Can a self-employed taxpayer still use the home office deduction?
- August 27th, 2020
- David Greene
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In a recent blog I discussed that unreimbursed employee expenses for a W-2 employee were no longer allowed as a miscellaneous deduction after 2017. However, that is not true for self-employed taxpayers who report their business on a Schedule C…
Can a W-2 employee deduct unreimbursed employee expenses?
- August 5th, 2020
- David Greene
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Prior to 2017, if a W-2 employee had business expenses related to his employment that his employer did not reimburse, he could take a deduction for those expenses. However, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 eliminated those deductions…
How should one report non-cash contributions?
- May 19th, 2020
- David Greene
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Keeping proper records to support contributions claimed as a tax deduction can be tricky. If you claim cash contributions, you must have a receipt from the charitable group to whom you gave the contribution. Also, the gift must be to…
Can I use my unreimbursed employee mileage expense as a deduction in 2020?
- February 4th, 2020
- David Greene
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Unfortunately, you can no longer use mileage on the job as an unreimbursed business expense when you itemize deductions. In my practice I have found that, most of the time, those expenses were disallowed in an audit because the taxpayer…
When is a theft or bad debt loss not deductible?
- January 2nd, 2020
- David Greene
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You can claim a theft loss as a deduction only if there is no chance of recovering any of the amount stolen. Here the IRS is probably lookiong at the possibility that the owner will have to pay restitution as…
Can an employee still deduct unreimbursed business expenses?
- December 9th, 2019
- David Greene
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Since the new tax law came into effect, employee itemized deductions for unreimbursed business expenses, including mileage, have been suspended. However, self-employed individuals and certain employees (e.g. armed-forces reservists, certain state or local government officials, educators and performing artists) may…
What is a P&L?
- November 5th, 2019
- David Greene
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A P&L, or Profit and Loss statement, is simply a listing of all your business income and all of your business expenses for a given period of time. It is sometimes called an Income and Expense statement. Generally, you first…
What are the current rules about meal and entertainment deductions?
- October 22nd, 2019
- David Greene
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The new tax law (TCJA) has made several changes in the deductibility of business meals and entertainment. Last week I addressed deductions for meals. This week I will discuss the deductibility of entertainment expenses. Even before the new tax law,…
What are the current rules about meal and entertainment deductions?
- October 16th, 2019
- David Greene
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The new tax law (TCJA) has made several changes in the deductibility of business meals and entertainment. I will address deductions for meals this week and entertainment next week. If a meal is allowed as deductible, generally only 50% of…
How to generate proof of expenses in an audit.
- October 2nd, 2019
- David Greene
- Comments Off on How to generate proof of expenses in an audit.
As you know the IRS will not accept your word for expenses. They want to see backup documents and proof of payment. If you did not keep receipts, you can order old bank statements from your bank and then go…