One minute, you’re minding your own business and aren’t even thinking about that return you filed months ago. The next minute you open your mailbox and see something called a “Notice of Deficiency” — and your anxiety immediately goes through…
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