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Reading with Silas
I’m fairly certain one of the most important things I do each week is participate in the Adopt a School program, a partnership of local businesses and Waco ISD. I volunteer on Wednesday mornings to...
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E-Filing: Pros & Cons
The Internal Revenue Service encourages taxpayers to electronically file their tax returns. Why? Electronically filed tax returns are less expensive for the IRS to process E-filed tax returns require...
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IRS Rules for Non-Cash Charitable Donations
When gathering your tax information, don’t forget your charitable donations. The IRS has tightened the requirements over the past several years on what constitutes a deductible charitable donation of...
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Other Non-Cash Charitable Donations
What about tickets purchased to a charity event? How much of the ticket price is for the sponsoring charity and how much is for entertainment? The charitable organization should stipulate on the face...
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Accounting Students
In addition to my regular job, I am an adjunct instructor for Tarleton State University at their Waco campus. Our classes are held at night on the campus of McLennan Community College through their...
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Cash Contributions
If you make a donation to a charity this year, you may be able to take a deduction for it on your 2013 tax return. There are certain requirements that must be met in order for a contribution of money...
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Health Insurance Deduction
If you are self-employed and paying for medical insurance, you may qualify for a tax deduction for the premiums paid. In order to qualify, you must be one of the following: A self-employed individual...
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What Meal Expenses May I Deduct?
Business meal expenses are deductible only if they are: Directly related to or associated with the active conduct of the taxpayer’s trade or business, Not lavish or extravagant, and Incurred while the...
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Business Entertainment Expenses
Closely related to meal expenses are business entertainment expenses. Both are subject to a 50% reduction in the deductible amount. And, both are subject to the same substantiation requirements; that...
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Miscellaneous Itemized Deductions
If you are able to itemize your deductions, that is, if your mortgage interest, charitable donations, real estate taxes and the like exceed the standard deduction, you may be able to take advantage of...
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IRAs
Looking for a way to reduce your 2012 tax bill? If you have earned income and meet certain other requirements, you might want to consider making a contribution to an individual retirement account...
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Child Credits
While most of us know a parent who provides more than 50% of the support of their child is entitled to a dependency exemption, we may not know about two credits for parents with dependent children....
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How Do I Request Additional Time?
Helping others with their tax compliance basically precludes me from working on my own 1040 until later in the year. Are you in the same boat? Do you find yourself needing extra time to file your...
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March for Babies
I was team leader for our bank’s March for Babies team and our walk was today. I serve on the local board of directors for the March of Dimes and that’s part of the responsibility…creating and...
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Obama’s Budget Proposal…Who Would Pay More?
President Obama released his budget proposal earlier this month. There are many tax changes for businesses and individuals included in his budget. A few of the provisions designed to increase taxes...
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Do Homeschool Teachers Qualify for the Teacher Expense Deduction?
This was a question I received during early April while preparing a tax return for a mother who homeschools her daughter. Interesting question! What is the Educators Expense Deduction? It is not...
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IRS Office to Close This Summer
The IRS’s Acting Commissioner released a memo on April 19, announcing the five IRS furlough days for this summer. If you are planning on working on your tax return or answering IRS correspondence this...
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Late Filing Penalties
The Internal Revenue Service assesses penalties to taxpayers for filing their returns late and/or for paying their taxes late. The failure to file penalty is 5% of the unpaid tax, up to a maximum of...
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Tax Return Due Date Simplification
CPAs and tax professionals face work overload with the due dates for Federal tax returns. Currently, corporate tax returns are due on March 15, individual, partnership and trust tax returns are due on...
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IRS Audit
The tax case, Onyekwena v. Commissioner, USTC 2012-37, provides a very vivid example of the IRS’s auditing and examining power. The taxpayer in this case was a CPA who owned several businesses, all...
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