Business

New 2020 Tax Numbers Released By IRS For Filing 2020 Income Taxes in 2021

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mileage rate irs traffic

Now that the April 15th deadline is behind us, the best personal finance advice you can take is to start planning for your 2020 Income Taxes now. That way, you will be ready to take advantage of all the 2020 tax tricks, tips and deductions you can. Sure, last minute tax advice and finding those hidden tax deductions during crunch time is great, but to really save money on taxes, you have to plan all year long. Start watching now for expenses that you can deduct from your taxes and start keeping records and receipts for all of those possible tax deductions that might be usable to lower your taxes if you meet certain requirements or minimum thresholds. Most importantly, start keeping your contemporaneous records of important deductible expenses like business mileage, unreimbursed expenses, training and education expenses, and medical expenses. IRS 2020 Standard Mileage Deduction Rate The standard mileage rate for 2020 is 57.5 cents per mile for business reasons. The 2020 standard mileage rate for miles driven for charitable purposes is 14 cents per mile. You can deduct all unreimbursed mileage driven for business reasons and most charitable reasons as long as you have written documentation of the …

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What Does the Election Mean for the Economy?

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Republicans Win House, Democrats Keep Senate – Gridlock? Traditionally, Wall Street and big business have favored gridlock in Washington D.C. The idea is that when Republicans and Democrats are busy fighting each other, they can’t be changing the laws and regulations that businesses already know. Theoretically, any currently successful business already knows how to earn money and make a profit under the current laws, but that may not be the case under new legislation that gets passed. The devil you know, is better than the one you don’t — so to speak. But, is political gridlock good for American business this time? Is partisan fighting a good thing or a bad thing for the U.S. economy right now? Is Gridlock Good for The Economy? With the 2010 U.S. economy in a fragile state, and major changes in the form of ending stimulus funds coming in 2011, the difficult question is whether the Republican takeover of the House of Representatives a bad thing for the economy, or is it good for the economy that Democrats have lost the House. The major concern to look for in 2011 is the end of stimulus spending and other U.S. Government spending to bolster the …

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Give Gift Cards for Christmas The Finances Pros and Cons

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Thinking about giving someone a gift card for Christmas? You are not alone. Last year, billions of dollars of gift cards were purchased in the days and weeks leading up until Christmas. In fact, Google reports that searches for "Gift Cards" continue to rise until December 26th when they finally peak. I guess some people are looking for after last-minute gift ideas. Not long ago, Gift Cards replaced the gift certificate as the present to give to someone that either you don’t really know what to get for them, for people who are very picky (and thus better off picking out their own gift), for people you don’t want to bother shopping for, and for people on your gift list who live far away because gift cards can be shipped easily and cheaply tucked into a Christmas card. Reports about gift card tricks and things to beware of when buying gift cards have those with savvy financial planning skills looking for unbiased financial advice about whether or not giving gift cards is a good idea. Fortunately, in most cases, giving them as presents works out just fine for everyone. Gift Cards Losing Value There are some concerns regarding Gift Cards, …

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