Tax avoidance

Making IRS Payments

August 20, 2010

Proposed Regulations Expand the Use of Electronic Payment System and Discontinue Paper Coupons Next Year WASHINGTON — Consistent with a Financial Management Service initiative announced in April of this year, the IRS today issued proposed regulations to significantly increase the number of electronic transactions between taxpayers and the federal government. The proposed regulations (REG 153340-09) [...]

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Unreported barter can get you into trouble…

May 9, 2010

(This is a true story. None of the names will be real to protect confidentiality.) Once upon a time, a very nice fellow came to our office and begged for help. Steve sheepishly admitted that he hadn’t filed tax returns for about ten years and the Internal Revenue Service was a bit unhappy with him. [...]

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Record Keeping for Business Barter Transactions

December 11, 2009

Courtesy of IRS In today’s economy, small-business owners sometimes look to the oldest form of commerce — the exchange of goods and services, or bartering. The Internal Revenue Service wants to remind small-business owners that bartering transactions generally have associated tax reporting, accounting and record-keeping responsibilities. Bartering is the trading of one product or service [...]

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Is it Too Good To Be True? Home-Based Business Tax Avoidance Schemes

March 20, 2009

If you use part of your home for business, you may be able to deduct expenses for the business use of your home. These expenses may include mortgage interest, insurance, utilities, repairs, and depreciation. The home office deduction is available for homeowners and renters, and applies to all types of homes, from apartments to mobile [...]

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Bartering Income

January 23, 2009

Bartering is the trading of one product or service for another. Usually there is no exchange of cash. It is the most ancient form of commerce. Any business owner or professional who has a product or service to offer can barter. While our ancestors may have exchanged eggs for corn, today you can barter computer [...]

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Family Wages

January 7, 2009

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Today TaxMama hears from Lena in Virginia, who wants to know. “In order for a family member to be paid wages, do they have to perform the actual task on a regular basis? Or is it sufficient if they are able to perform the task when needed?” Share this:

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TaxMama Tips in Times of Business Downturns – an Outline

December 5, 2008

Your business doesn’t have to fail, or even struggle. This is a great time for a business to shine. But you will have to face some hard truths about yourself and your circumstances. And you’re going to need to be brutally honest with yourself, your workers, your family and your vendors. 1) If you can’t [...]

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What income is taxable? Nontaxable?

February 15, 2008

Courtesy of the Internal Revenue Service TT-2008-30 Generally, most income you receive is taxable. But there are some situations when certain types of income are partially taxed or not taxed at all. A comprehensive list is available in IRS Publication 525, Taxable and Nontaxable Income. Some common examples of items that are not included in [...]

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IRS and States to Share Employment Tax Examination Results

November 9, 2007

[Courtesy of the Internal Revenue Service] WASHINGTON — Officials from the Internal Revenue Service and more than two dozen state workforce agencies today announced they have entered into agreements to share the results of employment tax examinations. The agreements, part of the Questionable Employment Tax Practice (QETP) initiative, provide a centralized, uniform means for the [...]

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UGMA Accounts

October 17, 2005

Today TaxMama hears from Michael in Alpine, NJ who tells us, “I have several UGMA accounts opened for each of my children many years ago when they were minors.  Today they are all over 21 and I’d like to retrieve the holdings in each account without incurring any tax or IRS wrath.  How can I [...]

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