Taxes

Remote Work Taxes

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remote work taxes

Remote work is changing every aspect of the modern professional’s life. No more long commutes. No more monthly parking expenses. Maybe even no more car. How remote work taxes occur is the next frontier. Taxes for Remote Work The evolution of the workplace has seen a significant shift towards remote work, a trend accentuated by recent global events like the COVID-19 pandemic. With an increasing number of individuals and businesses embracing this new normal, it’s vital to understand the accompanying tax implications. This guide outlines key points to consider and strategies to optimally manage taxes in the world of remote work. Federal Income Taxes on Remote Work If you live or work in America, the U.S. government requires your income to be taxable. If you are a citizen of another country and you don’t spend too much time in the U.S. there can be some ways around it. For average, middle-class workers looking at their tax options, there is no difference between a job in Utah, and an office in Minnesota than there is from a job in the same building as the company headquarters. You’ll get your W2 and you will pay income tax. What about state taxes and …

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2024 Section 179 Deduction Limits for Small Businesses Taxes

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small business section 179

Small business tax deductions are important in order to offset high business taxes levied against small business owners and entrepreneurs. This is especially true for work from home entrepreneurs who file as sole proprietors, or as a Limited Liability Company aka LLC, with sole proprietor tax status. Small business owners can get hit with high tax bills thanks to Self-Employment Taxes. Self-employment tax, or SE Tax, is so high because it includes taxes that would usually be paid by the employer. In a typical employer-employee scenario, the employee pays 6.2% in Social Security Taxes. The employer withholds this amount from the employee’s paycheck. What many people don’t realize is that the employer also pays 6.2% in social security tax for the employee. A small business owner that files as a sole proprietor is on the hook for the whole amount! The self-employment tax rate – sometimes called the SE tax rate – is 15.3%, which is 12.4% for social security taxes plus another 2.9% for Medicare taxes. That 15.3% is on top of regular Federal Income Taxes. A successful small business owner in the 30% tax bracket, pays a blood curdling 45% tax rate. And that is before adding Medicare …

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When Can I File Colorado Income Taxes

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Colorado income taxes delay

Colorado Delays Acceptance of 2022 Online Taxes A majority of Coloradoans file their income taxes for free, or via a paid tax program like TurboTax, using Colorado’s online tax forms. Once you know how to file Colorado income tax, the rest is easy. The Colorado Department of Revenue will not accept income tax returns until January 2023. Filing Colorado Income Taxes Online Several laws passed during the 2022 legislative session changed numbers, percentages, forms, and eligibility for various tax deductions, tax credits, and tax-advanced contributions. The one-month delay won’t affect most Colorado income taxpayers. Colorado taxes require completion of Federal income taxes to generate most of the inputs needed for Colorado income taxes. Both state and federal law give employers, and others, until January 31 to generate and send most required tax forms. Thus, the change will only affect taxpayers with simplified taxes whose only employers and contractors created and sent the various W2, 1099, and K-1 forms. Use the Colorado Department of Revenue’s tax updates site to keep up with any new changes.

Tricks to Save Money On Taxes

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save money on taxes tips

If you have fairly simple taxes, that is ones that do not include several complicated schedules or worksheets that have to be filed, then you might not want to pay for TurboTax or TaxCut or other tax preparation software.  But you still don’t really want to go it alone without some sort of double-check. Let’s jump right in with some tricks to save money on taxes. TurboTax For Free TurboTax offers a marketing gimmick where they allow you to do your taxes on the online version of TurboTax for free.  You only have to pay when you print or e-file your return.  But who says you have to print anything? When you have finished inputting all of your information, and TurboTax has finished crunching all of the numbers, switch to the form view where you actually are looking at an electronic version of the tax form.  Copy the numbers down onto Form 1040 that you printed off of the IRS website, and voila.  Your taxes are done, and all for free! Obviously, if you have to generate a bunch of extra paperwork or IRS Schedules, this isn’t the method for you.  But keep in mind that many of the worksheets …

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How Long To Keep Tax Returns

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how long keep tax return records

Tax Day is today. Hope you are ready! If you have already filed, there is one more piece of tax business you can attend to before you run off into your summer. Time to shred some old tax returns and documents. IRS Rule For How Long to Keep Taxes The general rule for how long you have to keep your tax returns and other tax records is three years. HOWEVER, this is the IRS we are talking about, so there are some exceptions, and sub-rules to the general rule. First, you need to know when to count from. The 3-year rule counts three years from the date you FILED them. So, if you filed early, you don’t technically have to wait until April 15 (I always do. Better safe than sorry.) On the other hand, if you filed late, whether with an extension or not, you need to keep them for three years from that date. Also, the IRS says you should keep your returns for two years after you paid the tax, so if you ended up paying late, or on some sort of payment plan, be sure to keep them for two years after that tax bill has been …

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Not Cashing Savings Bonds to Avoid Taxes

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taxes on savings bonds

There is a common misconception about avoiding taxes by not cashing savings bonds. While there are no penalties for not cashing mature savings bonds, there is no benefit to holding them for tax purposes, either. Sometimes people wonder, “Do savings bonds expire?” For the most part, I typically assume that people who have misinformation came by it honestly. Usually, they didn’t quite understand fully what they read or were told. After all, one of the trickiest things about achieving financial independence and personal finance is that there are so many exceptions and nuances. In a lot of cases, what is absolutely true for one person is not true for someone else because of their individual circumstances. Tax Consequences of Cashing In Savings Bonds Unfortunately, while the internet has given people easy access to vast amounts of information, it does so without any verification that the information published is true. The problem is compounded by those who read something inaccurate and then repeat it elsewhere. This makes the false information seem more valid because it is corroborated by another source, which, in fact, is just repeating something that was wrong. That is why it is so important to verify financial planning …

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House Child Tax Credit Bill

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congress tax laws

Recently, the Democrats passed a bill called the American Rescue Plan Act, that made some changes and updates to the child tax credit. This was quickly spun as either a middle-class tax cut or raising taxes on the poor. It’s weird to see how people can distort what is really happening in order to fit their own agenda. The Child Tax Credit is $3,000 per child between 6 and 17 years old. The Child Tax Credit is $3,600 for each child under 6 years old. Child Tax Credit Basics The child tax credit is a credit. This is different than a tax deduction. A deduction is something that reduces your taxable income. The actual amount you save on your taxes then is a fraction of the amount deducted. For example, if you made $80,000 and you get $20,000 in deductions, then you pay taxes only on $60,000 in income, which means you get only a percentage of that $20,000 in deductions. A credit, on the other hand, is a reduction not in your income, but in your actual tax. So, a $1,000 tax credit means you actually pay $1,000 less in taxes. A credit is much better than a deduction …

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IRA Contribution Limits 2022 and 2023

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ira contribution limits for 2021 and 2020

Not all tax numbers stay the same over time. Many income limits and other tax numbers are adjusted each year, either for inflation, or by another statutory mandate. These tax numbers include the tax tables and tax brackets for each year, for example. It also includes IRA contribution limits. The IRS announces the numbers each fall. Since the numbers are adjusted based on inflation, they only increase if there is enough inflation over the course of the year to increase the IRA contribution limits by the same percentage. With some crazy inflation this year, you would expect some of the IRS numbers to be up significantly. IRA contribution limits for 2023 are higher than they were in 2022. 2022 IRA Contribution Limits The 2022 IRA contribution limits were published by the IRS in late 2021. Note that these limits are for contributions made during the 2022 tax year, for use when filing income taxes due by April 2023. IRA Max Contribution 2022 The maximum IRA contribution for 2022 is $6,000. This is the same as the maximum deduction for 2021, 2020, and 2019. The maximum IRA contribution in 2023 is $6,500, up $500 from the year before. Both the 2022 and …

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Colorado Income Tax Tips

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colorado taxes

I live in Colorado. Most personal finance and achieving financial independence applies to everyone, nationwide. When it comes to taxes though, there is a great deal of variation among states. I may dig into some other states as time provides, but for now, here are some 2022 Colorado Income Tax Tips for the taxes filing in early 2023. Colorado Income Tax Rate 2022 The best part of writing about 2022 Colorado Income Tax Rates is that the state has a flat tax. In other words, everyone in Colorado pays the same tax rate regardless of how rich or poor you are. Before you get all up in arms, percentages are by their nature, progressive. That is, someone will $500,000 income paying 5% will pay more taxes ($5,000) than someone paying $100,000 ($1,000). The worst part of writing about Colorado income taxes is that unlike the drawn-out battles of doom in the U.S. Congress to change anything in the Federal income taxes, Colorado’s income taxes change all the time, sometimes automatically. Such is the case for 2023 where Colorado’s TABOR law will make the Colorado Income Tax Rate for 2022 down to 4.4% from 4.5% in 2021. In addition, Coloradoans will …

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Colorado Tax Refunds 2022

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colorado tax refund summer tab

This summer, Colorado sales tax refunds are coming via check to everyone who filed Colorado income taxes by June 30, 2022. If you filed after that, you might be out of luck, or some people will get their Colorado Tabor refund 2022 in early 2023. Update: The checks are in the mail! What Is This Colorado Summer Tax Refund? This is the Tabor tax refund that Colorado taxpayers normally get when they file their taxes. If you’re new to Colorado politics and government, taxpayers passed a law back in 1992 called the Taxpayer Bill of Rights, or TABOR. Among other things, it limits the amount of tax revenue the state can collect each year to an increase based upon inflation and population growth. If the state collects too much money, then it must refund the excess to taxpayers. This is often referred to as the TABOR surplus by politicians, and the TABOR refund by Coloradoans. How Colorado TABOR Refunds Usually Work The Colorado government runs on a fiscal year that runs from July to June, not a calendar year from January to December. Normally, when the fiscal year ends in June, the Colorado state government counts all of the tax …

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