TAX PRO PLUS LA

Tax Penalty For Not Having Insurance Ratchets Up In 2015

The penalty for not having minimum essential health insurance for yourself and other members of your tax family takes a substantial jump in 2015. For 2014, the penalty was the greater of the flat dollar amount ($95 for each adult plus $47.50 for each child under age 18, but no more than $285) or 1% of your household income minus your tax-filing threshold amount. For 2015, those amounts take a substantial jump to $325 for each adult and $162.50 for each child (but no more than $975) or 2% of household income minus the amount of your tax-filing threshold.

more »

Accounting Terms: Understanding the accounting term EBITDA and how to use it.

The accounting term EBITDA is an acronym that is widely used. It stands for Earnings Before Interest, Taxation, Depreciation, and Amortization, and it is an extremely helpful tool for understanding how one business or industry is faring based on comparing it to others that are doing the same thing. EBITDA's value lies in the fact that it gives a very quick assessment of a business's earnings potential; but, because it is not part of generally accepted accounting principles, or GAAP, it is frequently excluded from a business's official financial statement.

more »

Is Your Refund Too High or Do You Owe Taxes? You Probably Need to Adjust Your W-4

If your income is primarily from wages and you received a very large refund—or worse, if you owed money—then your employer is not withholding the correct amount of tax (but it probably isn’t your employer’s fault). Sure, you like a big refund, but you have to remember you are only getting your own money back that was over-withheld in the first place. Why not bank it and have access to it all year long instead of providing Uncle Sam with an interest-free loan?

more »

Should You Keep Home Improvement Records?

Many taxpayers don’t feel the need to keep home improvement records, thinking the potential gain will never exceed the amount of the exclusion for home gains ($250,000 or $500,000 if both filer and spouse qualify) if they meet the 2-out-of-5-year use and ownership tests. Here are some situations when having home improvement records could save taxes:

more »

Is Your Hobby a For-Profit Endeavor?

Whether an activity is a hobby or a business may not be apparent to the customers of the endeavor, but distinguishing the difference is necessary for tax purposes because the tax treatments are substantially different. The IRS provides appropriate guidelines when determining whether an activity is engaged in for profit, such as a business or investment activity, or if it is engaged in as a hobby.

more »