Financial pLANNING Guide
ONLINE UPDATES
2025 Standard Mileage reimbursement Rates - 12/20/24
The Internal Revenue Service announced that the optional standard mileage rate for automobiles driven for business will increase by 3 cents in 2025, while the mileage rates for vehicles used for other purposes will remain unchanged from 2024. Optional standard milage rates are used to calculate...
Notable tax changes for 2025 - 12/17/24
The tax year 2025 adjustments described below generally apply to income tax returns to be filed starting tax season 2026. The tax items for tax year 2025 of greatest interest to many taxpayers include the following dollar amounts: Standard deductions. For single taxpayers and married individuals filing separately for tax year 2025, the standard deduction rises to $15,000 for 2025...
buy a qualified commercial clean vehicle may qualify for tax credit of up to $40,000 - 8/15/24
These are the steps we use to calculate the credit amount: 1. We find the maximum credit amount based on the gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) of the vehicle: • Less than 14,000 pounds (typically cars, vans, trucks, and similar passenger-sized vehicles): maximum credit $7,500 • 14,000 pounds or more (typically larger vehicles like school buses and semi-trucks): maximum...
Lawmakers Will Have to Reform the Tax Code in 2025 - 5/15/24
The 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) reduced average tax burdens for taxpayers across the income spectrum by temporarily changing the structure of the individual income tax, including lower rates, wider brackets, a larger standard deduction and child tax credit in lieu of personal and dependent exemptions, and limitations on itemized deductions. The reforms also...
IRS Tax Highlights for 2024 - 3/24/24
The tax year 2024 adjustments described below generally apply to income tax returns filed in 2025. The tax items for tax year 2024 of greatest interest to most taxpayers include the following dollar amounts: The standard deduction for married couples filing jointly for tax year...
Employer-Provided Childcare provides employers with up to $150,000 business tax credit - 2/26/24
The Employer-Provided Childcare Tax Credit, is an incentive for businesses to provide child care services to their employees. This business tax credit helps employers fund employees with both child-care services and...
Keep in Mind These Tax Tip Requirements - 2/14/24
Here is a quick checklist to help our clients prepare for their 2023 tax returns during filing season. These easy tips will help make tax preparation smoother in 2024. 1. Gather all necessary tax paperwork and records for accuracy to avoid missing a deduction or credit. This will help file a complete and accurate tax return. Errors and...
The IRS issues 2024 mileage rates - 11/18/23
Update: On December 14, 2023 the IRS issued mileage rates for use of a car (incl. vans, pickups or panel trucks) in 2024. These rates are effective from January 1, 2024 – December 31, 2024: • 67 cents per mile driven for business use, up 1.5 cents from 2023. • 21 cents per mile driven for medical or moving purposes for qualified active...
How much might you save in 2024 – Here’s an example - 11/11/23
When the IRS raises federal income tax brackets, you might fall into a lower tax bracket than you did the year before -- particularly if your income has stayed the same. Here is a basic example, if you made $45,000 in 2023, you would have fallen into the 22% tax bracket for that tax year. But if your income remains at $45,000 in 2024, you'll drop down to the 12% bracket. That means you'll be...
The Proposed Tax Cuts for Working Families Act: Estimated Budgetary and Distributional Effects - 9/28/23
Under current law, the standard deduction, which is indexed to inflation, is currently $13,850 for single filers and $27,700 for married taxpayers filing jointly. Beginning in 2026, the value of the standard deduction is scheduled to approximately...
The Employee Retention Credit – Work with your CPA/Financial Advisor - 8/8/23
Small businesses and tax-exempt organizations should avoid dealing with individuals promising big money returns with the Federal Employee Retention Credit. According to IRS regulations, the only way to claim the...
One-Participant 401(k) Plans - 8/4/23
The one-participant 401(k) plan isn't a new type of 401(k) plan. It's a traditional 401(k) plan covering a business owner with “no employees”, or that person and his or her spouse. These plans have the same rules and requirements as any other 401(k) plan...
Which G20 countries have the highest inflation rates? - 5/15/23
Americans have experienced higher inflation rates over the past two years. However, as difficult as it is for many individuals to pay for the necessities of life, many countries have inflation rates that are in the stratosphere. Argentina and...
Considering Cost of Living During Retirement - 5/9/23
Cost of Living scores and indexes are a way to compare the overall price of goods and services between different areas of the United States. The national average is established at 100, so when you look at a place’s COL...
Artificial Intelligence and IRS Tax Scams - 5/4/23
A bipartisan group of Senate Finance Committee members is raising concerns with the IRS over potential use of artificial intelligence (AI) to generate what they term persuasive, tailored messages to steal personal financial information. In a letter to IRS the Commissioner, lawmakers urged the IRS to prepare for...
The Future of Social Security Benefits - 5/4/23
For the first time in decades, both the Social Security Trustees and the Congressional Budget Office project the retirement Trust Fund to be exhausted within ten years. Today’s rising interest rates, and the worst inflation in 40 years is contributing to this challenge. In 2022, higher inflation resulte...
What Deductions Can I Take as an Owner of Rental Property? - 4/8/23
If you receive rental income from the rental of a dwelling unit, there are certain rental expenses you may deduct on your tax return. These expenses may include mortgage interest, property tax, operating expenses, depreciation, and repairs. You can deduct the ordinary and necessary expenses for managing...
First Time Home Buyers and Renters Face Incredible Hurdles - 3/9/23
Supporters of affordable housing from around the country are pressing Senate tax writers to advance tax policy that they believe can play a major role in addressing the current housing shortage. According to a new report from the National Association of Realtors, the share of sales going to first-time...
How does AI affect the stock market? - 3/9/23
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is having a major impact on almost every industry. Major investment companies have implemented AI but it has not reached the stage where human intervention, analysis, and decision making can be entirely eliminated. Some experts are skeptical about whether that will ever happen...
IRS New SECURE Act 2.0 - 1/3/23
On December 30, 2022 the President, as part of an omnibus spending bill, ‘SECURE 2.0’—the latest update to 2019’s Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement (SECURE) Act—could have the greatest impact for workers enrolled in qualified employer retirement plans....
How the new Consolidated Appropriations Act will change retirement - 12/30/22
The Senate passed a $1.7 trillion government funding bill (the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023) on December 22, sending the package to the House...
Bonus Depreciation Phaseout - 12/8/22
Under the TCJA, (The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act) qualified depreciable assets, or qualified property, are eligible for a bonus deduction rate of 100% for assets placed in service after September 27, 2017, and before January 1, 2023. The bonus depreciation rate begins a gradual phaseout next year, dropping to...
Article for Tax Guide Online - 11/4/22
The 2023 Medicare tax rate is 2.9%. You’re typically responsible for paying half of this amount (1.45%), and your employer is responsible for the other half. Learn more. American workers have taxes for Social Security and Medicare withheld from their paychecks. Together, these two income taxes are known as the...
IRS Updates Electric Vehicle Credit - 10/18/22
If you are interested in claiming the tax credit available under section 30D (EV credit) for purchasing a new electric vehicle after August 16, 2022 (which is the date that the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 was enacted), a tax credit is generally available only for qualifying electric vehicles for which...
IRS Increases Mileage Allowance Rates - 10/11/22
The Internal Revenue Service announced an increase in the optional standard mileage rate for the final 6 months of 2022. Taxpayers may use the optional standard mileage rates to calculate the deductible costs of operating an automobile for business and...
Inflation Report Update - 10/6/22
The latest inflation report confirms that prices for just about everything continue to rise, with the Consumer Price Index (CPI) up 8.3 percent over the last year and many categories up even higher, including food (11.4 percent) and energy (23.8 percent). While not part of the CPI, another measure of inflation...
Health Savings Account - 10/5/22
You are not eligible to make contributions to an HSA after you have Medicare. To avoid a tax penalty, you should make your last HSA contribution the month before your Part A coverage begins. Premium-free Part A coverage will go back (retroactively) six (6) months from when you sign up for Part A...
Child Tax Credit - 9/30/22
Over the next ten years, the structure of the Child Tax Credit (CTC) is scheduled to change, complicating efforts to extend enhanced Child Tax Credit benefits or reform the Child Tax Credit for the long-term. Rather than take an all-or-nothing approach or relying on temporary expansions, lawmakers might consider...
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