TAX PRO PLUS LA

Should You Keep Home Improvement Records?

Many taxpayers don’t feel the need to keep home improvement records, thinking the potential gain will never exceed the amount of the exclusion for home gains ($250,000 or $500,000 if both filer and spouse qualify) if they meet the 2-out-of-5-year use and ownership tests. Here are some situations when having home improvement records could save taxes:

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Is Your Hobby a For-Profit Endeavor?

Whether an activity is a hobby or a business may not be apparent to the customers of the endeavor, but distinguishing the difference is necessary for tax purposes because the tax treatments are substantially different. The IRS provides appropriate guidelines when determining whether an activity is engaged in for profit, such as a business or investment activity, or if it is engaged in as a hobby.

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Individual Estimated Tax Payments for 2015 Start Soon

Our tax system is a “pay-as-you-go” system, and if your pre-paid amount is not enough, you become liable for non-deductible interest penalties. To facilitate that concept, the government has provided several means of assisting taxpayers in meeting the “pay-as-you-go” requirement. The primary among these include:

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Are You Leaving Tax Money On The Table?

Each year the IRS reports about $1 billion in unclaimed refunds for individuals who did not file a tax return. The IRS estimates that approximately half of the unclaimed refunds are for amounts greater than $600. You may not have filed, thinking that because you don’t itemize and your employer is withholding tax that you don’t need to file. But there is a good chance you are leaving money on the table by not filing. Consider the following:

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Refund Statute Expiring

If you have not yet filed your 2011 tax return and have a refund due from the IRS, the refund will be forfeited if you do not file for it by the April 15, 2015 deadline. On the other hand, if you owe and have not filed, you are still liable for the amount due.

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