DEDUCTING MEDICALLY NECESSARY HOME IMPROVEMENTS Individuals can claim medical tax deductions for the cost of special equipment installed in a home, or for home improvements, if the main purpose is to accommodate the individual’s, spouse’s, or dependents’ medical needs. Medically required home improvements that would not ordinarily be for medical care are deductible only to [...]
CORPORATE ANNUAL MEETINGS ARE IMPORTANT Generally, one of the requirements for maintaining a corporation’s existence (and the liability protection that it affords) is that the shareholders and Board of Directors must meet at least annually. Although most people view this requirement as a necessary evil, it doesn’t have to be a waste of time. For [...]
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT REQUIRED HEALTH INSURANCE COVERAGE FOR 2014 Beginning in 2014, the individual shared responsibility provision of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) requires you and each member of your family to have qualifying health insurance (called minimum essential coverage), have an exemption, or pay a shares responsibility penalty with your 2014 [...]
DIVIDING IRAs TAX-FREE IN DIVORCE Generally, the division of property, including cash, between divorcing spouses has no immediate federal income or gift tax consequences. Such transfers are considered tax-free gifts between the spouses. However, the tax-free transfer rule does not apply to transfers of balances in IRAs. If an IRA owner withdraws funds from his [...]
IRS TOUGHENS THE ONE -YEAR WAIT BETWEEN IRA ROLLOVERS IRA rollovers are a popular way of obtaining a short-term tax-free loan from an IRA. To receive tax-free treatment, the amount withdrawn from the IRA must be deposited into the same or another IRA no later than 60 days after the taxpayer received the distribution (the [...]
IRS WARNS TAXPAYERS TO BEWARE OF PHISHING SCAMS Phishing is a scam typically carried out by unsolicited email and/or bogus websites posing as legitimate sites luring unsuspecting victims to provide personal and financial information. The IRS has recently warned consumers to watch for emails appearing to be from the Taxpayer Advocate Service (TAS) that include [...]