10 Reasons Why You Might Hate Your CPA This Spring
How much you like your CPA often depends on how much you end up owing the IRS on April 15. CPAs across the United States are bracing for drops in their approval ratings this spring because of a series of tax changes that will cause many high-income taxpayers to owe more than they did in 2012. See our article, Small Tax Changes for 2013 Could Cost You Big. Here’s a list of the Top 10 reasons why you might hate your CPA this spring: Your itemized deductions will be lowered if y
Home Sweet Home Tax Deductions
Now that the housing market is several quarters into a full-fledged recovery, home ownership is once again looking like the American Dream. Owning a home provides an opportunity to build equity and establish roots in your community. Owning a home also provides some powerful tax benefits, even beyond the well-known deduction for mortgage interest. If you are a home owner, make sure you take advantage of all the possible tax breaks you’re entitled to, and if you’re considering
Understanding the Dreaded Alternative Minimum Tax
As if figuring out how much you owe in taxes weren’t complicated enough, the government actually makes you figure it out two separate ways. Welcome to the head-scratching world of the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT). Although it was originally created to target only the ultra-wealthy who benefited from unusual tax benefits, the AMT has become decidedly more egalitarian in recent years and now affects many middle-class taxpayers. The thought of being hit by the AMT might send c
How long should you hold on to your old tax documents?
Now that your taxes are filed, you are probably ready to start getting rid of old tax returns, account statements, and other financial documents that have been cluttering up your desk and file cabinets. But before you fire up that shredder, it is important to know how long you should hang on to previous years’ documents. Seven years to be on the safe side The bottom line: You should keep your tax and financial documents a minimum of three years, but you should probably keep t
Eilts – A Great Value for Tax Prep
For CPAs like me, January is actually the start of our favorite season of the year: tax season. Just as the start of the holiday season is marked by lots of television commercials from stores hoping to win your business, the beginning of tax season is marked by commercials for H&R Block, Jackson Hewitt, and other retail tax preparers. These commercials promote gimmicks such as free 1040EZ filing and reviewing last year’s return to win your business. At Eilts & Associates, we
Education Tax Breaks 101
You don’t need a statistics degree from M.I.T. to realize that college is expensive. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, the average annual cost of tuition and room and board at a four-year institution is $12,804 at public schools and $32,184 at private schools. And these expenses are growing fast: between 2000 and 2010 college expenses, after being adjusted for inflation, increased 37% at public schools and 25% at private schools. Fortunately, the fede
Tax Credits for Energy Efficiency
These days it pays to go green…literally. There are several tax credits available for home improvements, electric cars, and other energy-efficient products. But some of these credits are scheduled to expire at the end of 2011, so if you haven’t made these purchases yet, you will have to act fast to cash in on these green tax breaks. The history of green tax credits In 2005 Congress created tax credits for energy-efficient home improvements and certain types of fuel-efficient
Useful Information About Changes to the Illinois Use Tax
The little-known use tax and the IL-1040 form have become the latest fronts in the State of Illinois’ battle against its severe budget deficit. For the first time, your Illinois tax return in 2010 will include a line to report the use tax that you owe. Getting to Know the Use Tax I’m sure many of you are thinking to yourself, “Use tax? I read a lot about how Illinois raised its state income tax, but I don’t remember the articles saying anything about a new use tax.” That’s be
