Category Archives: Tax Tips

Homeowners — Are You Making These Mistakes Planning Next Year’s Taxes?

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Planning For Your Next Year Tax Deductions

Filing your taxes can be a complicated and confusing process. If you are a home owner you may have many different home tax deductions and credits to consider.

Since we recently passed the filing date for 2012 taxes, it may be a good time to plan for next year and get your tax tracking systems in place. Check carefully to make sure that you are not making any of these common homeowner tax mistakes – which could cost you money or get you in trouble with the IRS.

Miscalculating Your Home Office Tax Deduction

If you work from home, you will be able to deduct a percentage of your housing costs for your home office. However, most people don’t know how to calculate this and don’t realize that it also has to be recaptured when you eventually sell your home. You will only want to claim it if it is worth it, so make sure you know exactly what you can write off.

Failing To Keep Track Of Home Expenses

Don’t forget to keep a record of home maintenance, repair expenses and any other relevant documents as you go along.   The money you spend on improving your property can help offset future capital gains tax. Keeping good records will save you a lot of headaches when tax time comes around.

Forgetting To Pay Tax On Capital Gains

If you have sell your primary residence this year, you will need to pay capital gains tax on any profit that you have received. Capital gains are the amount that you gained on the property’s value – so if you bought it for $150,000 and sold it for $300,000, your capital gains are $150,000. You may be able to exclude $250,000 of any profits for taxes, or $500,000 if you are a married couple if this exclusion stays the same as in 2012.

Deducting The Wrong Year For Property Taxes

Remember that you must take the tax deduction for your property taxes in the year that you have actually paid them. No matter what the date is on your property taxes bill, you should enter the amount that you paid in the calendar year. If you confuse this part, you might end up claiming the incorrect amount for the year.

These are just a few of the common mistakes that home owners can make when filing their taxes. Avoiding these mistakes will ensure that you pay the right amount and avoid any hassle from the IRS.  Also, please double-check all of these suggestions with a qualified, licensed tax preparer in the South Orange County  area.

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Federal Income Tax Deadline Extended To April 18, 2011

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Taxes due April 18 2011

April 15 is the traditional due date for federal income taxes. It’s a deadline so ingrained in the American psyche that the April 15 calendar date is often called, simply, “Tax Day”.

In 2011, however, federal taxes aren’t due April 15. They’re due April 18. It’s because of a combination of holiday, calendars, and tax law.

The change centers on Emancipation Day.

Emancipation Day is a public celebration in the District of Columbia. Named a holiday in 2005, Emancipation Day honors President Abraham Lincoln’s April 16, 1862 signing of the Compensation Emancipation Act.  

Emancipation Day is a non-working day in the nation’s capitol but, this year, Emancipation Day falls on a Saturday. The municipality will observe the holiday Friday instead. This means that all of Washington, D.C. will be “closed” Friday, April 15 — the usual tax filing deadline date.

This includes the IRS.

Therefore, to accommodate Emancipation Day, the government is extending this year’s federal tax filing deadline to April 18, 2011. This year marks the second time Emancipation Day has forced the change of federal tax filing deadlines.

Also, as a non-related coincidence, tax filers in California taking extensions to October 15 will also get a few extra days. October 15 is a Saturday so the extended tax deadline rolls over to the following Monday — October 17, 2011.

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Boost Your 2010 Tax Deductions By Making Your January Mortgage Payment A Little Bit Early

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Tax deductions Looking for an extra 2010 tax deduction? Consider making your January mortgage payment a few days early.

It’s a simple strategy that works because of how mortgage interest works.

Unlike rent which is paid in advance at the start of a month, mortgage interest is only paid after it’s been borrowed. Your January mortgage payment, therefore, accounts for the interest that accrued in December.

And for a lot of Rancho Santa Margarita homeowners, that mortgage interest is tax-deductible.

By making January’s mortgage payment in December, eligible homeowners can apply the interest paid to 2010′s tax returns instead of waiting to claim the same deduction against 2011. Don’t cut it close, though. It’s best to remit payment prior to the last week of the month, leaving your servicer ample time to receive and process your paperwork.

Most importantly, though, before prepaying on your mortgage, talk to your tax professional.

Not every homeowner is eligible for mortgage interest tax deductions, nor should every homeowner itemize their respective tax deductions. The “pay early” plan could be a wasted effort for you, ultimately, depending on your taxpayer profile.

If you don’t have an accountant that you trust, call or email me anytime; I’m happy to make a recommendation to you.

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The Home Buyer Tax Credit Extension Has Not Been Passed Into Law (Yet)

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Tax credit was not extended -- yetAs its June 30, 2010 closing deadline approaches, the federal home buyer tax credit is back in the news.

Unfortunately, the headlines are misleading.

Contrary to what you may have read (or heard), the federal home buyer tax credit has not been extended past June 30, 2010. At least not yet. And here’s why there’s confusion.

Look at these headlines from earlier this week:

  • Senate Extends Date On Home-Buying Tax Credit (Philadelphia Inquirer)
  • U.S. Senate Approves Extension Of Home Buyer Tax Credit (NASDAQ)
  • Senate Approves Home Tax Credit Extension (Reuters)

Now, nothing above is factually incorrect, but each neglects a key piece of the country’s law-making process — it takes more than the Senate to pass a law. For a bill to become a law, it must pass the Senate and the House of Representatives and then it must be ratified by the President.

To date, we’ve only cleared just one of those 3 steps.

This means that the federal home buyer tax credit has not been formally extended. As of now, it’s still in discussion.  Ultimately, though, if the extension does pass, it’s expected to extend the closing date deadline for Trabuco Canyon home buyers beyond the original June 30, 2010 date into September 2010.

Homeowners must still have been in contract as of April 30, 2010 to claim up to $8,000 in federal tax credits.

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