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Top Five TCJA Tax Planning Opportunities for Individuals, SFS Tax, SFS Tax Accounting, Planning, Planner

Top Five Tax Cuts and Jobs Act Tax Planning Opportunities for Individuals in 2018

Since folks have not filed a 2018 tax return, the new tax law passed late last year is largely a mystery to many. Here are the top five opportunities that you may be unaware of. Take advantage of these insights to maximize your refund and minimize your tax debt. #5 — Itemized deductions versus the standard deduction The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act roughly doubles the standard deduction. This means that for 2018, joint filers can enjoy a standard deduction of [...]

August 29, 2018
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Attention Truckers: Tax Deadline Directly Ahead

Look out! We’re down to just five days to file Form 2290 (also known as the Heavy Highway Vehicle Use Tax Return). The IRS is expecting a fleet of 800,000 tax returns to be submitted during the filing season, which runs from July 1 to August 31, 2018. What is the Heavy Highway Vehicle Use Tax? This is an annual tax on heavy highway vehicles paid by truck owners and operators. It applies to vehicles with a taxable gross weight [...]

August 27, 2018
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How Does the Tax Cuts & Jobs Act Affect Small Businesses, SFS Tax and Accounting, restaurant kitchen, chef, waiter

How Does the Tax Cuts & Jobs Act Affects Small Businesses? Part One: Your Income

The most sweeping change to tax law in decades was ushered in late in December of 2017. The Tax Cuts & Jobs Act has many provisions that affect small businesses… and their clients. Let’s look at your income first. Lower Income Tax Rates Income tax rates have been lowered for all but two income tax brackets. The tax cuts in (most but not all) of the brackets are obvious. What’s more subtle are the effects of the shifts to the income tax brackets [...]

August 24, 2018
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What’s new in the SFS Tax office – August 17

Today I am sharing a bit of “What’s new in the SFS Tax office.” We are pleased to announce that we have added a new staff member to our team, our daughter Marissa Adler. She will be our new Office Manager. Ali and I have two kids, and while our son Cameron toils away at Ross University School of Veterinary School in St Kitts West Indies, Rissy decided to join the “family business.” She is doing an awesome job of [...]

August 17, 2018
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Are You or Someone You Love Going to College, Find Out About Tax Credits that Can Help Offset the Cost, SFS Tax and Accounting Services, College Student, Backpack, University

Are You or Someone You Love Going to College? Find Out About Tax Credits that Can Help Offset the Cost

There is no doubt that the cost of college can be high. Outside of winning the lottery or racking up student loan debt, there’s another way to help if you are footing the bill – whether it be for you, your spouse or one of your dependents. There are two tax credits that apply here: American Opportunity Credit The American Opportunity Credit gives you tax deductions of up to $2,500 for each eligible student (100% of the first $2,000 in qualified expenses [...]

August 14, 2018
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Dog Days of Summer, That Means Extended Tax Deadlines are Coming, Give Yourself Time to Avoid These Common Mistakes, SFS Tax and Accounting Services, tired dog, hot dog, brick paved streets

Dog Days of Summer? That Means Extended Tax Deadlines are Coming! Give Yourself Time to Avoid These Common Mistakes

Air conditioners everywhere are feeling the strain. It’s the steamy dog days of Summer and deadlines are coming up fast. We are a little over 10 weeks to the extended deadline for 2017 individual tax returns. Businesses have until September 15th, or only about six weeks, to get their returns in. You need to give yourself plenty of time to prepare your return – or to have it prepared by a professional – as well as time to review it in detail. Mistakes [...]

August 9, 2018
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Helping Students or a Nasty Surprise, Student Loan Forgiveness Can Cause a Big Tax Debt, SFS Tax, SFS Tax and Accounting, books, student hiding behind books, green shirt, black bracelets, wood table

Helping Students… Or a Nasty Surprise? Student Loan Forgiveness Can Create a Big Tax Debt

Student loan debt levels are out of control. Need proof? The class of 2017 graduated with an average of $39,400 in debt. Some graduates have balances much higher than that – up to $100,000 or more – ballooning even higher as interest continues to rack up after they graduate. Many students didn’t know what they were getting themselves into. And if parents co-sign for these loans, they can also be subject to wage garnishments and other nasty consequences. (BankRate’s “3 Terrifying Student Loan Horror [...]

August 6, 2018
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Starting a New Business? 10 Things You Need to Know

To be in charge of your own destiny – that is the dream of many would-be entrepreneurs. For those trapped in an everyday open office existence – longing for a modicum of privacy, a raise, or even just flexible hours – the allure of business ownership can be strong. Workers cited the chance to be their own boss (75%), not having to answer to a boss (64%), and increased flexibility (74%) as reasons for striking out on their own in a [...]

August 1, 2018
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Thinking of Renting Your Home, There are Tax Consequences, SFS Tax, SFS Tax and Accounting, Woman Thinking, Window, Urban Scene, Living Room, Sofa, Chair

Thinking of Renting Your Home? There are Tax Consequences

With the rise of Airbnb (along with hotel prices), it’s not a surprising trend. Homeowners looking to earn some extra income are renting out their homes to short-term visitors. In August 2017, Business Insider reported that Airbnb had 4 million listings. That’s more than the combined total of all top five hotel brands. At the same time that short-term rentals have exploded, long-term renting has also been on the rise. More people are choosing to rent their homes instead of owning one. The number [...]

July 31, 2018
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Suing over SALT, Could we see a reversal on the State and Local Tax Deduction Cap, SFS Tax, SFS Tax and Accounting Services, law books, law libraries

Suing Over SALT: Could We See a Reversal of the SALT Deduction Cap?

On July 17, four states filed suit against the federal government over the Tax Cuts & Jobs Act (TCJA) reduction of the state and local tax deduction. The TCJA limited the deduction to $10,000 per year for all state and local property, income, or sales tax. This new cap is going to hit certain states harder than others. While New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, and Maryland brought the suit, residents of other high-tax states will also feel the pain. What’s Their Argument? The [...]

July 26, 2018
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