Is my mileage deductible?

Business owners can generally deduct ordinary and necessary costs of doing business, if they prove the costs are legitimate. One married couple owned an engineering firm. Among other tax issues, for two tax years, they claimed depreciation of $76,264 on three vehicles, but didn’t provide required details including each vehicle’s ownership, cost and useful life. […]

New IRS guidance on Trust Fund Recovery Penalty

New IRS guidance says that during an investigation, revenue officers must wait to send proposed assessments of the Trust Fund Recovery Penalty (TFRP). The TFRP is assessed on individuals who are responsible for collecting, accounting for and paying over payroll taxes but willfully fail to do so. The penalty is equal to the amount of […]

Choosing an entity for your business? How about an S corporation?

If you’re starting a business with some partners and wondering what type of entity to form, an S corporation may be the most suitable form of business for your new venture. Here are some of the reasons why. A big benefit of an S corporation over a partnership is that as S corporation shareholders, you won’t […]

Ways and Means members denounce OECD funding

In a letter to the chair and ranking member of the House Appropriations State Department Subcommittee, 10 U.S. House Republicans denounced U.S. contributions to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). The Ways and Means Committee members claim that the OECD “advocates against the economic interests of United States workers and business.” They object […]

New Scam Alert

The IRS is warning of a new tax scam promoted on social media. The scam encourages people to manually fill out false W-2 forms, claiming large income and withholding figures. They then file bogus tax returns claiming false refunds. One variation of the scam involves making false claims for sick and family medical leave for […]

Some taxpayers qualify for more favorable “head of household” tax filing status

When preparing your tax return, we’ll check one of the following statuses: Single, married filing jointly, married filing separately, head of household or qualifying widow(er). Filing a return as a head of household is more favorable than filing as a single taxpayer. For example, the 2023 standard deduction for a single taxpayer is $13,850 while […]

SCOTUS hears arguments in case against IRS

On March 29, the U.S. Supreme Court (SCOTUS) heard oral arguments in a case against the IRS. The issue is whether, to collect delinquent taxes, the IRS can seek third-party records without first notifying the taxpayers. In this case, an IRS agent feared the married taxpayers were hiding assets in banks or in their business. […]

Mississippi tax relief

The IRS has provided tax relief to victims of Mississippi state severe storms and tornadoes that occurred on March 24 and 25, 2023. Individuals and businesses in the disaster area now have until July 31, 2023, to file various tax returns and to make tax payments. Taxpayers who reside or have a business in the […]

Demystifying deferred taxes

Deferred taxes are a confusing topic — and the accounting rules for reporting these items often seem to defy the logic of real-world economics. Here’s a brief overview to help clarify matters. What are deferred taxes? Companies pay income tax on IRS-defined taxable income. On their Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) financial statements, however, companies […]

Beware of Charity Scams

Beware of the latest disaster-related charity scams, the IRS warns. As part of their annual “Dirty Dozen” campaign, the IRS urges taxpayers to be alert for scams that arise following a major disaster. Thieves take advantage of storms, flooding, fires and other disasters to prey on the public’s desire to help victims. To appear legitimate, […]