Tax Refunds & Advice

Are you looking for any and every tax break imaginable? If not, you should be. The more tax breaks you find the less money you will owe. And that is what you want, right? With so many common tax breaks there is no good reason to pass any of them by. They are well known, and you can find plenty of information on them as long as you know where to look.

Here is a list of common deductions and credits that will lower your tax liability:

1. Alimony
2. Child care
3. Mortgage interest
4. Education credits
5. IRA’s
6. Earned income credit
7. Student loan interest
8. Relocation expenses

How many of these deductions or credits do you qualify for? Remember, you can take advantage of many of these; there is no restriction. The only problem you may face is determining whether or not you qualify. If you are unsure it is better to find the right answer than to guess. You don’t want to use one of the above just to learn that you were not eligible. The same holds true if you decide against one that you could have taken advantage of.

These common tax breaks may or may not work for you. If you hire a tax professional he can give you information on the above, as well as any others that you may be able to use. One deduction or credit is better than none at all. By using them you ensure yourself of owing less taxes. 

Filing your first business return can be scary. This is something you have never done in the past, so you probably have no idea of what to expect. Fortunately, once you are in the thick of things you will find it easy to complete your return with success.

Here are a few good tips for filing your first business return:

1. Triple check your work. It is easy to make a mistake on any type of tax return let alone one for your business. Make sure that every bit of information is accurate, and that you are supplying the numbers you are being asked for. One mistake can turn into a snowball of errors that can throw your entire return out of whack.

2. Use tax deductions. As a business owner there are many deductions to take advantage of. You should be tracking these during the year so you don’t forget any when it comes time to file your business return. You can deduct everything from your home office to mileage used for your business to utilities and much more.

3. Help is available. Don’t forget that you can hire a professional to file your business return for you. It is important to know what is going on, but if you are running into issues you really need to get the help of somebody with a lot of experience. A CPA with experience filing business returns can complete yours with 100 percent accuracy, while also helping you save money.

You should use these three tips if you are going to be filing your first business tax return in the near future.

With deductions you have the ability to reduce your tax liability. You have two options for taking advantage of deductions: you can use the standard deduction or you can itemize. If your itemized deductions will be more than the standard deduction you should choose this option. If not, the standard deduction will do the job just fine.

Here is all the information you will need if you are interested in using the standard deduction:

Filing Status

Single: $5,700
Head of Household: $8,350
Married Filing Jointly: $11,400
Married Filing Separately: $5,700
Qualifying Widow: $11,400

If Blind: $1,100 for married filing separately, married filing jointly, or widow); $1,400 for single and head of household filing status.

If age 65 or older, you will receive an additional amount: $1,100 if married filing jointly, married filing separately, or widow; $1,400 for single and head of household filing status

So what type of deductions are you going to use the next time around? The standard deduction is a great way to lower your liability, but you only want to use it if your itemized deductions would not be the greater of the two amounts. With the information above, you should have a better idea of which deduction strategy will work best for you.