3 Tips for Paying Estimated Taxes
Tip # 1: Make your payment on time. The US has a pay-as-you-go tax system, meaning the IRS expects you to make smaller payments of your tax liability through-out the year rather than waiting until the end of the year. If you don’t make quarterly payments and just decide to pay in a lump sum,…
Hobbies versus Businesses
Many of us engage in arts or crafts, but when do you have to start reporting your work as a business to IRS rather than a hobby? The key feature that sets a business apart from a hobby is that a business is done in order to make a profit. The IRS will generally treat…
Home Equity Loans and Second Mortgage Loans Must be Used for Housing Expenses to Qualify for the Housing Allowance
If you managed to pay off your home mortgage this year, congratulations! However, you may notice that you have a lot fewer expenses to claim for your housing allowance at the end of the year. With less housing expenses, you also have less income exempt from income tax, and your tax bill may go up…
Tips to help taxpayers recognize tax scams
New versions of well-known tax-related scams appear every year…and 2019 is no different. No matter what time of year, taxpayers should be on the lookout for scams. Here are some things taxpayers should remember to help them spot scams and avoid becoming a victim. Phone scams The IRS does not leave pre-recorded, urgent or threatening…
Midyear is Here- Time to Check Your Estimates!
The year is already half over and many people are travelling to see family for the Fourth of July. Small adjustments to your estimated payments mid-year can be the difference between being on target with your estimates or owing the IRS a lot of penalties and interest. It is especially important to check your estimates…
Religious Charitable Giving Decreased in 2018
According to the givingusa.org “Annual Report on Philanthropy for the Year 2018”, Americans gave approximately $427.71 billion to charities in 2018. While the total number of dollars donated increased by 0.7% over tax year 2017, overall charitable giving actually fell 1.7% when adjusting for inflation. Now, it can be difficult to imagine how much money…
Freedom from Religion Foundation opts not to appeal
The Freedom from Religion Foundation, or FFRF, has decided not to pursue an additional challenge of the clergy housing allowance at the Supreme Court level. This means that clergy housing and parsonage allowance provisions will likely to remain in place for tax year 2019 and for years beyond. For those unfamiliar with court events, the…
Payroll Alert
Question An employee suffered a house fire and lost everything. We gave her $5,000 to help her reestablish her household. Is this emergency assistance taxable? Answer Yes. If the employer’s payment is a gift, it’s taxable and must be included in gross income. The payment is reported on Form 1099-MISC as other income. When you need fast,…
Why Paid Sick Leave Is Becoming More Popular
We’ve all seen it—one of our employees has a bad cold, maybe even the flu, but they come to work anyway. In some cases, the employee has the option of taking time off, and you’d prefer they do so, but still they show up, putting everyone in the workplace at risk. The reasons vary. Sometimes…
Deducting Cell Phone Use for Ministry Purposes
Many Ministers use their own cell phone for Church activities. They also use it for personal calls. The big question is determining what you can claim on your return as a work deduction (without getting in trouble with the Internal Revenue Service!). We all know that the IRS is a document-focused agency. If you are…
