Entries by IslerNW

Should You Have an Identity Protection PIN?

With the passage of the Taxpayer First Act in mid-2019, the Treasury Department (i.e., the IRS) is required to establish a program to issue an identity protection pin (IP PIN) to any U.S. resident who requests one. For each calendar year beginning after the date of enactment, the IRS must also expand the issuance of […]

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Deducting the Costs of Modifications for Senior-Proofing a Home

While Americans may argue about any number of hot-button political topics, there’s no disagreement on one issue: the country’s population is aging…fast. According to the Social Security Administration, 10,000 baby boomers a day are reaching the age of 65. Many individuals, for either themselves or an older family member, are senior-proofing their homes – adding […]

6 Simple Personal Finance Tips That Lead to a Big Payoff

Let’s face it: A lot of personal finance advice seems to be incredibly repetitive and common sense — like paying off your debt ASAP and watching your discretionary spending when money is tight. Much money-saving advice also tends to be geared toward people who already have money and those more concerned about avoiding the taxman than bill […]

Earn Tax-Free Income from Working Abroad

U.S. citizens and resident aliens are taxed on their worldwide income, whether they live inside or outside of the U.S. However, qualifying U.S. citizens and resident aliens who live and work abroad may be able to exclude from their income all or part of their foreign salary or wages, or amounts received as compensation for […]

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Is It Time for a Payroll Tax Checkup?

Was your 2018 federal tax refund less than normal, or – worse yet – did you actually owe tax despite usually getting a refund? If so, this was primarily due to the last-minute passage of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act at the end of 2017. Because the law was only passed late in the […]

See the US Tax System Illustrated in One Complex Map

Not sure whether it’s worth your while to hire a tax professional to do your taxes? Thinking that maybe this year you’ll take a run at it yourself? You may want to think again after taking a look at a new graphic released by the Taxpayer Advocate Service (TAS). The organization, which is dedicated to […]

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Employee Stock Options Can be Taxing

If you are an employee of a corporation, as an incentive to continue employment, the company may offer you the option to purchase shares of the corporation at a fixed price at some future date so that you can benefit from your commitment to the success of the company by sharing in the company’s growth […]

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Tax Issues Related to Hobbies

Generally, when individuals have a hobby, they have it because they enjoy it and are not involved in their hobby with the goal of making money. In fact, most hobbies never make money or don’t even create any income, for that matter. Tax law generally does not allow deductions for personal expenses except those allowed […]