Dana McGuffin CPA Blog
A marriage is worth celebrating, but bringing up the marriage penalty may bring down the celebration. The marriage penalty occurs in the tax code when you pay more tax as a married couple than you would as two single filers making the same amount of money. This occurs throughout the federal tax code. The following…
Read MoreWhen it comes to paying bills, many people can’t imagine returning to paying and sending bills via the U.S. Postal Service. But, the “turn it on and forget it” nature of automatic payments can create zombie payers who no longer challenge or review the details and amounts of bills. Here are some ideas to…
Read MoreYes, that’s correct, there are some forms of income you receive that may be tax-free. Here is a list of ten common sources of tax-free income. Gifts. Gifts you receive are not taxable income to you. In fact, they are not subject to gift tax to the person giving the gift as long as the…
Read MoreWith U.S. equity valuations near historically high levels, now might be an opportune time to take advantage of the tax benefits of donating long-term appreciated stock to a qualified charity. Directly donating a winning stock you’ve held for at least one year provides greater tax benefits than writing a check to your favorite cause.…
Read MoreHow does most of the money you owe individuals and companies get disbursed? The simple expenses. Do you print checks, or write them by hand? Use credit cards? Pay online through your bank’s website? Keeping track of your outgoing funds can be challenging, since there are so many ways to complete those transactions. But…
Read MoreThe last thing you want to be bothered with when you are grieving is sorting out the finances after the death of your loved one. Here are some suggestions to make the process a little easier. Prioritize. Focus on the most pressing tasks you face. Make sure you have access to the right accounts in order…
Read MoreAudit fears are real! Your chances of being audited are probably lower than you think. A look at the latest IRS statistics for 2016 reveals some interesting and reassuring facts about the risk of an IRS audit. Audits are becoming less common. The number of individual tax returns the IRS audited fell to a…
Read MoreIt’s a tough time to buy a house. With high prices and low supply, homebuyers have to tackle the buying process differently than they would in a flat or down market. Here are some suggestions to landing your dream home in our current real estate market. Be nimble, be flexible. Try to investigate new listings…
Read MoreThey’re one of the rewards you get for your conscientious accounting work: reports. Are you using them to make better business decisions? What do you see when you log on to QuickBooks Online? Your most important business numbers represented by real-time charts. Profit and loss. Income and expenses. Sales. And all of your account…
Read MoreThe word audit makes most of us uncomfortable. But by using auditing principals within your own business, you may quickly discover ways you can enhance your organization’s full-year performance. Here are some factors to consider. Prepare with a pre-audit. Perhaps the most obvious use of a self-audit comes to play as you prepare for a…
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