Standard Mileage Rates To Go Down In 2010

The IRS announced the standard mileage rates for 2010 this week.  The standard mileage rate is the amount used to calculate the cost of using a personal vehicle for business, charitable or medical purposes.

Starting on January 1^st, the standard mileage rates will be:

Business: 50 cents per mile
Medical or moving: 16.5 cents per mile
Charitable: 14 cents per mile

The standard mileage rates are lower than the 2009 rates to reflect the decrease in the cost of gas.  The IRS studies the cost of operating vehicles to determine the appropriate rate to use for deducting car expenses each year.  If the cost of gas rises significantly during the year, such as it did in 2008, the IRS can do a mid-year increase in the standard mileage rates.

Taxpayers have the option of deducting either the actual cost of operating their vehicle or using the standard mileage rate.  However, the standard mileage rate can not be used for a vehicle if the taxpayer has deducted depreciation on the vehicle, or if they have taken the Section 179 deduction for that same vehicle.

The standard mileage deduction is beneficial for taxpayers because it reduces the amount of recordkeeping that needs to be done, but it can result in a lower tax deduction than the actual cost method for people who have purchased new vehicles.

Source: IRS Announces 2010 Standard Mileage Rate

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Did You Miss These 2009 Tax Law Changes?

We saw many tax changes in 2009.  While some will carry over into 2010, some will expire at the end of this year.  Once January 1 gets here it’s too late to reduce your 2009 tax bill, so take advantage of these tax breaks now.

RMDs Suspended for 2009

One of the biggest changes for 2009 was the suspension of the rules requiring individuals over age 70 ½ to make withdrawals from certain retirement accounts.  This suspension applies to 2009 only, so seniors will have to resume taking their required minimum distributions in 2010.

First Time Homebuyer Tax Credit

In an effort to stimulate the housing market, a “first-time” homebuyer was established back in July 2008, but new legislation in 2009 gave the credit new life.  The first credit was actually a loan (up to $7,500) that had to be paid back over 15 years; this credit applied to first-time homebuyers who purchased homes between April 9, 2008 and July 1, 2009.

Continue Reading Did You Miss These 2009 Tax Law Changes?

3rd Quarter Tax Estimates Due Today!

Just a reminder that your third quarter 2009 tax estimate is due today (September 15).

You may need to file quarterly tax estimates if you are self employed, retired, have a side job or don’t withhold enough income taxes through your job or pension.

Failing to send in estimates could result in a penalty if you expect to owe $1,000 or more when you file your return.

To avoid the penalty for not paying enough estimated tax, you need to pay in at least 90% of your 2009 tax liability or 100% of your 2008 tax liability, whichever is less.

Alternatively, you can choose to file and pay your 2009 taxes by January 31, 2010 to avoid any underpayment penalties.

Use Form 1040-ES to submit your estimated tax payment.

For a refresher on estimated tax payments, see ‘Do I Need to Make Estimated Tax Payments?’

Getting a Large Refund? Time to Adjust Your Withholding.

If you find that you are getting too large of a refund, or worse, that you are owing too much money on your tax return, you may need to adjust your income tax withholding to reduce your refund (or reduce the amount you owe).

What should you claim if you want to reduce your refund, and what should you claim if you want to reduce the amount you owe at tax time?

Basically, the fewer exemptions you claim, the more taxes are withheld from your paycheck, and vice versa.

Continue Reading Getting a Large Refund? Time to Adjust Your Withholding.

W-2s and 1099s Due Monday!

If you have employees or independent contractors, you only have a few days left to prepare and issue W-2s and 1099s for them.  January 31 is the official due date, but since it falls on a Saturday this year, you have until Monday February 2 to complete your forms.

Just to be clear, employees get Form W-2, independent contractors get Form 1099-MISC reporting their income.

Since most of the people visiting this blog are more likely to have independent contractors than employees, we will focus on the Form 1099-MISC for the rest of this post.

Do you need to prepare Form 1099 for anyone in your business?

Basically, you must prepare a 1099 if you paid $600 or more to an individual to perform services for you.  Some examples would be web designers, eBay assistants, virtual assistants, affiliates, accountants, etc.

Continue Reading W-2s and 1099s Due Monday!

Senate Finance Committee Approves Tax Cuts

Earlier this week the Senate Finance Committee approved approximately $522 Billion in tax cuts and incentives in an effort to stimulate the US economy.

The bill includes over $340 Billion in tax cuts for families and businesses, with a special focus on creating jobs and helping unemployed Americans keep their health care coverage and find new jobs.  States who are struggling will also be helped by this bill.

Also included in the bill is a much-needed AMT patch, which should protect people from the alternative minimum tax this year.

This bill has not passed yet… the House and Senate each have their own version and will need to hammer out their differences before it can be made into law.

You can read more about the bill here.

1099s Delayed This Tax Season

The IRS has announced that brokers may furnish certain composite annual tax reporting statements by Feb. 17, 2009, without penalty.

The notice provides that the new February due date established under a recent law change to provide Form 1099-B information to customers also applies to other tax information customarily reported to customers with Form 1099-B statements, such as interest and dividends.  This means that customers can expect to receive Forms 1099-INT and 1099-DIV late as well.

If you normally receive Forms 1099-INT, 1099-DIV and 1099-B for investment income and transactions, be aware that these forms will arrive later than usual this year.  Some clients have reported that they have received letters from financial institutions saying not to expect these forms until the end of February (although the official due date is February 17).

As a tax preparer, I’m not particularly happy about this change, but on the bright side, I’m hoping the extended deadline will cut down on the number of corrected 1099s issued this tax season.

The eBay Selling Coach is Grilling Me on Taxes

I will be on the eBay Selling Coach’s internet radio show on Friday, January 16 to talk about taxes for eBay sellers. The show airs at 1:00 PM, Eastern Time.

Click here for details on how to listen or call in with your questions. The show will be recorded as a podcast, so if you miss it, you can listen as soon as the podcast is uploaded.

*** If you missed the live call, you can listen to the recording here. ***

Final Tax Estimate for 2008 Approaching Quickly

Just a reminder that your fourth quarter 2008 tax estimate is due on January 15, 2009.

This estimate goes towards your 2008 tax liability so it reduces the amount you will owe on your 2008 tax return when you file.

To avoid the penalty for not paying enough estimated tax, you need to pay in at least 90% of your 2008 tax liability or 100% of your 2007 tax liability, whichever is less.

Alternatively, you can choose to file and pay your 2008 taxes by January 31, 2009 to avoid any underpayment penalties.

Use Form 1040-ES to submit your estimated tax payment.

For a refresher on estimated tax payments, see ‘Do I Need to Make Estimated Tax Payments?’

More About Obama’s Proposed ‘Paycheck Bonus’

One of the tax cuts I talked about in ‘Obama’s Proposed Tax Cuts Total $300 Billion’ was the payroll tax cut for low to mid-income workers.

Since this is the tax break that will affect most American’s I wanted to share some more details on what is being called Obama’s paycheck bonus (the official name, right now anyway, is the ‘Make Work Pay Credit’.

The details are still being hammered out, but basically it looks like the tax plan will include a payroll tax break that will mean anywhere from $83 to $166 extra per paycheck for workers, during the first quarter of the year.

Continue Reading More About Obama’s Proposed ‘Paycheck Bonus’

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