CPA Articles

In today's increasingly competitive job market, a college education is often seen as essential for securing a prosperous future. As a result, parents are under immense pressure to save for their children's higher education expenses. However, navigating the college savings landscape can be daunting, and making the wrong decisions can have significant financial repercussions. To help parents make informed choices, it's crucial to be aware of common pitfalls that can derail college savings plans.

Your credit report and score are always evolving. They reflect your record of paying debts on time, over time. Even if you had great credit in the past, it may be that your credit has suffered, and your score’s taken a nosedive. Even though that’s bad news, the good news is that credit is always changing, and it’s possible to come back from bad credit. Given enough time and the right moves on your part, it’s possible to get your credit back where it should be, where it can serve your needs instead of keeping you  back. Following are some steps you can take.

As people approach retirement, maximizing savings becomes paramount to ensure financial security and peace of mind during the golden years. While retirement may seem like a distant milestone for some, proper planning and strategic financial decisions in the years leading up to retirement can significantly impact one's financial well-being in retirement. In this article, we'll explore ten valuable tips to help individuals maximize their savings near retirement, offering practical advice and insights for a financially secure future.

Create a Comprehensive Retirement Plan

No one wants to be audited by the IRS. Sometimes IRS audits are warranted and other times they simply happen to people who really didn’t deserve it. However, there are ways to minimize your risk of an IRS audit. Here are nine to keep in mind as you organize your finances and work with your CPA.

1. File Accurate Returns

Renting out a vacation home can be a lucrative venture, but it comes with a complex set of tax rules that homeowners must navigate to remain compliant and maximize their financial benefits. Learn more about the essential aspects of vacation home rental rules, including clarity and guidance for prospective and current vacation home landlords.

Introduction to Vacation Home Rentals

When traveling for business, understanding what constitutes allowable business deductions can significantly impact the financial health of your business. The Internal Revenue Service provides guidelines that help distinguish between personal and business expenses, ensuring taxpayers do not overstep boundaries while maximizing their deductible expenses.

As a business owner, it’s likely that you have one or more vehicles that you use for business purposes, either full-time or part-time. The IRS offers business deductions for business vehicle use, but it’s important to know the rules, so you can get the most out of the potential deductions. Navigating the complexities of using vehicles for business purposes requires an understanding of best practices, tax implications, and meticulous record-keeping. Your CPA is the best source of information about business use of vehicles.

Charitable giving not only supports those in need but also can provide financial benefits in the form of tax deductions. However, maximizing these benefits while staying compliant with IRS regulations requires careful planning and understanding. Learn how to best ensure you get full credit for your charitable donations, covering the importance of receipts, understanding what constitutes a charitable donation, and the various types of donations you can make.

Securing and Managing Donation Receipts

More people are engaging in remote contract work than ever before. Remote contract work offers almost as many advantages to workers and companies as full-time employment. However, this sea change from traditional in-house work to remote contract positions not only alters the way work is done, but also affects both the tax obligations and opportunities for workers. The tax implications of remote contract work are complex, so the advice of a CPA is strongly recommended. In general, however, here is a broad outline of those implications.

If you’re like many people, your parents probably taught you that debt is a good thing. Responsibly handling debt makes you a good credit risk, and a lender would be eager to loan to you. However, without judicious use of debt, it can quickly spiral into something much more sinister. Debt has a way of wrecking life plans from a variety of angles.

Student Debt