Disaster
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When To Claim a Disaster Loss

Tax reform eliminated the deduction for casualty losses but did retain a deduction for losses within a disaster area. With the wild fires in the west, hurricanes and flooding in the southeast and eastern seaboard we have had a number of presidentially…
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Legitimate Tax-Deductible Charity or Scam?

With the holiday season approaching, and with the great need for aid in the wake of the recent hurricanes and wildfires, you no doubt are being solicited for donations. However, do not be fooled by the scammers who come out from hiding whenever…
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Thinking of Tapping Your Retirement Funds Early? What You Need to Know

If you are suddenly in need of a substantial amount of cash, probably the last thing you should do is tap your retirement funds. They are the key to a financially comfortable retirement. The younger you are, the less likely you are to think…
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Big Changes to College Savings Plans

Tax reform added some new taxpayer-advantageous changes to college savings plans. These plans are also known as qualified tuition programs (QTPs) or Sec. 529 plans, named after the part of the Internal Revenue Code that established them. Background:…
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Hardship Exemption Rules for Not Having Health Insurance Eased

The Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) included a “shared responsibility payment,” which in reality is a penalty for not having health insurance. Along with this penalty came a whole slew of exemptions from the penalty, including some that…
Capital Building
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Tax Reform Eases the Alternative Minimum Tax – But It’s Still There

Although Congress has been promising to repeal the alternative minimum tax (AMT), they failed to do that when they passed tax reform in 2017. Instead, they lessened the effects of the AMT by increasing AMT exemptions (an amount of income exempt…

Health Savings Accounts Fill Multiple Tax Needs

The Health Savings Account (HSA) is one of the most misunderstood and underused benefits in the Internal Revenue Code. Congress created HSAs as a way for individuals with high-deductible health plans (HDHPs) to save for medical expenses that…
Tax Reform
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Has Tax Reform Taken Away Your Home Mortgage Interest Deduction?

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, more commonly referred to as tax reform, substantially altered the itemized deduction for home mortgage interest and affects just about everyone who has been deducting their home mortgage interest as an itemized…
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I Didn't File My Tax Return; Now What?

There are a lot of perfectly reasonable reasons for not having filed your income taxes. Many people who fail to file are new to the job market, and never having filed before may simply have been unaware of the requirement to do so. Some people…