Tax Deductions

Do Taxes Faster with these Tax Tips

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Doing your taxes is never fun. The potential of having to pay even more money than has already come out of your paycheck looms over your every move. The thought of missed tax deductions, or unused tax tricks makes you constantly wonder if you could have done better on your taxes. Searching for receipts and other records takes time and adds to the stress. Add to that the threat of a tax audit if you mess up, and it’s no wonder people spend hours stressing out of their taxes. How To Do Your Taxes Faster There are some tax tricks you can use to speed up doing your taxes. Mostly, it comes down to knowing when and where it is worthwhile to spend your time, and where you can just keep plunging ahead and filling out those IRS forms. Remember, not everyone qualifies for everything. In fact, most people don’t qualify for a lot of the tax deductions and credits out there. Unfortunately, some personal finance publications and websites could do a better job of letting you taxpayers know when they just won’t qualify for that really great “frequently missed tax deduction.” High Tax Deduction Floors One of the ways to waste a lot …

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2011 Mileage Rate IRS Standard Deduction Amount Set

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Update: Information for the IRS mileage rate 2016 is here. This article is about the 2011 mileage rates published by the IRS. When deducting eligible automobile expenses, taxpayers have the option of deducting actual expenses or using the optional standard mileage rates to deduct automotive expenses. Because, the records required in order to deduct the actual expenses and depreciation of a car expenses are extensive and detailed, most people opt to use the standard mileage deduction. In addition, many businesses use the standard IRS mileage rates to reimburse employees for miles driven for work purposes. This both ensures that the company can deduct those reimbursements fully as a business expense, and that there is no disagreement about what the mileage reimbursement rate should be since an impartial government agency is the one that sets it. The mileage deduction rate is adjusted every year. The standard 2011 tax deduction mileage rate has been published. Standard IRS 2011 Mileage Rates Beginning on January 1st, 2011, the standard mileage rates for calculating the deductible costs of operating a car or truck for business purposes is 51 cents per mile. Remember that although you cannot deduct the cost of commuting to a job, you can …

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Lower Your Taxes – Increase Tax Deductions 2010

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Here comes the end of the year! (Yikes, already?) As 2010 draws to a close, it is time for the annual publishing of the end of year tax tips articles. Or, for the mainstream media, it’s time to re-publish pretty much the same thing that was published last year, rehashing the same old annual tax savings strategies. I thought we’d go ahead and get a jump on them (Isn’t that what good personal finance blogs are for?) by pre-posting all of the standard, run of the mill, year-end tax tips before Thanksgiving. Of course, if you are serious about tax planning, you’ve already done all of this and more. Don’t worry, we’ll be publishing new, little-known, tax tips and end of year tax tricks for 2010 soon. Here they are the Common 10 Tax Reduction Strategies for 2010 (and 2011, 2012, 2013, etc…) Donate To Charity – Definitely a good write off for high-income taxpayers and everyone else. Of course, the only tax deduction more well known than donating to charity is deducting mortgage interest on your home. Deduct Your Medical Bills – This is wasteful advice for most taxpayers. The medical expenses deduction only applies to medical and dental …

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End Of Year Tax Tips – Save Money On Taxes By Donating Clothing and More

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As the end of the year races toward us, the opportunities to find and take advantage of tax deductions and loopholes to save money on income taxes are growing scarce. Fortunately, there are still plenty of tax saving strategies that you can implement even with just a few weeks to go until the end of the tax year. One of the most effective ways for typical households to lower their tax bill is by donating items to charities. Unlike cash donations, donating used goods to charity is a free way to reduce the income taxes you pay. A quick trip to the basement or storage closet could turn up several trash bags worth of used clothing that no longer fits your children, or you. Other items like shirts, pants, suits, jackets, shoes and more may just be out of style, or no longer fit your current dressing manner. For example, workers who used to have to wear a suit and tie to the office may now work in a business casual environment. Unless you live on the East Coast, suit and tie occasions don’t come up all that often. Hold onto one dark suite for funerals and formal weddings, and …

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How To Pay Less Taxes Next Year

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Save more receipts.  That is how to pay less money on your taxes next year.  You wanted something more amazing didn’t you.  So do most people, which is why they buy books and magazines and secret kits and then pay the same amount of taxes as they did last year. This year try something different.  Just save more receipts.  When it comes time to file your taxes you won’t use any more lines on the tax forms for deductions, but you will be able to have higher numbers on the lines that you already use. A Smaller Tax Bill Wait ‘til next year.  The most often used phrase in sports may also be used by many taxpayers this week as the stress and shock of filing federal income taxes wears off.  Whether it was having to write the IRS a big check, or if it was seeing how your tax bill compared to others, or if it was just seeing the enormous number that you earned but never got to see thanks to paycheck withholding, it’s common to want to pay less taxes next year. Paying less taxes is a goal that most Americans have.  Yet, it is a goal …

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