Category: Individual Tax

If you’re the parent of a child who is age 17 to 23, and you pay all (or most) of his or her expenses, you may be surprised to learn you’re not eligible for the child tax credit. But there’s a dependent tax credit that may be available to you. It’s not as valuable as...

Did you make large gifts to your children, grandchildren or other heirs last year? If so, it’s important to determine whether you’re required to file a 2018 gift tax return — or whether filing one would be beneficial even if it isn’t required. ...

It’s not just businesses that can deduct vehicle-related expenses. Individuals also can deduct them in certain circumstances. Unfortunately, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) might reduce your deduction compared to what you claimed on your 2017 return. For 2017, miles drive...

Incentive stock options (ISOs) are a popular form of compensation for executives and other employees of corporations. They allow you to buy company stock in the future at a fixed price equal to or greater than the stock’s fair market value on the ISO grant date. If the sto...

The Tax Cut and Jobs Act substantially improved the Child tax credit and introduced a brand-new credit for dependents. The credits effective for year 2018 so be sure to factor these into your tax filings for 2018. Here is a summary of both credits:...

A key provision of the new tax law is the Qualified Business Income Deduction (QBI Deduction), which is available to qualifying trades or businesses. The key phrase here is “trade or business”, which isn’t clear cut with regard to rental real estate....

When you file your 2018 income tax return, you’ll likely find that some big tax law changes affect you — besides the much-discussed tax rate cuts and reduced itemized deductions. For 2018 through 2025, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) makes significant changes to persona...

The IRS opened the 2018 income tax return filing season on January 28. Even if you typically don’t file until much closer to the April 15 deadline, this year consider filing as soon as you can. Why? You can potentially protect yourself from tax identity theft — and reap ...

Investment interest expense is still deductible, but that doesn't necessarily mean you'll benefit.  As you likely know by now, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) reduced or eliminated many deductions for individuals. One itemized deduction the TCJA kept intact is for investme...

I think there is a strong chance that 10-20-30 years from now when we look back at the 2018 tax filing season we will specifically remember it. Some may remember it as the worst tax season ever and I think some will remember it as the best tax season ever. I think it might b...

Before we get too deep into this, it's necessary to understand that there are two kinds of stock options, nonqualified options (NSO) and incentive stock options (ISO). With either kind of option, the employee gets the right to buy stock at a price fixed today for a defined n...

Consider this situation: A business owner thought an IRA was his money and he could use it to fund his start-up business. Instead, he had his entire IRA disqualified and he was forced by the appellate court to pay substantial penalties and a massive tax bill....