Posts

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Gambling and Tax Gotchas

Gambling is a recreational activity for many taxpayers, and as one might expect, the government takes a cut if you win and won’t allow you to claim a loss in excess of your winnings. In fact, there are far more tax issues related to gambling…
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Tax Breaks for Military Personnel

Military service members have special obligations and take risks while performing their service to our country, which impact their tax situation. As a result, they are entitled to a number of special tax breaks. The following are the predominant…
Hobbies
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Hobby or Business? It Makes a Difference for Taxes

Taxpayers are often confused by the differences in tax treatment between businesses that are entered into for profit and those that are not, commonly referred to as hobbies. The differences are: Businesses Entered Into for Profit – For…
Self Employed
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Elusive Employee Business Expense Tax Deduction

One major difference between being an employee and being self-employed is how you deduct the expenses you incur related to your work. A self-employed individual is able to deduct expenses on his or her business schedule, while an employee is…
Solar Energy
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Is Solar Energy Right for You?

It seems like you can’t watch TV these days without being exposed to home solar ads touting free electricity and big tax credits. Be careful, as these savings and tax credits may not be all that they are advertised to be; this depends upon…
Convention Expense
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Deducting Convention Expenses

Generally, an individual can deduct travel expenses from attending conventions, seminars or similar types of meetings within the North American area, provided that attendance benefits the taxpayer’s trade or business. However, family members’…