Tax Tips for Working With Your Accountant
March 9, 2008
Even if you hire someone to prepare your taxes, there is still work to be done to gather all the information your tax preparer needs. The tax return your accountant creates will only be as good as the information that you provide them.
I think one of the biggest misconceptions about having someone else do your […]
Outsourcing My Taxes - Is the Price of Expert Tax Advice Worth the Cost?
March 4, 2008
This is the first year in my adult life that someone other than me will do our taxes. The revelation hit me about a month ago as I started gathering together all our tax documents. My college roommate, a CPA and a tax attorney, was looking for new business for his law firm. Why not […]
Are You Making One of these Tax Mistakes?
February 13, 2008
Below are a list of tax mistakes from J.K. Lasser to look out for this tax season. Make sure none of them apply to you:
Not filing because you cannot afford to pay - If you don’t file because you can’t pay the entire tax due, you will only increase the amount you will have to […]
What is Earned Income Credit?
January 29, 2008
A couple of years ago, I did my taxes and mailed it to the IRS. Fortunately, I was going to get a refund. Any amount is better than having to send Uncle Sam an additional check. However, when the check came in the mail, I was shocked to discover the refund was […]
Increase Your After Tax Investment Returns With these Tax Deductions
January 28, 2008
As the tax forms for last year’s investment income start to arrive in the mail we’re rudely reminded of the effect that taxes have on our investment earnings. Especially when we lose money and still have to pay taxes, my Oakmark International fund was down about $100 for the year but generated over $1000 in […]
What Tax Preparation Software Makes the Job Less Taxing?
January 19, 2008
The answers to the question may be different for you, but this is solely based on my experience with tax preparation software.
First, if you go into any store that sells computer software, you will see tax preparation boxes littering the shelves at this time of year. Everyone wants to make a stressful process a […]
Reduce Your eBay Taxes with a Home Office Deduction
January 18, 2008
Do you know how much you’ll owe this year on your eBay income tax? Did you know you might be able to reduce those taxes by claiming a home office deduction?
If you’re running a profitable business on eBay hopefully you’ve been making estimated tax payments throughout the year to avoid any kind of fees and […]
How to Make Sure You Get What’s Coming to You at Tax Time
January 15, 2008
Whenever tax time rolls around, I still see my mother sitting at the kitchen table with all sorts of forms, receipts, and scraps of paper in piles encircling her. She was the mathematician in the family. If my dad had done the taxes, he probably would have tried to deduct something that wasn’t allowed. […]
Do eBay Sellers Need to Pay Self Employment Taxes?
January 7, 2008
After informing my eBay Partner that he needed to pay taxes on eBay his sales he called me up yesterday and asked if he owes self employment taxes in addition to income taxes on his eBay profits.
My response was, if you are selling on eBay and have a net earnings of more than $400 in a year, you may […]
Paying Taxes on eBay Income - Do eBay Sellers Need to Report their Earnings?
January 3, 2008
Should I be paying taxes on my eBay income? This was a question I was faced with yesterday from my friend / business partner as we celebrated our earnings for December. Our eBay partnership has been a success so far, bringing in over $700 for me last month!
When he asked me whether he needed to be […]
