2016 charitable deductions: Substantiate them or lose them Sharing your wealth with a favorite charity can benefit those in need and reduce your taxable estate. In addition, your donations can ease your income tax liability. But you must meet IRS substantiation requirements. If you fail to do so, the IRS could deny the corresponding deductions
New York State Tax Filers Face New Drivers’ License or State Issued ID Requirement for Tax Year 2016
New York State Tax Filers Face New Drivers’ License or State Issued ID Requirement for Tax Year 2016 All New York State resident and nonresident taxpayers are now required to provide driver’s license numbers or state-issued IDs as part of the e-filing process for a personal income tax return or extension. This mandate issued by
To deduct business losses prove material participation
To deduct business losses, you may have to prove “material participation” You can only deduct losses from an S corporation, partnership or LLC if you “materially participate” in the business. If you don’t, your losses are generally “passive” and can only be used to offset income from other passive activities. Any excess passive loss is
3 Strategies for Tax-Smart Giving
3 Strategies for Tax-Smart Giving Giving away assets during your life will help reduce the size of your taxable estate, which is beneficial if you have a large estate that could be subject to estate taxes. For 2016, the lifetime gift and estate tax exemption is $5.45 million (twice that for married couples with proper
529 Savings Plan
The 529 savings plan: A tax-smart way to fund college expenses If you’re saving for college, consider a Section 529 plan. Although contributions aren’t deductible for federal purposes, plan assets can grow tax-deferred. (Some states do offer tax incentives for contributing.) Distributions used to pay qualified expenses (such as tuition, mandatory fees, books, equipment, supplies
ALERT IRS Phone Scam
Call From the I.R.S.? Hang Up. It’s a Fraud. There is a common scam that happens every year around tax season, scammers pose as representatives of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) over the phone or in an email. The goal of this scam is to frighten you out of your hard earned money. Since 2013
What 2015 tax records can you toss
What 2015 tax records can you toss once you’ve filed your return? The short answer is: none. You need to hold on to all of your 2015 tax records for now. But this is a great time to take a look at your records for previous tax years and determine what you can purge. The 3-year
How You Can Help Prevent Tax-Related Identity Theft
Tax-related fraud isn’t a new crime, but tax preparation software, e-filing and increased availability of personal data have made tax-related identity theft increasingly easy to perpetrate. The IRS is taking steps to reduce such fraud, but taxpayers must play their part, too. How they do it Criminals perpetrate tax identity theft by using stolen Social
Year End 2014 Tax Alert
On December 16, the Senate passed the Tax Increase Prevention Act of 2014 (TIPA), which the House had passed on December 3. TIPA is the latest “extender” package, a stopgap measure that retroactively extends through December 31, 2014, certain tax relief provisions that expired at the end of 2013. It was drafted after the collapse
