Office In Home and Mileage Deductions

There is often a lot of confusion surrounding an office in home and the mileage deduction and the difference between commuting and business miles.  I have heard many accountants over the years selling the deductions like in an infomercial, claiming that by simply setting up an office in the home used exclusively for the business [...]

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Travel Expenses and Business Planning Trips

It is the that time of year again, when most people are on vacation – or at least they wish they were.  With the current heat wave in Portland, many would probably go for an Alaskan cruise right about now.  Whether it is colder weather you are looking for or a tropical paradise, if you [...]

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Year-End Planning for 2008

With a little over a month remaining in 2008, it is important to start year-end planning for tax year 2008 as there are still a number of things you can do to save on taxes and avoid costly mistakes.  
If your income has increased from 2007 or you have some big, one-time gains, it is [...]

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Reasonable Wage For S-Corporation Shareholders

For those of you with S-Corporations, now is the time of year to look at your wage for the year-to-date as well as start the planning for 2009.  A “reasonable wage” needs to be paid to more than 2% shareholders in S-Corporation, and there is still time to make changes without incurring payroll tax penalties.
This [...]

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McCain vs. Obama Tax Plan Calculator

I know this “McCain vs. Obama Tax Calculator” is already all over the news today, but I found it to be an interesting tool to visually see the differences in the current tax plans.  Obviously, there are a lot of assumptions going into this, but at least it gives you a general idea.
Next they need [...]

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Housing Assistance Tax Act of 2008 – Part 2

Well, here is the bad news I promised on the Housing Assistance Tax Act of 2008 and that is the closing of a “loophole” that was a great piece of tax planning for clients with rental properties.  I fail to see the “assistance” in this tax act…
Under current law, you can take a property that [...]

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Office in Home Depreciation

When meeting with new clients that have sole proprietorships or single-member LLCs,  I often find that their prior accountant or CPA had them take depreciation on the portion of their home used for an office in home.  I am not necessarily against taking the deduction, but I do think it is not right for everyone [...]

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To 179 or Not to 179

For most business owners faced with questions on how to depreciate their fixed assets, usually the most common response is to expense as much as possible using Section 179 and then depreciate the remaining portion using MACRS. This makes sense and usually saves considerable tax in the current year; however, you might want to put some more thought into that question the next time your CPA calls when working on your tax return as there are some additional considerations that you should be aware of…

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Possible AMT Patch Battle Complicates Year-End Planning

It is that time of year again…and I am not talking about Christmas shopping or the recent snow showers. No, it is actually time once again for last minute tax planning for 2007 and calculating your 4th quarter estimated tax payments. Well, this year Congress is adding some complication to your planning and [...]

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