Articles

What to do if You Can’t Pay Your Taxes
If you’ve gone over and over your tax form, you’ve squeezed out all of the deductions that you can, and you still can’t believe the number that showed up on the “Amount You Owe” line, don’t panic. A... more...

Why do We Have Taxes?
Taxes, which are the main source of federal, state and local government revenues, pay for buildings, public education, highways, airplanes, rockets, road signs, and the salaries of millions of gover... more...

Using the Marriage Deduction
There may be times when leaving a large amount of money or property to your spouse tax-free is not the best answer for estate tax concerns. Although it may eliminate the tax for the first of a marri... more...

Tax Wisdom for the Whole Year
Start early. You've heard the old adage, "plan your work, and work your plan". It's applicable to virtually everything in life (just like taxes). If you keep handfuls of receipts and records stuffed... more...

Tax Tips for Home-Based Business Owners
The old year has ended, and the New Year has just begun. The clock continues to tick…tax time is almost here again! Whether you own your own business or work for someone else, it’s time to get out t... more...

Taxes and the Self-Employed
This nation is composed of literally millions of individuals who are pursuing their dreams of self-employment. As a matter of fact, over 99% of all business entities are small, individually-owned en... more...

The 1099 Family
The 1099 tax form is used to report income other than wages, salaries and tips. They are being seen more and more frequently as many employers are opting to use contract labor as opposed to hired em... more...

The 1031 Tax Exchange
There is more to amassing wealth than simply increasing your spendable income. Ask every wealthy person that you can find, and virtually all of them will tell you that a major cornerstone of their f... more...

Taxes and Your Investment Returns
Taxation is the price you pay for being successful in your financial investments. Dividends and interest earned are taxable as ordinary income. Trading in stocks, bonds and mutual funds has many ad... more...

Tax Savings or Tax Deferral, Which is Better?
Tax savings means that you pay a reduced amount of taxes, either because a particular type of investment income is taxed at a low rate or not at all, or because only a portion of the investment inco... more...

Tax Incentives for Investment Real Estate
The effectiveness in protecting income from taxation is the true test of any tax shelter. Most real estate is purchased, at least in part, because of the tax benefits that accrue for the owner. Owne... more...

Ten Tips for the Tax-Savvy
Saved money is earned money. One of the secrets of the rich is that they’ve found ways to keep more of their money. With that principle in mind, here are 10 tips to help you do the same thing, and k... more...

Sole Proprietorships
A sole proprietorship is an unincorporated business organization that's owned and operated by an individual. Sole proprietors do not run their operations through separate legal entities (such as cor... more...

Some Capital Gains Tax Strategies
Capital gains is the income that’s derived from the sale of a capital asset. Capital assets can be in the form of real assets, such as property, or financial assets, such as stocks or bonds. The cap... more...

Real Estate Depreciation and Tax Sheltering
Because of the progressive tax system used in the United States, it's extremely difficult for most people to accumulate any real savings from their work salary alone. Under the progressive tax, the ... more...

Reducing Your Tax Liability: The Basics
There are numerous ways that are available to decrease the amount of money that we must pay in April. Some methods are fundamental; others are more esoteric, depending on one’s financial position. T... more...

Partnerships
A partnership is a business entity that comes in two varieties: general and limited. The vast majority of small business partnerships are of the general type, where two or more people run a business... more...

Pay Tuition or Medical Bills to Lower Estate Taxes
Did you know that any money you spend to directly pay for someone's medical bills or school tuition is not subject to federal gift- or estate taxes, no matter what the amount? That's right. This exe... more...

Limited Liability Companies (LLCs)
The limited liability company (LLC) is a type of small-business organization that offers non-tax advantages over a partnership or corporation. Unlike a general partnership, an LLC protects its owner... more...

Keep Good Property Records
One of the major advantages of investing in real estate is the availability of numerous tax deductions. It goes without saying that every investor wants to maximize his or her allowable tax advantag... more...

Know Your “Basis”
When calculating the value of your estate to determine whether or not it will be subject to taxation, you must understand the concept of basis. For most pieces of property that are owned and held, t... more...

Inter Vivos Giving
Many people simplify their estate planning by giving away portions of their property during their lifetime, which is referred to in law as inter vivos giving. The Latin term "inter vivos" means duri... more...

It All Affects Your Taxes
Whether it’s your first part-time employment in high school or that dream job that you’ve trained and studied all through college for, starting a new career is always a proud, exciting, and perhaps ... more...

Glossary of Basic Tax Terms
1040 Form - The standard IRS form used by individuals to file their income tax return. This form has several variations including, most notably, the 1040A and 1040EZ. Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) -... more...

Federal Energy Tax Credits
Tax credits, any tax credits, are extremely valuable because they lower the bottom-line tax bill on a dollar-for-dollar basis. Beginning with the 2006 tax year, private consumers and companies will ... more...

Early Distributions from Retirement Plans
The federal government encourages saving for retirement by way of deferring taxes on contributions to Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs) and qualified retirement plans at your place of work. They... more...

Don't Forget Your Tax Credits!
Tax credits are dollar-for-dollar reductions in the amount of tax that's owed, which means that they can be very valuable at filing time. Don't neglect any for which you may be eligible. Although ce... more...

Death and Taxes, They do go together!
The application of the old cliché about death and taxes is certainly appropriate for today’s article. Because the issue of taxation invariable arises when the subject of estate planning is discussed... more...

Deductions vs. Credits
As we all know, deductions and credits are two very important ways to reduce your overall tax liability. Every April, we scramble to find more and more deductions and credits so that we can pay the ... more...

Corporations
A corporation is an entity that is entirely distinct from its owners; it is legally described as an "artificial person". As such, it may own property, enter into contracts, borrow money, or be a par... more...

Business or Hobby?
One question that arises every year at tax time among entrepreneurs and semi-entrepreneurs is how to know whether to classify what you do as a hobby or a business. The rules don’t always seem to be ... more...

A few Investment Real Estate Tax Tips
All of these tax tips are current and in effect at the time of this writing. However, as with all matters tax-related, verify with your tax advisor before attempting to use them – you know how Washi... more...

Appealing the Audit
You've been audited, and you just can't agree with the IRS auditor's result. Well, you don't have to accept it, or their bill. In most instances, you can appeal the decision within the IRS, and you ... more...

Audits
The word audit is one term that absolutely no taxpayer wants to hear. Each year, over one million tax returns are audited. Although that sounds like a significant amount, it actually represents less... more...

5 Most Common Tax Mistakes
As tax season rolls around the vast majority of us look ahead to April 15th as the great doomsday. And instead of thinking and planning for this time of year during the other 11 months, we procrasti... more...