Tax Tips for Bloggers, Writers and Journalists                  Read the script here:

PROGRAM 2: Tax Tips for Bloggers, Writers and Journalists

Originally aired:  Thursday, March 25                 11:30 – 12:30 EDT  

Introduction – Tax Mama

• Welcome and Introductions

o        Thanks for joining

o        Introduce hosts:

§                     Chris Wilson, Master Tax Advisor

o        Wilson has been a master tax advisor with H&R Block for 7 years. He also has experience in business management, coaching and investing.  He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration with a concentration in Accounting. His areas of expertise include: investments/stock options, home ownership, real estate rentals or vacation homes, healthcare expenses, non-U.S. citizens, income earned outside the U.S., small business, sole proprietor or self-employed.  He resides in Shelby, NC and served as a business mentor for Duke University Fuqua School of Business summer leadership program in 2006 and 2007.

§                    Leigh Mutert, CPA
Mutert obtained her MBA from the University of Kansas and is a licensed CPA in Kansas.  After beginning her career with Deloitte, she took time off to raise a family.  She joined H&R Block in 2002 where she has successfully worked in roles ranging from tax professional to Business Development for the online products group.  She is currently the Community Manager in the Social Media Marketing Department.

§                    My name is Eva Rosenberg, Enrolled Agent

• I am the Internet’s TaxMama at TaxMama.com – author, nationally syndicated tax columnist at Dow Jones’ MarketWatch.com. I have decades of tax experience, starting with National CPA firms and spending the last 10 years answering your questions at TaxMama.com .

§                     

• Program is dedicated to providing bloggers and freelancer writers with tips to file a 2009 return

o        Many of your blogs may have turned into a business – how does this affect your tax return?

o        What qualifies as income, what must you deduct?

o        Provide tips to help ensure claim all of the credits and deductions available to you as an entrepreneur

• Encourage questions – interactive program

Listen here  -  Tax Tips for Individuals                         Read the script of the show below:

PROGRAM 1: Tax Tips for Individuals

Originally aired:   Thursday, March 25    10:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. EDT

Introduction – Tax Mama

• Welcome and Introductions

o        Thanks for joining

§                    Introduce hosts:

§                    Chris Wilson, Master Tax Advisor

o        Wilson has been a master tax advisor with H&R Block for 7 years. He also has experience in business management, coaching and investing.  He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration with a concentration in Accounting. His areas of expertise include: investments/stock options, home ownership, real estate rentals or vacation homes, healthcare expenses, non-U.S. citizens, income earned outside the U.S., small business, sole proprietor or self-employed.  He resides in Shelby, NC and served as a business mentor for Duke University Fuqua School of Business summer leadership program in 2006 and 2007.

§                    Leigh Mutert, CPA
Mutert obtained her MBA from the University of Kansas and is a licensed CPA in Kansas.  After beginning her career with Deloitte, she took time off to raise a family.  She joined H&R Block in 2002 where she has successfully worked in roles ranging from tax professional to Business Development for the online products group.  She is currently the Community Manager in the Social Media Marketing Department.

§                    My name is Eva Rosenberg, Enrolled Agent

• I am the Internet’s TaxMama at TaxMama.com – author, nationally syndicated tax columnist at Dow Jones’ MarketWatch.com. I have decades of tax experience, starting with National CPA firms and spending the last 10 years answering your questions at TaxMama.com .
• Brief overview of topics to discuss

o        Key tax law changes

o        What to know if you were unemployed and looking for a job in 2009

o        Critical tips for last minute filers

• We encourage questions – this is an interactive program

Today’s topics included:

• The new HIRE Act
• The Homebuyers credit
• Truck Drivers Tax Home
• Ideas on how to get new clients
• Dealing with banks who want letters you can’t give them – or can you?
• Deductions for school teachers
• Good places to network
• Where to get good, inexpensive CPE
• e-filing tax returns with foreign addresses

TaxMama’s Tax Roundtable is a monthly live discussion open to all TaxMama Family Members and above, and all TaxMama’s EA Exam and Solving the Tax Puzzle Students. Don’t you wish you were here?

You could be. Just join us.

Today TaxMama hears from Kim in South Carolina, who has been remiss. “I am a bookkeeper and did not claim mileage as unreimbursed employee expenses last year. Can I claim the 2008 mileage and 2009 on my 2009 taxes? Or did I just lose that mileage? I don’t want to amend the 2008 return if I don’t have to.”

Last week, I got a note from a CPA asking me if I knew anything about getting an electric car for free.

She said one of her clients had just ordered a free golf cart-type vehicle from www.freeelectriccar.com  . And they had asked her about it after buying it – not before.

So, I went to see what this was all about. Let me tell you folks, I was blown away by this. Why didn’t anyone bring this to my attention earlier? This is terrific!

But is it for real?

I asked IRS spokesman Robert Marvin about this tax credit.

Marvin quotes from the Internal Revenue Code:

Internal Revenue Code Section 30D provides a credit for Qualified Plug-in Electric Drive Motor Vehicles including passenger vehicles and light trucks. Some low speed vehicles may qualify for the credit if acquired prior to January 1, 2010. The amount of the credit for 2009 is equal to the sum of $ 2,500 plus $ 417 for each kilowatt-hour of traction battery capacity in excess of four kilowatt-hours. The maximum credit can range from $ 7,500 to $ 15,000, depending on the gross vehicle weight rating of the vehicle.

So, it looks as if this is for real.

IRS has a webpage with more information about the credit.
http://www.irs.gov/businesses/article/0,,id=214841,00.html

Marvin tells us the credit was changed for 2010:

For vehicles acquired after 12/31/2009, the maximum amount of the credit will be $7,500 and the 30D credit will no longer apply to low speed vehicles. However, the credit under section 30, applies to certain low speed vehicles acquired after 12/31/2009. The vehicle must be acquired for use or lease and not for resale. Additionally, the original use of the vehicle must commence with the taxpayer and the vehicle must be used predominantly in the United States.

Scroll down to the bottom of the IRS page for a list of manufacturers. Clicking on the manufacturer of the vehicle of your choice will give you the maximum available credit for 2009 and 2010. There are still some cars where you can get the full credit.

Clearly, the credit does not cover the cost of shipping. So see if you can find a dealer or outlet near you, to avoid having to pay anything at all.

So, how does that relate to the website we started with? www.freeelectriccar.com (note: this site is now gone! Interesting.) 

They tell you that your purchase will qualify for the credit, as long as the invoice is dated by December 31st 2009. That may not be quite correct.

According to Marvin – 07 Acquired. A vehicle is not “acquired” before the date on which title to that vehicle passes under state law.
http://www.irs.gov/irb/2009-48_IRB/ar09.html#d0e2520

It’s quite possible that title doesn’t pass until you get it registered with your state’s version of DMV (department of motor vehicles). You will have to find out the rules in your own state. Can you do that, and still get title to the vehicle this year?

I don’t know. Time is seriously running out.

Don’t despair.

There are still vehicles you can buy in 2010 for full credit. Just look up the manufacturer on the list – and find their closest sales outlet.
http://www.irs.gov/businesses/article/0,,id=214841,00.html

Oh look, the Zone Electric cars are qualified for the 2010 credit. You can still buy 4 different models for nothing more than the shipping charge, if you get it from this website. http://www.irs.gov/businesses/article/0,,id=215053,00.html

Who is this for?

Naturally, if you have no car right now, this might be a way to get a free vehicle. (except for shipping). It will have limited range. But if you don’t need to go more than a few miles at any one time, it’s great. You can always add on some fabric for external walls if you want a little protection from the elements.

For couples with one car, a second car like this might be ideal for local grocery shopping, errands, eating out, and visiting neighbors. Naturally, you’re not safe on the freeway

And for all you folks running a home-based business who rarely get out and drive anywhere – this could be a great replacement for the expensive lump of metal in your driveway. Sell it. Cut your insurance costs, registration costs and all the other costs associated with that space hog you only use for about 2,000 miles a year – or less.

• Ask TaxMama :: Where taxes are fun and answers are free
• www.TaxQuips.com :: The number ONE free tax podcast online
• www.freeelectriccar.com :: Representatives for Zone Electric Car, Lido, and Western Golf Car
• IRS FAQs :: Plug-In Electric Vehicle Credit (IRC 30 and IRC 30D)
• Deadline Discussion :: What is “acquired”?
• Zone Electric Cars – 2010 Credit ::

Today TaxMama hears from Tiffany in Virginia, who’s trying… “ I am starting an LLC which is an online store selling automotive upgrades. I will be buying a car ($10,000) and upgrading it with mostly my own inventory ($20,000). My website address will be printed on the car and it will be taken to car shows and such for advertising. What if anything can I write off for the vehicle?”

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 provides a deduction for state and local sales and excise taxes paid on the purchase of qualified vehicles from February 17th, 2009 through the end of the year. The deduction does not require a taxpayer to itemize and is means tested (phases out for single filers with MAGI over $125k and MFJ filers with MAGI over 250k).

An NAEA member questioned whether motor scooters would qualify for the deduction. The IRS ARRA team replied “A motorcycle is defined as a motor vehicle with a seat or saddle for the use of the rider and designed to travel on not more than three wheels in contact with the ground. A motor scooter, either gasoline or electric powered, that meets the definition of a motorcycle would qualify for the Sales Tax Deduction.”

• Ask TaxMama :: Where taxes are fun and answers are free

• www.TaxQuips.com :: The number ONE free tax podcast online
• TaxQuip #1180 :: Special Tax Break Available for New Car Purchases This Year

• NAEA :: National Association of Enrolled Agents