If you participate in a qualified retirement plan, such as a 401(k), profit-sharing, or Keogh plan, through your job or self-employment, you might be allowed to borrow from the account. It’s important to note that the borrowing option is not available for traditional IRAs, Roth IRAs, SEPs or SIMPLE-IRAs. In the right circumstances, taking out a  Continue Reading »

If a taxpayer makes a contribution to a charitable organization of $250 or greater, they must substantiate the contribution with a contemporaneous written acknowledgment of the contribution by the done organization, if they want the deduction to be claimed on a tax return. For donations of money, the donee’s written acknowledgment must state the amount  Continue Reading »

The IRS takes a strict position on travel and entertainment (T&E) deductions, and there’s a good chance an agent will take a hard look at those items if you claim them on your tax return and you’re audited. The challenge will be more focused on whether you kept the proper records than whether or not  Continue Reading »

Employment statistics ended 2015 on a positive note, and many businesses are planning to hire new employees this year. In addition, roughly 242,000 new jobs were added in February and the unemployment rate fell to 4.9%, its lowest level in eight years. Several recent studies indicate that the hiring momentum will continue in 2016. In Maine,  Continue Reading »

The tax elections you make on your 2015 personal tax return can be extremely important to your financial welfare. Here’s a list of 10 potential elections for individuals (including self-employed taxpayers) to consider making before tax day on April 18, 2016 (or April 19 for taxpayers in Maine and Massachusetts due to their Patriot’s Day  Continue Reading »

Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) allow individuals and businesses to buy less expensive health insurance policies with high deductibles, and contributions to the accounts are made on a pre-tax basis. The money can accumulate year after year tax free, and be withdrawn tax free to pay for a variety of medical expenses such as doctor visits, prescriptions,  Continue Reading »

The IRS 2016 optional standard mileage rates are in. These rates are used to calculate the deductible costs of operating an automobile for business, charitable, medical or moving purposes. You can generally deduct actual expenses incurred from driving your vehicle for business. The expenses may cover gas, oil, tires, insurance, repairs, licenses, and registration fees. Also,  Continue Reading »

You may be able to deduct the costs of maintaining an office at home, if you’re self-employed in Maine as a sole proprietor, partner, or LLC member. But before you start jumping for joy, it’s important to note that in order to claim a business deduction for an office inside your home, you must use the  Continue Reading »

This past holiday season, taxpayers received a “gift” from Washington, D.C. It’s the PATH Act, which stands for Protecting Americans from Tax Hikes Act of 2015. This act does more than just extend expired tax provisions for another year, the bipartisan deal also makes about one-third of these tax provisions permanent, and many others have been extended  Continue Reading »

Many Maine businesses are uncertain how to account for costs to produce, acquire, or improve property, plant and equipment. To address this, in 2013 the IRS issued regulations on capitalizing versus deducting the costs of tangible personal property. In 2014, the IRS added rules covering dispositions of tangible property. The IRS  announced on November 24th that  Continue Reading »