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Deductions vs. Credits: What’s the Difference?
One of the most common misunderstandings about filing an income tax return is the difference between deductions and credits. Deductions reduce the amount of a taxpayer's income before tax is calculated. For example, on your individual return, you can either take the...
Tracking Down Donation Substantiation
If you're like many Americans, your mailbox may have been filling up in recent weeks with letters from your favorite charities acknowledging your 2023 donations. But what happens if you haven't received such a letter for a contribution? Can you still claim a deduction...
ERC Voluntary Disclosure Program Available for a Limited Time
As part of an ongoing initiative to combat questionable Employee Retention Credit (ERC) claims, the IRS has launched a voluntary disclosure program. It allows eligible businesses to pay back money they received after filing ERC claims in error. The disclosure program...
Customers Paying Late? Consider Finance Charges
Now that we're past the holidays and you've had January to catch up on the December work that didn't get done, how's your financial workflow? Are you caught up on bills and invoices? You may be, but your customers might not be. You can find out by creating anĀ Open...
Sec. 179 Expensing and Bonus Depreciation: Beware of Pitfalls
If eligible, you can elect to use Section 179 expensing or bonus depreciation to deduct a large portion of the cost (and in some cases the full cost) of eligible property in the year it's placed in service. Alternatively, you may follow regular depreciation rules and...
One Reason to File Your 2023 Tax Return Early
The 2023 individual income tax return filing season will open soon. Even if you typically don't file until much closer to the April 15 deadline (or you file for an extension), consider filing earlier this year. Why? You may be able to protect yourself from tax...
The Advantages of LLC Structure for a Small Business
If you operate your small business as a sole proprietorship, you may have thought about forming a limited liability company (LLC) to protect your assets. Or maybe you're launching a new business and want to know the options for setting it up. Here are the basics of...
Appraisals Aren’t Just for Businesses
Whether you're in the process of making a retirement or estate plan or you intend to donate property to charity, you'll need to know the value of your assets. For many hard-to-value items, such as closely held business interests, real estate, art and collectibles, an...
Did You Get Married in 2023?
Your filing status options for your 2023 income tax return depend on your marital status on Dec. 31. The married-filing-jointly status is typically the most beneficial way for married taxpayers to file, but it's a good idea to take a "what-if" look at the married...
2024 vehicle mileage rates
The IRS has issued the 2024 optional cents-per-mile rates used to calculate the tax-deductible costs of operating a vehicle: Effective Jan. 1, 2024, the standard mileage rate for the business use of a car (including vans, pickups, and panel trucks) is 67 cents per...