Waterfront Tax & Accounting Blog

'Tis the Season for Important Tax Paperwork to be sent to you. Keeping your tax records organized will help make sure you don't miss out on valuable deductions when it is time to file. Some documents to be on the lookout for:- Wage and income statements (like W-2 or 1099-MISC)- Health Insurance s...

Ever since Congress authorized the U.S. Treasury to send Economic Impact Payments (EICs, also called stimulus payments) to millions of Americans during 2020, scammers have been seeking ways to use the program to steal EIPs and personal information. A new scam involves using text messages and a fa...

Ordinarily, only taxpayers who itemize deductions may deduct charitable contributions on their federal tax returns. However, the CARES Act allows many people who do not itemize to claim a deduction for 2020 cash contributions to IRS-approved charities. Tax deductions lower a person's tax bill by ...

Representation Individual taxpayers who are under audit by the IRS may attend the audit in person without any assistance from a tax professional. However, this can be a dangerous mistake. Although not officially stated, it is the job of an IRS Revenue Agent to conduct an audit with an eye toward ...

Capital Assets Most property you own and use for personal or investment purposes is a capital asset. For example, a house, furniture, car, stocks, and bonds are capital assets.  Noncapital Assets A capital asset is any property held by you except the following. • Stock in trade or other property ...

With more and more people deriving income from a variety of sources, including side jobs, self-employment and “gig economy” work, the IRS has reported a substantial increase in the number of Americans who underpay federal income tax during the year. Underpayment can lead to an unpleasant spring t...

I was recently talking to a client who told me she was interested in leaving her job to start her own business. Starting your own business can be a good idea or a bad idea as there are many pros and cons to running your own business. If you are very good at what you do, and your skills solve a pr...

The IRS has warned taxpayers about new and ongoing scams targeting both people affected by natural disasters and those seeking to help disaster victims. In many of these fraudulent schemes, the scammers impersonate IRS representatives or charitable organizations. SCAMS INVOLVING BOGUS OFFERS OF T...

An Executive Order issued in August allows U.S. employers the option to defer collection of the employee's share of Social Security tax between September 1, 2020 and December 31, 2020. The employee's share of this tax makes up the majority of paycheck withholding labeled as FICA on most worker pa...

The IRS Lifetime Learning Credit (LLC) can offer substantial tax savings for students or their parents, especially for students who have previously completed four years of higher education. If you paid tuition and school fees in 2020 for yourself, your spouse or a dependent, you may be able to cl...