3 Summer Financial Tips for Kids
Ahhh… summer! Enjoy a more relaxed schedule, warmer weather, backyard barbeques and sandy-yet-fun trips to the beach. In between all of the activity, it’s good to incorporate life lessons that don’t require textbooks (or flotation devices). It’s old-fashioned learning by example! Starting financial education when kids are young will leave them well equipped to handle money well when they are grown.
Give Kids an Income... and Help them Manage It
It doesn’t have to be a lot. A few dollars a week can do...
Do You Make Quarterly Tax Payments?
It's a Little Trickier This Year. Figuring out quarterly tax payments is a little more complicated this year. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of December 2017 ushered in over 500 pages of tax code revisions. Among other changes, it lowered tax rates and created a deduction for pass-through entities and the self-employed. It also does away with personal exemptions and suspends some itemized deductions. However, there is a need for technical corrections, which may come this summer. Even so, there are penalties for...
Senior Financial Fitness
What You Need to Know. It’s never too late to get financially fit. Here are some simple and painless ways to build your financial muscle.
1. Take another standard deduction.
If you are 65 or over, you are entitled to another standard deduction (if you don’t itemize). Those standard deductions have nearly doubled in 2018. A tax professional can determine if you are better off taking those standard deductions or itemizing.2. Continue to make contributions to a retirement plan.
It’s perfectly legal for...
Standard Deduction & Child Tax Credit Doubles, Personal Exemptions Vanish
Part Two of What did the Tax Cuts & Jobs Act Do to My Income Tax?
Standard Deduction & Child Tax Credit Doubles, Personal Exemptions Vanish - What it All Means In part one of this series, we covered the changes to the ordinary income tax brackets and rates. Your income is only part of the story in determining how much tax you will pay. Also factoring into the equation is the standard deduction amount, which has nearly doubled, as...
What Did the Tax Cuts & Jobs Act do to My Income Tax?
Many changes were ushered in by the Tax Cuts & Jobs Act which passed in December 2017. Depending on your tax situation, the most impactful changes for individuals were to: Ordinary Income Tax Rates and Brackets Standard Deduction Amounts The Personal Tax Exemption For those with children, the doubling of the child tax credit can also make a difference. In the first of this two-part series, we’ll look at the changes to the ordinary income tax rates.
Income Tax Changes: Most Will...
Another Hurricane?!
A Hurricane Tax Holiday. Many of us remember the wrath of Hurricane Irma last September. It seems like yesterday! It can be tough to face the possibility of another one (already). Nonetheless, hurricane season starts this Friday. This might get you in the mood to prepare, though… Floridians will get a week-long disaster preparedness sales tax holiday. It runs Friday, June 1 to next Thursday, June 7. Qualifying disaster preparedness items are exempt from sales tax during this period. What’s a qualifying item? Check the list...
Top 5 Ways Wine Helps with Your Taxes
In honor of National Wine Day, we’re counting down the ways that wine can help you when it comes to your taxes. Raise your glass and toast to this!
5. Wine is good for your heart.
You may need a healthy ticker when see your tax bill.4. Wine preserves your memory.
Can’t remember where those receipts are? Drink up. Researchers found that women in their 70s who drank at least once a day scored better on memory tests than those who drank less...
Tax Avoidance vs. Tax Evasion
Which One is Legal? (The IRS Said So) Everyone knows you’re supposed to pay your taxes. If you don’t, that’s illegal. It’s called tax evasion. But what about avoiding taxes? Believe it or not, it’s not quite the same thing. The IRS defines tax avoidance as “an action taken to less tax liability and maximize after-tax income.” This is perfectly legal. Tax evasion is the “failure to pay or a deliberate underpayment of taxes.” It’s what can land you in hot water with the IRS....
All About Tips
All About Tips (The Kind You Give at Restaurants). An SFS Tax & Accounting Services Blog. This shouldn’t be news to anyone, but who are we to judge? It’s worth repeating: The money that you receive in tips is taxable. If you receive $20 or more a month in tips, you need to report them. You must pay tips on all income received during the year, including tips given to you from customers, tips written in on credit card slips, and the tips you...
