Fraudulent Form 1099s
Here’s a true story from the IRS. To put the story in context, we are putting you in the driver’s seat. You Buy a Vehicle You buy a new vehicle from your local dealership with zero percent financing. You complete all the paperwork, including the purchase order and vehicle registration, and leave the dealership owning the vehicle. Dealer Mistake The [...]
10 Proven Tax Strategies for the Self-Employed
10 Proven Tax Strategies for the Self-Employed As a self-employed individual, you can feel overwhelmed when you search for strategies to reduce your taxes. We searched one of our tax services and found more than 263 articles with the words “self-employed” or “self-employment.” That’s a lot. Where do we start? Let’s start with the following 10: 1. Use the Section [...]
Impact of Death, Retirement and Disability on the 179 Deduction
Impact of Death, Retirement and Disability on the 179 Deduction What tax effect would death, retirement, or disability have on you or your business? Here’s an easy example to illustrate. Let’s say that in 2017, you purchased for business use a pickup truck with a gross vehicle weight rating greater than 6,000 pounds. Asserting that you use the pickup 100 [...]
Tax Deductions for Sponsoring a Sports Team
Have you wondered what it takes to deduct the costs of sponsoring a sports team? What if you play on the team? Could you pay for the team travel expenses? Revenue Ruling 70-393 states that the monies spent to outfit and support a sports team are similar to monies spent on other methods of advertising; accordingly, you may deduct them [...]
Vacation Home: Seven Day Rental Rule
If you own a condominium, cottage, cabin, lake or beach home, ski lodge, or similar property that you rent for an “average” rental period of seven days or less for the year, you have a property with unique tax attributes. Seven days example. Say you have a beach home and you rent it 15 times during the year, for a [...]
Keep Track of Your Odometer to Claim Business Mileage
Do you claim your business miles at the IRS optional rate? If so, imagine you are now being audited by the IRS for your business mileage. The IRS has requested odometer readings for your vehicle. You might wonder if the IRS can do this. The answer is yes. The tax code says that you must substantiate your business vehicle deductions [...]