Category: Tax Planning
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TurboTax user needs free tax advice
“I’m doing my tax return on TurboTax and I just have a quick question. I wonder if there is something wrong because I’m not getting any money back”. – a caller yesterday I pick up my own phone so sometimes I get these types of questions. Tax preparers tend to be irritated by calls asking…
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Noncash charitable donations
A snapshot of #tax issues related to large non-cash charitable deductions: – Taxpayers can avoid paying income tax on up to half of their income by making a donation to a properly registered #charity, so this is an important area of tax practice and dispute – Most taxpayers do not make charitable donations large enough…
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Four personal reflections at the end of tax season
One week past the most demanding tax deadline of the year and I’ve caught up with the most urgent post-season demands, and I feel that this allows my mind to return to a more normal and healthy reflective state. Three reflections come into focus: 1) I see myself as an organized, logical, likable, responsive and…
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The snarky CPA’s Guide to High Income Tax Planning
How do you reduce your income taxes after you’ve exhausted all the usual middle income tax planning possibilities? Ignore anything published online because it is crap. Take a large tax deduction for donating something that is worthless because you already stripped its value. Donate your labor to a charity that gives you something worth little…
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How we handle tax fraud
I wrote this comment tonight to a young Enrolled Agent struggling with a client committing tax fraud who described herself as naïve about the human behavior behind it. “XXXXXXX, this is a general comment and not in any way meant as a negative personal thing. I would suspect that anyone putting the massive time and…
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America Competes Act could bring tax changes
America Competes Act is not intended as tax reform legislation. Yet some tax advisers are talking about the impact it could have on individuals and businesses. First, we should consider that the probability of this proposal becoming law is high. This status is far different from the many rumors and massive amount of tax reform…
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Top 10 IRS audit triggers and what you should do about it if you are at risk
Here are the top 10 IRS tax audit triggers, as compiled and published by The Wall Street Journal1 on March 5, 2022:1. Education tax credits2. Small businesses3. Child tax credit4. Cryptocurrency5. Earned income tax credit6. Large charitable deductions7. Rental income8. Home office deductions9. Early withdrawals from IRAs and 401(k)s10. Health premium tax credit If you…
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Tax changes are not real
I find myself in the unfamiliar position of saying “It’s not real!” to the wide range of voices talking about the ‘Biden tax changes’. We (that is, the large majority of experienced tax professionals who earn their living talking about the future of taxes) have been saying that there are no significant change in the…
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Review of Biden administration tax policy progress after one year in office
The Biden administration proposed two major themes in its tax reform agenda. These were widely promoted during the campaign and then heavily promoted by the White House and the U.S. Department of the Treasury over the past year. Now, one year after the administration began work, this blog post reviews the progress made and the…