Actively managing your investments throughout the year can lower your taxes, especially if you can offset losses with gains. Though the markets have been up strongly this year, your investment portfolio could have a few lemons in it. Using the tax strategy of tax-loss harvesting, you may be able to turn those lemons into lemonade. …
Category: Income
File That Tax Return! – October extension deadline fast approaching
Time to file your tax return for 2020 if you have not already done so. There is no reason to leave a possible refund on the table, and the IRS is not going to beg to send you back your money. Friday, October 15 marks the extension deadline for filing your 2020 Form 1040 Tax …
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Avoid Tax Traps with Loans to Friends and Family
The IRS assumes you'll charge interest if you make personal loans, even to friends and family. Even if you don't charge interest, you'll owe tax on an assumed rate of interest. Lending to friends and relatives can be tricky, and not only because of the stress it can place on your relationships. There are tax …
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Time for a Checkup – Are you withholding enough for your taxes?
With all the changes last year, now is a great time to conduct a tax checkup, especially since their is still time to make adjustments. As we enter mid-year, it's a good time to check your tax withholdings to ensure you haven't been paying too much or too little. This is especially true if your …
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Thinking of Selling Your Home?
Hot housing market requires tax knowledge With housing prices skyrocketing, more homeowners are considering cashing out to multiples over list price! Especially since one of the largest tax breaks available to most individuals is the ability to exclude up to $250,000 ($500,000 married) in capital gains on the sale of your personal residence. Making the …
Income the IRS Can’t Touch
Looking for tax-free income? Here is a list of the more common types. Wouldn't it be nice to have a source of nontaxable income? You may be more fortunate than you realize. Here are several types of income that the IRS does not tax. 1. Tax-free interest. The federal government does not tax municipal bond interest. …
Understanding Tax Terms: AFRs
The IRS often sees the transfer of funds as a loan, whether there is a loan agreement or not. This also means there is an implied term and interest payment. When the IRS says a transaction is a loan, what interest rate do they use? Enter AFRs. Here is what you need to know. Your …
Alert: Look for New 1099 NEC Your 1099’s are coming soon
So many 1099's. How do you keep them all straight? Here is a quick review of the most common 1099's to help you prepare to file your tax return. Virtually every small business, including sole-proprietors, must issue at least one 1099 each year. And this year there is a new one called the 1099 NEC. …
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Taxable or Not Taxable?
Some of these items may surprise you. There are a number of areas in the tax code that cause confusion as to the taxability of money received. Here are some of the most common areas of confusion. Unemployment compensation. Unemployment compensation is typically required to be reported as taxable income. Because of the pandemic, millions of …
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