Using QuickBooks Mobile, you’ll improve business relations, put out fires before they start and unchain yourself from your office computer. There are only a few reasons why you wouldn’t be using QuickBooks Mobile on your smartphone. Maybe you don’t have a smartphone. Or when you’re out of the office, you don’t want to be [...]
Many taxpayers bought a second home, such as a vacation home, with the intention of later converting the second home into their principal residence. Under pre-2008 Housing Act law, those taxpayers could have excluded up to $250,000 ($500,000 for certain joint filers) upon a later sale of that former vacation home as long as the [...]
Variable annuity contract distributions generally contain two components, taxable income and nontaxable return of basis (investment). However, distributions received before the annuity starting date (nonannuity distributions) are likely to be less taxpayer-friendly. Initially, these generally consist entirely of taxable income until all of the annuity contract’s earnings have been distributed. Subsequent payments are considered to [...]
Individuals starting a new business or acquiring the assets of an existing business often incur start-up expenses, which can be considerable, in the investigation and acquisition phase before actual business operations begin. Most start-up expenditures can be segregated into two broad categories: (a) investigatory expenses and (b) business preopening costs. Taxpayers can immediately deduct up [...]
Although we can’t escape death or taxes, we may be able to minimize the federal income taxes due on our final Form 1040. Filing a tax return after we die (we are then known as the “decedent”) is probably not something most of us think much about. But, a final Form 1040 generally must be [...]
With many college and high school graduates still looking for jobs, we thought it would be a good time for a refresher on which expenses are and are not deductible in connection with landing that first post-graduation job. Job Search Expenses Expenses incurred by taxpayers when searching for new employment in the same trade or [...]