rajiv@optimizedco.com

If you operate a business that runs on a calendar-year basis, you may be thinking about what you can still do in December to help your tax situation. One thing to keep in mind is the treatment of business expenses paid late in the year – that is, whether the business expense would be deductible [...]

Hillary’s $12k Jacket Tax Deductible? Remember the tight 2016 Presidential election? You may also remember Hillary Clinton’s stylish, yet pricey, jacket she wore during her April, 2016, victory speech after she won the New York state primary. You might even remember the mocking, viral Facebook messages about the Giorgio Armani jacket with a price tag [...]

The deductibility of a trade expense or ordinary and necessary business expense has long been among the ten Most Litigated Issues identified in the Annual Report from the Taxpayer Advocate Service (TAS). In a recent report, the TAS identified 134 cases involving a trade or business expense issue that were litigated between June 1, 2012, and May [...]

Tax Calendar: Individuals, Sole Proprietors, and Farmers APRIL Mon 10 TIPS – If you received $20 or more in March, report the total tips to employer. (Form 4070) Sat 15 Traditional tax filing deadline moved to Tue. because of weekend and DC holiday on Monday. Tue 18 File your 2016 income tax return and pay [...]

Are IRS letters piling up on your cabinet? Don’t panic! First, take a deep breath, exhale, and open the envelope – don’t assume you know what it is. Not every envelope from the IRS is a bill or even bad news. Many IRS letters and notices merely specify what the IRS did with your account [...]

Some of the gee-whiz technologies going into new cars – hands-off parking, say – seem more like an excuse for showing off than a real advance. But, according to an article in the July 2015 issue of Mechanical Engineering magazine, safety experts in England have found real-world evidence that one new technology is making a [...]

IRS Phishing Scam: Please note that the IRS does not initiate contact with taxpayers by email to request personal or financial information. This includes any type of electronic communication, such as text messages and social media channels. ‪If you get an unsolicited email that appears to be from the IRS, please report it by sending [...]

Extended Tax Filing Deadline – Potential Government Shutdown Potential Government Shutdown – If the government shuts down at the beginning of October due to lack of funding, you can bet that the October 15 extended due date for individual returns will NOT be changed.

April 15 is the annual deadline for most people to file their federal income tax return and pay any taxes they owe. By law, the IRS may assess penalties to taxpayers for both failing to file a tax return and for failing to pay taxes they owe by the deadline. April 15 is now past, [...]

Tax Filing Day has come and gone for those of you who did not request an extension of time to file your federal tax return. For those who did request a filing extension, be sure to remain diligent in gathering your documentation and getting the return filed by the extended due date. If you miss [...]

Most people are aware they can get an income tax break for making monetary contributions to certain charitable and religious organizations. Most people also know they can get a similar income tax benefit for donating used clothing and other items to certain charitable groups and organization. What they may not realize is that they have [...]

In general, U.S. citizens and resident aliens must report all income earned outside the U.S. borders and ownership interests in financial assets or accounts outside the United States. If you are required to report such information, you may be required to use two different forms to report the information to the US Government. You need [...]

In a prior article on the documentation and records one must keep for federal tax purposes, I mentioned “the Cohan rule.” I said that, under some circumstances, the Cohan rule can help a taxpayer who has paid a deductible business expense but who cannot substantiate the exact amount. What Is the Cohan Rule? The Cohan [...]

One question I get asked frequently is, “What business receipts, records and documents should I keep for my business?” The answer I give is always the same. The Internal Revenue Code (IRC) requires a taxpayer to maintain books and records that substantiate income, deductions, and credits, including adequate records to substantiate deductions claimed as trade [...]

Parallels Between Go, Golf, and Taxes In the summer of 2016, an artificial intelligence computer program named AlphaGo, developed by Alphabet Inc.'s Google DeepMind, became the first computer program to defeat a professional, human player without handicaps on a board game called “Go.” A two-player game of simple logic with simple rules, Go is a [...]