Do you materially participate in a business or rental activity — or are you just a passive investor who isn’t directly involved in a project’s day-to-day operations? The IRS has prescribed seven tests to help individuals classify income, gains and losses from activities as passive or nonpassive. (See “PAL Basics” below.) The passive activity loss (PAL)...
keep readingSome people are under the misconception that Social Security benefits are always free from federal income tax. However, depending on how much income you have from other sources, you may have to report up to 85% of your benefits as income on Form 1040 and pay the resulting federal income tax. If this happens, you’re effectively...
keep readingDo you have an interest in — or authority over — a foreign financial account? If so, the IRS wants you to provide information about the account by filing a form called the “Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts” (FBAR). The annual deadline for filing FBARs has been changed. It now coincides with the tax...
keep readingIf you own a profitable, unincorporated business with your spouse, you’re probably fed up with high self-employment (SE) tax bills. An unincorporated business in which both spouses are active is typically treated as a partnership that’s owned 50/50 by the spouses — or a limited liability company (LLC) that’s treated as a partnership for tax...
keep readingAre you an “experienced” taxpayer? Here are a couple of age-based tax breaks that seniors shouldn’t overlook when filing their 2016 returns. Claim Your Rightful Medical Expense Deductions If you’re 65 years of age or older, you may have fallen into the habit of automatically claiming the standard deduction instead of itemizing your deductions. Taking the...
keep readingDid you know that, once you turn age 70½, you must start taking mandatory annual withdrawals from your traditional IRAs, including any simplified employee pension (SEP) accounts and SIMPLE IRAs that you set up as a small business owner? These mandatory IRA payouts are called required minimum distributions (RMDs). And there’s a stiff penalty if you...
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