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Taxes

Ready to Ring in the New Year? Take Time to Talk Taxes First

As the New Year approaches, it’s a good time to reflect on your financial situation and make any necessary adjustments to potentially lower your tax burden. Maximizing your retirement contributions is one area to consider, with those 50 and over allowed to make pre-tax contributions to a 401(k) of up to $27,000 per year.

Taking stock of your stock options is also important, as exercising them can have tax implications. Estimating your capital gains and losses before the end of the year can help you make informed decisions about selling securities or other assets, potentially changing your tax bracket.

It is also essential to evaluate your Health and Flexible Spending Accounts, as the funds in an HSA carry over to the next year, while unused funds in an FSA will be forfeited as of December 31st. Be sure to speak with your tax professional or financial advisor to help you make the most of these opportunities.

Accounting Advisory Business Taxes

The Season of Giving: Understanding Charitable Gift Deductions

With the holiday season fast approaching, many people are thinking about giving back to their communities through charitable donations. It’s important to understand the rules and regulations surrounding charitable gift deductions, so you can maximize the tax benefits of your giving.

To qualify for a tax deduction, the organization you donate to must have tax-exempt status, which means it operates for charitable, religious, scientific, or educational purposes, among others. You can use the IRS’s search tool to verify an organization’s status.

It’s worth noting that changes were made to charitable giving deductions in the 2020 and 2021 tax years due to COVID relief efforts.

Accounting Business Taxes

How to Lessen the Chances of an Audit

As the IRS receives a massive funding boost aimed at improving enforcement efforts and closing the “tax gap,” many taxpayers may be wondering how to avoid getting audited. While it is impossible to completely eliminate the chances of being audited, there are practical steps you can take to lessen your exposure.

The most crucial step is to avoid making common mistakes that are frequently flagged by IRS computers, such as filing or paying taxes late or not reporting all income that has been reported to the IRS by others. Additionally, taxpayers should avoid reporting losses from business activities that the IRS might view as hobbies and should provide specific information about their deductions.

Other actions to avoid include using the same annual figures repeatedly and using all perfectly round numbers in your tax return. Taking these precautions can help reduce the likelihood of being selected for an audit by the IRS.

Accounting Business Taxes

Early Tax Planning Tips to Avoid Surprises

As the year progresses, it’s important to start thinking about tax planning to avoid any unpleasant surprises when tax season arrives. There are a number of mid-year tax planning strategies that can help taxpayers save money and increase their retirement fund.

One of the first things to consider is reviewing tax withholdings to ensure that everything is up to date and on track for the coming year. Additionally, increasing 401K contributions is a great way to reduce total adjusted gross income and increase retirement savings. It may also be worth considering Roth IRA conversions, which can take advantage of the current stock market downturn to save on taxes.

Taxpayers can also consider tax-loss harvesting, which involves using losses to offset profits and reduce tax liabilities. By taking these steps, taxpayers can stay organized and be better prepared for the upcoming tax season.

Accounting Business Taxes

Cryptocurrency Taxation for 2023: Here’s What You Need to Know

Cryptocurrency has been making waves in the financial world for several years now and has only been gaining popularity among individuals and corporations. While one of the biggest appeals of using cryptocurrencies is the ability to remain anonymous through private and secure transactions, this will no longer be the case after December 31st, 2022.

With the evolving world of crypto, tax rules are also changing rapidly, and new reporting requirements for cryptocurrency transactions will go into effect from the 2023 tax year. This means that potentially taxable digital asset transactions made by cryptocurrency users will be reported to the IRS by outside parties, similar to third-party reporting required for stocks. Businesses must also begin reporting whenever they receive more than $10,000 of cryptocurrency in a single transaction to minimize money laundering.

While the news that cryptocurrency is here to stay may be great for some, the loss of anonymity also presents an obstacle for those who wish to keep their transactions private or have not met their tax obligations. It is expected that users will now be asked to provide an array of personal information when opening a digital wallet, which was likely not required in the past.

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