Tax Tips Archives - Fort Worth CPA Adam Traywick

Getting a Divorce? There Are Tax Issues You Need to Understand

In addition to the difficult personal issues that divorce entails, there are several tax concerns that need to be addressed to ensure taxes are kept to a minimum and important tax-related decisions are properly made. Here are four issues to understand if you are in the process of getting a divorce. 1. Alimony or support payments. For alimony under divorce or separation agreements that are executed after 2018, there’s no deduction for alimony and separation support payments for the spouse making them. And the alimony payments aren’t included in the gross income of the spouse receiving them....

2019 Q4 tax calendar: Key deadlines for businesses and other employers

For businesses, fall means it’s time to begin year-end tax planning. It’s also time to think about the fourth quarter 2019 filing deadlines. Here are some of the key tax-related deadlines affecting businesses and other employers during the fourth quarter of 2019. Keep in mind that this isn’t an all-inclusive list. There may be additional deadlines that apply to your situation. Contact us to ensure you’re meeting all applicable deadlines and to learn more about the filing requirements. October 15 If a calendar-year C corporation that filed an automatic six-month extension: File a 2018 income...

The Key to Retirement Security Is Picking the Right Plan for Your Business

If you’re a small business owner or involved in a start-up business, you may want to set up a tax-favored retirement plan for yourself and any employees you have. Several types of plans are eligible for tax advantages. 401(k) plan One of the best-known retirement plan options is the 401(k) plan. It provides for employer contributions made at the direction of employees. Specifically, the employee elects to have a certain amount of pay deferred and contributed by the employer on his or her behalf to an individual account. Employee contributions can be made on a pretax basis, saving employees...

Expenses That Teachers Can and Can’t Deduct on Their Tax Returns

As teachers head back for a new school year, they often pay for various expenses that aren’t reimbursed. Fortunately, they may be able to deduct them on their tax returns. However, there are limits on this special deduction, and some expenses can’t be written off. For 2019, qualifying educators can deduct some of their unreimbursed out-of-pocket classroom costs under the educator expense deduction. This is an “above-the-line” deduction, which means you don’t have to itemize your deductions in order to claim it. Eligible deductions Here are some details about the educator expense deduction:...

The next estimated tax deadline is Sept. 16: Do you have to make a payment?

If you’re self-employed and don’t have withholding from paychecks, you probably have to make estimated tax payments. These payments must be sent to the IRS on a quarterly basis. The third 2019 estimated tax payment deadline for individuals is Monday, September 16. Even if you do have some withholding from paychecks or payments you receive, you may still have to make estimated payments if you receive other types of income such as Social Security, prizes, rent, interest, and dividends. Pay-as-you-go system You must make sufficient federal income tax payments long before the April filing...

Taking Distributions From Your Traditional IRA

If you’re like many people, you’ve worked hard to accumulate a large nest egg in your traditional IRA (including a SEP-IRA). It’s even more critical to carefully plan for withdrawals from these retirement-savings vehicles. Knowing the fine points of the IRA distribution rules can make a significant difference in how much you and your family will get to keep after taxes. Here are three IRA areas to understand: 1. Taking early distributions. If you need to take money out of your traditional IRA before age 59½, any distribution to you will be generally taxable (unless nondeductible...