Accounting, Tax & Bookkeeping Services - Philadelphia CPA Mark S. Fineberg

Three REAL Problems + Costs From Filing Your Taxes Late

Three bad things happen when you file your tax return late. What’s Late? You can extend your tax return and file during the period of extension; that’s not a late-filed return. The late-filed return is filed after the last extension expired. That’s what causes the three bad ... (continued)

Sale of Principal Residence Refresher

The $250,000 ($500,000, if married) home sale gain exclusion break is one of the great tax-saving opportunities. Unmarried homeowners can potentially exclude gains up to $250,000, and married homeowners can potentially exclude up to $500,000. You as the seller need not complete any special tax ... (continued)

More on Crytocurrency Taxable Transactions

Cryptocurrencies have gone mainstream. For example, you can use bitcoin to buy far more than you would think. To see, try googling “What can I buy with bitcoin?” You will get more than 350,000 hits. But using cryptocurrencies has federal income tax implications that may ... (continued)

Home Office to Include Garage Space?

Do you claim a tax deduction for a home office? Should you include or exclude your garage space in your calculations of business-use percentage? Ronald Culp earned an office deduction for 78 percent of his home. That’s a nice percentage, but what’s really interesting is how ... (continued)

Finding the Winning Strategy For Your IRS Audit

If you are undergoing or about to be audited by the IRS audit, you should know how your tax positions stack up against the IRS examiners’ positions. In most cases, you are discussing the facts, not the law, and you prove your facts with ... (continued)

Travel Day Business?-Here's What the IRS Says

When you travel to a business location where you spend the night, you are in travel status. But will the tax rules make this a business or personal night? The rules also affect your costs during the day. When you have an overnight business travel ... (continued)

How To Handle CoronaVirus IRA Distribution Taken in 2020- NOW

Did you take a coronavirus distribution (CVD) of up to a combined limit of $100,000 from one or more of your traditional IRAs in 2020? You can recontribute the CVD amount(s) back into one or more traditional IRAs within three years of the withdrawal ... (continued)

Material Participation in Rental Properties-IRS Audit Case-$55,000 Result

Let me tell you about Lisa and Jimmy. They had a very unsatisfactory visit with the IRS. The auditor examined their three rental properties, disallowed their losses, and told them to expect a tax bill for $55,000. Current score: IRS $55,000 ahead. But one good thing happened ... (continued)

2 Easy Ways to Make Corrections to Your File Return

If you made an error on your tax return, don’t worry—there are two easy ways to fix it: A superseding return A qualified amended return A superseding return is an amended or corrected return filed on or before the original or extended due date. ... (continued)

Deduct 100% of Your Business Meals Under New Tax Law

Since 1986, lawmakers have limited business meal deductions: first to 80 percent, and then to 50 percent (unless an exception applies). But on December 27, 2020, in an effort to help the restaurant industry due to the COVID-19 pandemic, lawmakers enacted a new, temporary 100 ... (continued)

More on Employee Retention Credit (ERC)

When Congress passed the CARES Act in March 2020, most businesses took advantage of the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan; Congress also authorized a second option for employers--the ERC, a fully refundable credit against the business\'s payroll tax liabilities.Initially, employers had to chose between ... (continued)

Tax Planning Strategies To Reduce Self Employment Tax

What happens when lawmakers enact a new tax? It starts small. It looks easy. In 1935, the self-employment tax topped out at $60. Those 1935 lawmakers must be twirling in their graves with the new rules for 2021, which levy the following taxes: A self-employment tax of up ... (continued)

Need to Hire Workers-Work Opportunity TAX Credit

The Work Opportunity Tax Credit rewards your good deeds. And now, because of new legislation, the rules are in place for longer than usual. If you need to hire workers in your business, this dollar-for-dollar reducer of your taxes is one to know about. Suppose ... (continued)

Is Your SUV Available for Maximum Tax Deduction?

Here’s a vehicle story that you will find of interest. Taxpayer DJ is in an IRS audit of his 2018 tax return. It is now at the IRS appeals level. The vehicle in question is an SUV with a curb weight of 5,700 pounds and a ... (continued)

Proper Allocation Needed for Your Investment Property

When you buy business or investment real property, such as an apartment building, you usually pay one lump sum for land, buildings, and other improvements. There’s no cost breakdown. You can’t depreciate land because it doesn’t wear out. So, as far as depreciation goes, land ... (continued)

PayPal 1099 Tax Loophole Going Bye Bye

The PayPal loophole is going away in a little over six months from now. You may remember the strategy where you can avoid giving 1099s to contractors and vendors when you use PayPal or a similar service as your payment platform. With this strategy, you push ... (continued)

CrytoCurrencies -Income Tax Implications

Cryptocurrencies have gone mainstream. For example, you can use bitcoin to buy far more than you would think. To see, try googling “What can I buy with bitcoin?” You will get more than 350,000 hits. But using cryptocurrencies has federal income tax implications that may surprise ... (continued)

1031 Exchanges to Defer Taxes on Real Estate Sales

Do you own business or investment property that has gone up in value? Would you like to acquire new property? If you sell the old property, you’ll have to pay tax on your profits. Don’t do that. Instead, do a tax-deferred Section 1031 transaction. With ... (continued)

You Can Deduct 100% of These Deductions-Not 50%-Here\'s How

When you know the rules, you can party with your employees and deduct 100 percent of the cost. The IRS says that the following types of entertainment qualify for the 100 percent employee entertainment tax deduction: Holiday parties, annual picnics, and summer outingsMaintaining a swimming ... (continued)

Here is a Significant Reason To Invest in Historic Buildings

The Federal Rehabilitation Tax Credit, or rehab credit, offers significant financial incentives for owners and leaseholders of historic buildings to renovate those structures. What’s the big deal? Why are tax credits so exciting? Tax credits, unlike deductions, reduce your tax bill dollar-for-dollar. If you spend $100,000 ... (continued)

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