The purpose of a tax deduction is to reduce the amount that the government requests during tax time. There are many tax deductions available to those who are interested in doing some research. Deductions are simple and will save the filer money. It is beneficial to better understand these deductions and what documentation is needed to prove these deductions.
Potential Tax Deductions
Self-Employment
A self-employed person is both the employer and the employee, according to the IRS. Home office deductions are available to those who use a specific portion of their home as their office. Be careful with this deduction, as a work space must be created and maintained for government approval. Phone and internet may be deducted for business expenses
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The IRS knows that there are many reasons that people use to not pay their taxes, so it wants to support anyone who works to pay their taxes. Companies that prepare taxes will keep previous information recorded so they will be better able to maximize deductions and credits for the tax payer.
Education
There may be options to deduct costs of education. Tuition, fees, and student loan interest may be deducted by those who meet the requirements. Educators may deduct taxes on purchases that support the classroom or other educational tools. In most cases, fellow students or educators will be able to give advice on tax preparation. However, a tax professional will likely ask these questions during preparation.
Health Savings Accounts
The contributions to the health savings account is deductible for the individual contributor. The employers contributions are not able to be deducted. This means that saving for potential health emergencies can save the tax payer money. For those interested in learning more about health savings accounts, the IRS has put out a publication on them.
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This is designed to support those who want to advance or alter their current working situation. Information regarding deductions for job searching is available. Additionally, costs associated with moving is available as wel.
Medical Expenses
Medical and dental expenses may be deducted as well. There are many deductions available according to the IRS publication. Ambulance costs, as well as birth control, chiropractors, contact lenses, crutches, medication, lodging, meals, operations and many other things may be deducted. Visit the IRS publication link to see the full list of potential medical deductions. It also specifically mentions things that are not deductible, such as cosmetic surgery, dancing lessons, and insurance premiums.
Deductions and Publications
The IRS offers many deductions and credits. For those who are not interested in speaking with a tax professional, it would be beneficial to see what is available. The IRS website offers the entire range of publications that are available. It is important to keep tax information for a minimum of seven years. Though the rates of IRS audits are slowly decreasing, there are still risks of being
The IRS sensibly decided against a Supreme Court review of the decision; however, in June 2014, they announced that they would introduce a voluntary program to regulate independent tax return preparers. In lieu of instituting a mandatory program the IRS created a voluntary program, called the Annual Filing Season Program, which would provide a preparer with a record of completion each year upon showing that they have registered with the IRS and completed the required continuing education; furthermore, the record of completion is effective for one calendar year.
My budget below does not state this but, I would choose sole proprietor as my tax status. My reason for this is, I have run my own business as a sole proprietor and feel comfortable doing so at this time. Since this is a make believe budget I have a pretend accountant and lawyer and would need to further scrutinize my options. I did go to the IRS website and read about different things that would need to be done but I will admit I had an overload of information. The t...
Texas is one of the seven states that have no state income tax. This means the state does not impose an additional state income taxes on someone’s earnings, but there is still a federal income tax. While many claim this is beneficial to all of Texas citizens and promotes population growth others find it disadvantaging. Their is many disadvantages and advantages to not having a state income tax.
There are three health care programs I will be discussing that can help reduce cost of health care for many Americans depending on their living situation. The first is private insurance programs, second is Health maintenance Organizations (HMOs), government funding health care such as Medicare and Medicaid, And last but not lease the Affordable Health care act also known as Obama care. All of which I will be discussing.
“Occupation Profile.” Careeronstop Pathways to Career Success. U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training administration, n.d. Web. 5 Feb. 2014.
I hope you find this information helpful. I included some job board and resume service websites as well (not that I’m looking for a job or anything).
“Career One Stop Pathways to Career Success.” NC Employment Security Commission. 2 Sep. 2009. Web. 18 Feb. 2010.
Tax season is upon us and many Americans are scrambling around trying to get theirs finished by the end of the dead line. This time of year is not a joyous occasion, everyone on edge most of them pondering how much they will have to pay. While others are wondering if they will get as much as they thought they will, or are they going to be one of the unlucky few to be audited? I am one of those people, anxious, and waiting at the edge of my seat for that hammer of reality to come crashing down over my head. With each new election year comes new arguments and battles fought within the halls of Capital Hill, but who is right and is there a middle ground? I will present you with the facts as I have found them; the choice is yours to determine what is right and what is wrong.
The United States tax system is in complete disarray. Republicans and Democrats agree that the current tax code is complex, unfair, and costly. The income tax system is so complex; the IRS publishes 480 tax forms and 280 forms to explain the 480 forms (Armey 1). The main reason the tax system is so complex is because of the special preferences such as deductions and tax credits. Complexity in the current tax system forces Americans to spend 5.4 billion hours complying with the tax code, which is more time than it takes to manufacture every car, truck and van produced in the United States (Armey 1). Time is not the only thing that is lost with the current tax system; Americans also lose great deal of money complying with the tax code. Resources that are currently wasted on record keeping, filing forms, learning the tax code, litigation, and tax avoidance. The cost of complying with the current tax code totals about $200 billion annually, or $700 for every man, woman, and child in America (Armey 1). The overwhelming consensus that the current tax system is inadequate has ignited the search for tax reform. There are numerous proposals for tax reform; one particular proposal brought forth by various conservatives is the idea of national flat rate income tax. The idea is to replace the current income tax with a single rate that everyone pays.
Luckily under the new health care reform law, most people will receive help paying for their healthcare premiums and cost-sharing expenses that people with insurance have to pay out of pocket for doctor visits, and prescription medicine. Families and individuals will be able to receive this assistance with incomes between one hundred and four hundred percent of the federal poverty line. One hundred to four hundred percent makes up at about $23,000 to $94,000 a year assume this is for a family of four.
They also include employer-sponsored group health plans, government and church-sponsored health plans, and multiemployer health plans (hhs). There are exceptions—a group health plan with less than fifty50 participants that is administered solely by the employer that established and maintains the plan is not a covered entity (hhs). Two types of government-funded programs are not health plans: (1) those whose principal purpose is not providing or paying the cost of health care, such as the food stamps program; and (2) those programs whose principal activity is directly providing health care, such as a community health center,5 or the making of grants to fund the direct provision of healthcare (hhs). Certain types of insurance entities are also not health plans, including entities providing only workers’ compensation, automobile insurance, and property and casualty insurance (hhs). If an insurance entity has separable lines of business, one of which is a health plan, the HIPAA regulations apply to the entity with respect to the health plan line of business
Taxes in relation to the new healthcare reform is a prominent topic when one examines the supporting and opposing sides of the law. New taxes on businesses producing medical equipment and new Medicare taxes on investments have been established. For individuals and businesses choosing not to participate in purchasing health insurance there will be a penalty called a "shared responsibility" tax. The accrued money from these taxes is being used, among other things, to provide low-cost insurance plans on the marketplace and to create subsidies for those purchasing the plans. Through these subsidies, "any individual making up to $45,960 or a family of four with household income up to $94,200 is eligible" ("Obamacare tax guide") to qualify and get assistance at the end of each year to off-set the cost of the insurance even more...
Medical savings accounts (MSAs) were proposed in 1997 as a supplemental mechanism for financing health care services. Medical savings accounts are used to accumulate funds for health care expenditures just as individual retirement accounts (IRAs) accumulate funds for retirement. Changes in the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Tax Code permit tax-deductible contributions by employees and employers to MSAs and allow interest and earnings to accumulate without taxation. Funds can be withdrawn without penalty only for medical expenses, for the purchase of health or long-term care insurance, or for other expenditures that are stipulated in the tax code. Each person owns and controls his or her account, regardless of changes in employment, and therefore has a financial incentive to make cost-effective use of health care resources. Coupled with high-deductible health insurance, MSAs empower cost-conscious patients in health care decision making, increasing competitive pressures to reduce health care costs.
Regional Workforce Development Summit and SA, Inc.’s Third Economic Roundtable. San Antonio, Tx: Alamo WorkSource, 2005.
“Website.” CDM Career Zone Copyright 2008 Career Planning Associates, Inc. 29 Nov. 2013. Web. 29 Nov. 2013 http://www.cdmcareerzone.com/profile/29-1051.00