Tax Tips

Several different aspects go into determining whether or not your Social Security benefits are taxable, and if they are, how much of that income is liable to be taxed. You will better understand the taxable nature of your Social Security income after reading the following information. For this discussion, the term "Social Security benefits" refers to the total amount of benefits that are paid out to you every month (i.e., the amount before reduction due to payments withheld for Medicare premiums). It does not matter whether a person receives Social Security benefits because of retirement, disability, or because they have reached the age of eligibility; how taxes are applied to those payments remains the same.  The Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits are not considered in the computation because these payments are not subject to taxation under any circumstances. This includes both federal and state taxes.

Due to the COVID outbreak, most weddings planned for 2020 were postponed. As a result, 2021 will be remembered as a pivotal wedding year. Couples should be aware of how this can affect their tax status. They should be extra cautious to stay out of trouble and prevent any tax surprises. Here is a to-do list for the newlyweds. (Feel free to set up a free one hour consultation with a Yoke Tax professional if you need any help or advice!)

There are three consequences to failing to file your tax return on time, but let’s get something straight: It is not considered late filing if you file your tax return during the extension period . To learn more about that, set up a free one hour consultation with a Yoke Tax professional.  Returns filed late carry a one-year extension after they are filed. As a consequence, three results may occur.

Though many of them may have expected their child rearing years to have ended, there is a growing number of grandparents raising their grandchildren. More than half of children without parents are raised by grandparents in the United States. This represents 9% of all children in the country.  During the past ten years, a survey revealed that there has been a 50% increase in grandchildren living in the homes of their grandparents. Financial stress of caring for children can be eased by a variety of benefits for grandparents. The following are among them:

To prevent identity thieves from misusing taxpayers' Social Security numbers for fraudulent returns, the IRS assigns IP PINs to eligible taxpayers. As a result of IP PINs, the IRS is able to verify the identity of taxpayers and accepts only valid returns, whether they are filed electronically or on paper.

There are many retirement plans that give you the option of owning company stock, including 401(k) , ESOPs, profit sharing plans, and more.  Is its value higher now than when you purchased it? You should start planning what you will do with your stock in case you reach retirement age or leave the company. If you make a decision based on tax implications, it can have a major impact on your finances. In the event that a person retires or leaves their company, it is common for them to roll over company stock into an IRA. The good thing about doing this is that you will not be liable for any taxes. But there’s a downside: If you sell the stock later, you will owe normal income taxes (which could rise). You have an alternative: The stock of your company can be treated as if it had accumulated net unrealized appreciation (NUA). The NUA tax is therefore 15 percent when you sell the stock.

If you're buying a new car, what should you do with your old one? There are a number of options available to you, some of which may have tax implications and some of which may not. A car can be traded in, sold to a third party, donated to a charity, gifted, or even kept as a second vehicle. Below you will find details about each of these options. It is important to note that this will not go into detail about how a vehicle used for business is disposed of. To discuss details not covered here, contact YokeTax for a free consultation .

The Employee Retention Tax Credit program has come and gone almost too soon, but that doesn’t mean your business can’t still benefit from it. In fact, it’s possible for business owners to retroactively claim the ERTC up to three years from the end of the program. For most businesses, that date was September 30, 2021, but a few businesses had an extension to December 31, 2021.  To add to the confusion, several laws have been passed which impact how the ARTC can be claimed. For this reason, it is highly encouraged that you speak with a YokeTax professional to make sure you stay on the right side of the law.