Tag: expense
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Two Major Tax Law Changes for Individuals in 2019
Medical expense deduction threshold With rising health care costs, claiming whatever tax breaks related to health care that you can is more important than ever. But there’s a threshold for deducting medical expenses that was already difficult for many taxpayers to meet, and it may be even harder to meet this year. The TCJA temporarily…
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A Refresher on Major Tax Law Changes for Small-Business Owners
The dawning of 2019 means the 2018 income tax filing season will soon be upon us. After year end, it’s generally too late to take action to reduce 2018 taxes. Business owners may, therefore, want to shift their focus to assessing whether they’ll likely owe taxes or get a refund when they file their returns…
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Catch-up Retirement Plan Contributions Can Be Particularly Advantageous Post-TCJA
Will you be age 50 or older on December 31? Are you still working? Are you already contributing to your 401(k) plan or Savings Incentive Match Plan for Employees (SIMPLE) up to the regular annual limit? Then you may want to make “catch-up” contributions by the end of the year. Increasing your retirement plan contributions…
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Could “Bunching” Medical Expenses into 2018 Save You Tax?
Some of your medical expenses may be tax deductible, but only if you itemize deductions and have enough expenses to exceed the applicable floor for deductibility. With proper planning, you may be able to time controllable medical expenses to your tax advantage. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) could make bunching such expenses into…
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Back-to-School Time Means a Tax Break for Teachers
When teachers are setting up their classrooms for the new school year, it’s common for them to pay for a portion of their classroom supplies out of pocket. A special tax break allows these educators to deduct some of their expenses. This educator expense deduction is especially important now due to some changes under the…
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Do You Still Need to Worry About the AMT?
There was talk of repealing the individual alternative minimum tax (AMT) as part of last year’s tax reform legislation. A repeal wasn’t included in the final version of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), but the TCJA will reduce the number of taxpayers subject to the AMT. Now is a good time to familiarize…
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What You Can Deduct When Volunteering
Because donations to charity of cash or property generally are tax deductible (if you itemize), it only seems logical that the donation of something even more valuable to you — your time — would also be deductible. Unfortunately, that’s not the case. Donations of time or services aren’t deductible. It doesn’t matter if it’s simple…
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Do you know the ABCs of HSAs, FSAs, and HRAs?
Uncertainty persists about how the Affordable Care Act will impact health care costs. Leveraging all tax-advantaged ways to fund these expenses – including HSAs, FSAs, and HRAs – is critical. Here’s how to make sense of this alphabet soup of health care accounts. HSAs If you’re covered by a qualified high-deductible health plan (HDHP), you…
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How Accountable Is Your Business?
Unless your company has an accountable plan, reimbursements to employees for business-related expenses are subject to income- and payroll-tax withholding. In other words, employees get taxed twice! An accountable plan is easy to set up; no IRS forms need to be filed. However, under your accountable plan: Payments must be for “ordinary and necessary” business…
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Cost Control Takes a Total Team Effort
“That’s just the cost of doing business.” You’ve probably heard this expression many times. It’s true that, to invoke another cliché, you’ve got to spend money to make money. But that doesn’t mean you have to take rising operational costs sitting down. Cost control is a formal management technique through which you evaluate your company’s…