Creative Tax & Business

Safe Harbors Help Taxpayers Suffering Property Losses: Safe harbor methods are used by individual taxpayers when determining the amount of their casualty and theft losses for their homes and personal belongings. Four of the safe harbor methods may be used for any qualifying casualty or theft loss, and three are specifically applicable only to losses occurring as a result of a Federally declared disaster. Learn more: http://www.creativetaxbiz.com/archive.php?archive=012018 #9

Standard Mileage Rates for 2018 Beginning on January 1, 2018, the standard mileage rates for the use of a car, van, pickup or panel truck are: 54.5 cents for every mile of business travel driven, up 1 cent from the rate for 2017. 18 cents per mile driven for medical or moving purposes, up 1 cent from the rate for 2017.... 14 cents per mile driven in service of charitable organizations. The business mileage rate and the medical and moving expense rates each increased 1 cent per mile from the rates for 2017. The charitable rate is set by statute and remains unchanged. Learn more: http://www.creativetaxbiz.com/archive.php?archive=012018 #8

Early Retirement Distributions and Your Taxes Taxpayers may sometimes find themselves in situations when they need to withdraw money from their retirement plan early. What they may not realize is that taking money out early from your retirement plan may trigger an additional tax. Here are 10 things taxpayers should know about early withdrawals from retirement plans: http://www.creativetaxbiz.com/archive.php?archive=012018 #6

The Basics of Starting a Home-Based Business: More than half of all businesses today are home-based. Every day, people are striking out and achieving economic and creative independence by turning their skills into dollars. Garages, basements, and attics are being transformed into the corporate headquarters of the newest entrepreneurs--home-based business people. And, with technological advances in smartphones, tablets, and iPads as well as rising demand for "service-oriented"... businesses, the opportunities seem to be endless. Is a Home-Based Business Right for You? http://www.creativetaxbiz.com/archive.php?archive=012018 #5

Choosing a Business Entity: When you decide to start a business, one of the most important decisions you'll need to make is choosing a business entity. It's a decision that impacts many things--from the amount of taxes you pay to how much paperwork you have to deal with and what type of personal liability you face, and with the passage of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, it's more important than ever to choose the business entity that benefits your business. Here are more things to consider: http://www.creativetaxbiz.com/archive.php?archive=012018 #4

Got Debt? How to Improve your Financial Situation: If you are having trouble paying your debts, it is important to take action sooner rather than later. Doing nothing leads to much larger problems in the future, whether it's a bad credit record or bankruptcy resulting in the loss of assets and even your home. If you're in financial trouble, then here are some steps to take to avoid financial ruin in the future. If you've accumulated a large amount of debt and are having difficulty paying your bills each month, now is the time to take action--before the bill collectors start calling. Learn More: http://www.creativetaxbiz.com/archive.php?archive=012018 #3

Small Business: Be Alert to Identity Theft:: Small business identity theft is a big business for identity thieves. Just like individuals, businesses may have their identities stolen, and their sensitive information used to open credit card accounts or used to file fraudulent tax refunds for bogus refunds. As such, small business owners should be on guard against a growing wave of identity theft against employers. Read the Details: http://www.creativetaxbiz.com/archive.php?archive=012018 #2

Retirement Contributions Limits Announced for 2018: Cost of living adjustments affecting dollar limitations for pension plans and other retirement-related items for the tax year 2018 have been announced by the IRS. We share the highlights: http://www.creativetaxbiz.com/archive.php?archive=122017 #6

Tax Advantages of Health Savings Accounts: While similar to FSAs (Flexible Savings Plans) in that both allow pre-tax contributions, Health Savings Accounts or HSAs offer taxpayers several additional tax benefits such as contributions that roll over from year to year (i.e., no "use it or lose it"), tax-free interest on earnings, and when used for qualified medical expenses, tax-free distributions. Learn more: http://www.creativetaxbiz.com/archive.php?archive=122017 #4

Five Common Budgeting Errors & How to Avoid Them: 1: Not Setting Goals. 2: Underestimating Costs. 3: Forgetting about Tax Obligations. 4: Assuming Revenue Equals Positive Cash Flow.... 5: Failing to Adjust Your Budget Read the Details: http://www.creativetaxbiz.com/archive.php?archive=122017 #3 See more

Revised Form W-4: Check your Withholding: he Tax Cuts and Jobs Act made changes to the tax law, including increasing the standard deduction, removing personal exemptions, increasing the child tax credit, limiting or discontinuing certain deductions and changing the tax rates and brackets. As such, a new version of Form W-4, Employee's Withholding Allowance Certificate, was released on February 28. Taxpayers with less complex tax situations--single, married couples with only o...ne job, or those who have no dependents, and who have not claimed itemized deductions, adjustments to income or tax credits--might not need to make any changes to their withholding or revise their Forms W-4. Read more: http://www.creativetaxbiz.com/newsletter.php #7

IRS Scam Alert: Erroneous Refunds & Fake Calls: Taxpayers should be aware of a new twist on an old scam involving erroneous tax refunds that are being deposited into their bank accounts. After stealing client data and filing fraudulent tax returns, these criminals use the taxpayers' real bank accounts to deposit refunds, then use various tactics to reclaim the refund from the taxpayers. Here's what you need to know. http://www.creativetaxbiz.com/newsletter.php #5

The health care law contains tax provisions that affect employers. The size and structure of a workforce--small or large--helps determine which parts of the law apply to which employers. Calculating the number of employees is especially important for employers that have close to 50 employees or whose workforce fluctuates during the year. Two parts of the Affordable Care Act apply only to applicable large employers. These are the employer shared responsibility provisions and the employer information reporting provisions for offers of minimum essential coverage. Read more: http://www.creativetaxbiz.com/newsletter.php #1