As an aside, I just had an "interesting" interaction with AI. I make it a point to not seek using it outside of what is embedded as part of tax and accounting related software I use and pay for (so it is a "closed system"). Every so often, I test how it's working in the accounting and tax space (where I have the expertise to judge it properly) In preparation for this blog, I wanted to have AI confirm what I was 80% certain about, in that the new 1099-NEC reporting threshold

Maybe you remember (I certainly do because it was a pain for accounting purposes) that for 2022, there were two rates for the business mileage allowance. Pre 7/1/2022 it was 58.5 cents per mile, and post 7/1/2022 it was 62.5 cents per mile. I was so happy that they went back to one-rate-per-year since then. Well, here we go again...with little fanfare, the IRS has "announced" that we have two rates again for 2026. Before 7/1 it was 72.5 cents per mile, and after 7/1 it is

Take this for what it's worth, but Consumer Affairs reported on which states that it found had the highest tax-related identity theft problems. Unfortunately, North Carolina was number seven ! (To my New Jersey folks: NJ was not in the top ten, but NJ was not the bottom ten either). Note that we are talking about "tax-related", which typically means that a bad actor obtains a social security number and proceeds to use it to file a return and claim false tax refunds. Be very

My daughter and I enjoy the long-running show "Survivor", which I have watched on and off (but mostly on) since 2001 before she was even born (yikes!). I did NOT see the first season, which had its winner (who I won't name) consumed with tax problems ever since he won the million dollars, The crux of the issue, I believe, is that he claimed ignorance on needing to pay taxes on his winnings. I guess he went crazy and spent it all before his annual tax return was due. The c

Hello, I hope you're all doing well ! I know 99.9 % of my clients e-file their tax returns, so the USPS postmark date isn't relevant in this case. However, every so often we do need to mail something that can't be e-filed. In this case, it is important to note that there has been a change at the post office that we need to be careful about. If you "drop off" your mail at the post office, this does not necessarily ensure that your postmark will be on this same day. The "ma

Dear and clients and friends, For most, tax season for 2025 is behind us. Many were affected positively by various new rules. For example (not all-inclusive): some clients itemized deductions again on Schedule A, after not having done so since 2018. This was primarily due to the removal of the $10,000 state tax max some clients took advantage of tax-free overtime pay some clients took advantage of tax-free tips some clients took advantage of an up to $6,000 per person seni

I hope your 2026 has started off nicely ! In case you are unaware and find it useful, the new 2026 mileage rates have been announced. As a reminder, the 2025 standard rate was 70 cents per mile. Starting 1/1/2026, the new rate is 72.5 cents per mile. The rate for charitable miles stays the same at 14 cents, and the rate for medical/moving has been slightly reduced from 21 cents to 20.5 cents per mile, for some strange reason. The rate attributable to depreciation is going up

Believe it or not, 2026 is almost upon us (less than 3 weeks !). In case you care, here is a quick list of some tax items for 2026: Standard deduction for married file joint: 32,200 Standard deduction for single: 16,100 Standard deduction for heads of household: 24,150 Annual gift "tax" exclusion: 19,000 (which is unchanged from 2025) 401K payroll deferral maximum: 24,500 (if under age 50) 401K payroll deferral maximum: 32,500 (if 50 and older (35,750 age 60-63)) IRA deduc

I'd like to do a deeper dive on another popular new tax provision. Here's the background: About 6 years ago, there were several tax law changes. One of them was to limit the Schedule A (itemized deductions) state and local tax deduction to $10,000. This helped cause many taxpayers who previously used Schedule A, to since claim the standard deduction. This $10,000 cap limited the total amount of one's state and local income taxes and real estate property tax deduction. As

As a refresher, one of the new tax rules to come in to play for 2025, is a deduction of up to $25,000 on tip income. I'm not going to get in to ALL the details of this new rule at this time, but I wanted to point out that a preliminary list of the occupations that qualify for this deduction has been issued fairly recently. The occupations listed are supposed to capture all that customarily receive tips. You can not start categorizing any pay as tips when it never has been

This post is geared towards my current clients, and of course I will be communicating more formally about it in my upcoming service...

I often ponder why the tax law makers have to make things so bizarre and difficult. One of these head-scratchers is in the July tax bill...

Happy 4th ! You may be tired of hearing about the "Big Beautiful Bill" that has been tossed around for a while and was just signed today....

Hi clients and friends, it's been a while since I wrote a tax piece. Time's just flying on by and summer is pretty much here.... Have...

Happy New Year ! For those of you who use this, the new 2025 mileage rate has been announced. As a reminder, the 2024 rate was 67 cents...

I have previously written about some extended tax due date relief granted to victims of Hurricane Helene (and any federally declared...

Hello client and friends, Just a quick note that IRS rates and standard deductions have been released for 2025. Nothing too different or...

I get asked this question quite a bit and my quick answer is "generally 7 years". Here is a bit of a deeper dive, and a recent court...

I hope everyone is doing OK during this difficult time in western NC. Please drop me a line and let me know how you are. I'm just...

Hello clients and friends ! When I review the latest tax news, I try to find and write about items I believe some of my clients may find...