November 16, 2021
WASHINGTON – The Internal Revenue Service today issued Notice 2021-63 to make clear how the temporary 100% business deduction for food or beverages from restaurants applies to taxpayers properly applying the rules of Revenue Procedure 2019-48 for using per diem rates.
Previously, the IRS issued Notice 2021-25 providing guidance under the Taxpayer Certainty and Disaster Relief Act of 2020, which added a temporary exception to the 50% limit on the amount that businesses may deduct for food or beverages. The temporary exception allows a 100% deduction for food or beverages from restaurants, as long as the expense is paid or incurred in 2021 or 2022.
For a taxpayer properly applying the rules of Revenue Procedure 2019-48, Notice 2021-63 provides a special rule that allows the taxpayer to treat the full meal portion of a per diem rate or allowance as being attributable to food or beverages from a restaurant beginning Jan. 1, 2021, through Dec. 31, 2022.
Taxpayers should refer to section 6.05 of Revenue Procedure 2019-48 to determine the meal portion of a per diem rate or allowance paid or incurred.
More information for businesses seeking coronavirus-related tax relief can be found at IRS.gov.
Feel free to call Tax On Wheels, LLC at 803 732-4288 if we can assist you with this or any other tax issue.
November 16, 2021
Fall is here and another school year is in full swing. Many teachers are already dipping into their own pockets to buy classroom supplies that will help set their students up for success. Doing this all year long can add up fast. Fortunately, eligible educators may be able to offset qualified expenses they paid in 2021 when they file their tax return in 2022.
Educators who work in schools may qualify to deduct up to $250 of unreimbursed expenses. That amount goes up to $500 if two qualified educators are married and file a joint return. However, neither spouse can deduct more than $250 of their qualified expenses when they file their federal tax return.
Taxpayers qualify for this deduction if they:
Qualified expenses include:
Expenses for COVID-19 protective items. These items include, but are not limited to:
This deduction is for unreimbursed expenses paid or incurred during the tax year. Taxpayers should keep records, such as receipts, and other documents that support the deduction with other tax documents. Eligible taxpayers will claim the deduction on Form 1040, Form 1040-SR, or Form 1040-NR.
More information:
Topic No. 458, Educator Expense Deduction
Steps to Take Now to Get a Jump on Taxes
You may contact Tax On Wheels, LLC at 803 732-4288 if we may be of assistance to you with this or any other tax matter.
Summer is often a time when people make major life decisions. Common events include buying a home, getting married or changing jobs. If you’re looking for a new job in your same line of work, you may be able to claim a tax deduction for some of your job hunting expenses.
Here are seven things the IRS wants you to know about deducting these costs:
1. Your expenses must be for a job search in your current occupation. You may not deduct expenses related to a search for a job in a new occupation. If your employer or another party reimburses you for an expense, you may not deduct it.
2. You can deduct employment and job placement agency fees you pay while looking for a job.
3. You can deduct the cost of preparing and mailing copies of your résumé to prospective employers.
4. If you travel to look for a new job, you may be able to deduct your travel expenses. However, you can only deduct them if the trip is primarily to look for a new job.
5. You can’t deduct job search expenses if there was a substantial break between the end of your last job and the time you began looking for a new one.
6. You can’t deduct job search expenses if you’re looking for a job for the first time.
7. You usually will claim job search expenses as a miscellaneous itemized deduction. You can deduct only the amount of your total miscellaneous deductions that exceed two percent of your adjusted gross income.
For more information please feel free to contact Tax On Wheels, LLC at 803 732-4288.
Some employees may be able to deduct certain work-related expenses. The following facts from the IRS can help you determine which expenses are deductible as an employee business expense. You must be itemizing deductions on IRS Schedule A to qualify.
Expenses that qualify for an itemized deduction generally include:
• Business travel away from home
• Business use of your car
• Business meals and entertainment
• Travel
• Use of your home
• Education
• Supplies
• Tools
• Miscellaneous expenses
You must keep records to prove the business expenses you deduct. For general information on recordkeeping, see IRS Publication 552, Recordkeeping for Individuals available on the IRS website at www.irs.gov, or by calling 1-800-TAX-FORM (800-829-3676).
If your employer reimburses you under an accountable plan, you should not include the payments in your gross income, and you may not deduct any of the reimbursed amounts.
An accountable plan must meet three requirements:
1. You must have paid or incurred expenses that are deductible while performing services as an employee.
2. You must adequately account to your employer for these expenses within a reasonable time period.
3. You must return any excess reimbursement or allowance within a reasonable time period.
If the plan under which you are reimbursed by your employer is non-accountable, the payments you receive should be included in the wages shown on your Form W-2. You must report the income and itemize your deductions to deduct these expenses.
Generally, you report unreimbursed expenses on IRS Form 2106 or IRS Form 2106-EZ and attach it to Form 1040. Deductible expenses are then reported on IRS Schedule A, as a miscellaneous itemized deduction subject to a rule that limits your employee business expenses deduction to the amount that exceeds 2 percent of your adjusted gross income.
Please contact Tax On Wheels, LLC at 803 732-4288 if you need assistance with this or any other tax issue.
If you’re self-employed and paying for medical, dental or long-term care insurance, the IRS wants to remind you about a special tax deduction for some insurance premiums paid for you, your spouse, and your dependents.
Starting in tax year 2011, this deduction is no longer allowed on Schedule SE (Form 1040), but you can still take it on Form 1040, line 29.
You must be one of the following to qualify:
The insurance plan must be established under your business.
Please contact Tax On Wheels, LLC at 803 732-4288 if we can assist you with this or any other tax issue.
If you are a small employer with fewer than 25 full-time equivalent employees that earn an average wage of less than $50,000 a year and you pay at least half of employee health insurance premiums…then there is a tax credit that may put money in your pocket.
The Small Business Health Care Tax Credit is specifically targeted to help small businesses and tax-exempt organizations. The credit can enable small businesses and small tax-exempt organizations to offer health insurance coverage for the first time. It also helps those already offering health insurance coverage to maintain the coverage they already have.
Here is what small employers need to know so they don’t miss out on the credit for tax year 2011:
For tax years 2010 to 2013, the maximum credit for eligible small business employers is 35 percent of premiums paid and for eligible tax-exempt employers the maximum credit is 25 percent of premiums paid. Beginning in 2014, the maximum credit will go up to 50 percent of qualifying premiums paid by eligible small business employers and 35 percent of qualifying premiums paid by eligible tax-exempt organizations.
Additional information about eligibility requirements and calculating the credit can be found on the Small Business Health Care Tax Credit for Small Employers page of IRS.gov.
Please feel free to contact Tax On Wheels, LLC at 803 732-4288 if we can assist you with these or other tax issues.
Your kids can be helpful at tax time. That doesn’t mean they’ll sort your tax receipts or refill your coffee, but those charming children may help you qualify for some valuable tax benefits. Here are 10 things the IRS wants parents to consider when filing their taxes this year.
1. Dependents In most cases, a child can be claimed as a dependent in the year they were born. For more information see IRS Publication 501, Exemptions, Standard Deduction, and Filing Information.
2. Child Tax Credit You may be able to take this credit for each of your children under age 17. If you do not benefit from the full amount of the Child Tax Credit, you may be eligible for the Additional Child Tax Credit. For more information see IRS Publication 972, Child Tax Credit.
3. Child and Dependent Care Credit You may be able to claim this credit if you pay someone to care for your child or children under age 13 so that you can work or look for work. See IRS Publication 503, Child and Dependent Care Expenses.
4. Earned Income Tax Credit The EITC is a tax benefit for certain people who work and have earned income from wages, self-employment or farming. EITC reduces the amount of tax you owe and may also give you a refund. IRS Publication 596, Earned Income Credit, has more details.
5. Adoption Credit You may be able to take a tax credit for qualifying expenses paid to adopt an eligible child. If you claim the adoption credit, you must file a paper tax return with required adoption-related documents. For details, see the instructions for IRS Form 8839, Qualified Adoption Expenses.
6. Children with earned income If your child has income earned from working, they may be required to file a tax return. For more information, see IRS Publication 501.
7. Children with investment income Under certain circumstances a child’s investment income may be taxed at their parent’s tax rate. For more information, see IRS Publication 929, Tax Rules for Children and Dependents.
8. Higher education credits Education tax credits can help offset the costs of higher education. The American Opportunity and the Lifetime Learning Credits are education credits that can reduce your federal income tax dollar-for-dollar. See IRS Publication 970, Tax Benefits for Education, for details.
9. Student loan interest You may be able to deduct interest paid on a qualified student loan, even if you do not itemize your deductions. For more information, see IRS Publication 970.
10. Self-employed health insurance deduction If you were self-employed and paid for health insurance, you may be able to deduct any premiums you paid for coverage for any child of yours who was under age 27 at the end of the year, even if the child was not your dependent. For more information, see the IRS website.
Let us know if we can help you with these or other tax issues.