If you are working from home for the first time in 2020, you may be wondering if your home office is tax deductible. The bad news? If you’re working from home for an employer, you normally can’t deduct your home office expenses. Here’s a quick look at the basic requirements to be able to deduct your home office expenses, along with some suggestions for how to qualify for the deduction if you’re currently working for your
As an owner of a small business, you’ve proven that you’re a self-starter by operating a successful private enterprise. Of equal importance is applying your skills towards saving for your future. Here are some of the most popular tax-advantaged retirement vehicles for small business owners in 2020 and some tips on saving for retirement. Options if you’re not currently enrolled in a plan For small business owners not currently enrolled in a retirement plan, here are
Scammers are targeting people looking to make money while stuck at home. While there are plenty of legitimate opportunities to earn extra cash, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) says to steer clear from the following money-making scams: At-Home Medical Billing Businesses. Many medical billing business opportunities are worthless. Their promoters don’t tell the truth about earnings potential and fail to provide key information. Envelope-Stuffing Schemes. Offers that promise quick and easy income from stuffing envelopes at
Raising prices can be fraught with risk during good economic times. So what happens if you try to raise prices during bad economic times? As Hamlet would say, “Ah, there’s the rub.” If you raise prices, you risk losing clients to competitors. If you don’t, decreasing revenue or rising costs can capsize your company. So what’s a small business supposed to do? The Art of Pricing Raising (and, sometimes, even lowering) prices can be a balancing
Estimated average Social Security retirement benefits starting January 2021 All retired workers in 2020 $1,523/mo All retired workers in 2021 $1,543/mo Did you know? You can increase your Social Security retirement benefits by 5-8% when you delay applying until you’re age 70. 1.6% cost of living adjustment for Social Security retirement benefits and SSI payments begins with the December 2020 benefits (payable in January 2021). The 2021 maximum Social Security retirement benefits a worker retiring at
When it comes to money topics, you’re always hearing how to save more. But even with the best of intentions, you can run into trouble when you try to save too much. Here are four ways that savings can get in your way and how you can correct them. Savings that turns into spending. Buying something on sale to save money is still spending. Focus on the amount of money you have to part with, instead
The exploration of digital tools is expanding in ways that that are likely to continue well beyond the current world of social-distancing. The situation is creating change for types of transactions that have traditionally been focused on many in-person meetings and rounds of paperwork and walk-throughs. Sellers, real estate agents and landlords are using a Zillow feature that allows them to create virtual 3D home tours using a panorama of the home taken on a smartphone.
A bill pending in Congress would approve the use of remote online notarizations, making it easier to close on houses even if you cannot meet in person. The measure, called the “Securing and Enabling Commerce Using Remote and Electronic Notarization Act of 2020,” would allow every notary across the country to perform remote online notarizations. The bill was introduced by Sens. Mark Warner (D-VA) and Kevin Cramer (R-ND). At the current time, nearly half of the
Commercial real estate owners can now get big tax benefits, thanks to a fix of a glitch from 2017 contained in the economic stimulus measure passed in late March. A provision in the new law fixed a typo in the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which was intended to allow certain real estate businesses and retailers to write off the costs of certain property improvements right away, instead of over time. However, due to a
The IRS is giving investors with like-kind exchange or opportunity zone investment deadlines between April 1 and July 15 more time to complete their deals. The deadline is extended to July 15 for all taxpayers, including trusts, estates, corporations and other non-corporate tax filers. Like-kind exchanges under Section 1031 allow real estate investors to sell a single asset, such as condominiums or an office building, identify another property with a similar value to buy with the
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