Taxes and Tax Relief
What are the Federal Income Tax Brackets for 2020 and 2021?
It’s the start of a new year, and with that, the start of the 2020 tax filing season. These next few months can be complicated for taxpayers. On the one hand, we’re looking back at 2020 to prepare our returns and file by the April 15 deadline. But at the same time, we’re already looking […]
Business Meals are 100% Deductible in 2021 and 2022
Last Updated: February 24, 2022 Go ahead, schedule that lunch meeting. Business meals are 100% deductible in 2021 and 2022. The new policy comes as part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (CAA, 2021), a bill that combines the $900 billion COVID-19 stimulus package signed in December with a larger omnibus spending plan for the […]
Expect the IRS to Take at Least 5 Months to Process Your Paper-Filed Tax Returns
Since the beginning of the COVID-19 lockdowns, the Boxelder team has helped hundreds of clients file past due tax returns via mail. For one of those clients, the returns were filed on September 4th. We didn’t receive confirmation from the IRS that our client’s returns were processed until yesterday – February 4th. That’s a five-month […]
Can W-2 Employees Deduct Work-From-Home (WFH) Expenses on their 2020 Tax Returns?
Recently, I’ve had several W-2 clients call with the same question: can I deduct my work-from-home expenses from my taxable income? The COVID-19 pandemic has led many of us to work-from-home (WFH) in order to protect ourselves and our co-workers. That means we’re incurring expenses we wouldn’t normally pay in an office setting: electricity, internet, […]
Bet on GameStop (GME) Stock? Here’s How Your Earnings (or Losses) are Taxed
Millions of Americans took to the markets this week and took on Wall Street — united under the unlikely flag of GameStop (GME) stock. The buying frenzy began online, organized on a Reddit forum called Wall Street Bets. Spurred on by the internet hype, small-time investors from across the country bought GME stock, sending the […]
Second-Draw PPP Loans – Who Qualifies & How to Apply
Update 3/31/2021: The application deadline for both first and second round PPP loans has been extended to May 31st, 2021, giving business owners two extra months to apply. The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) has officially opened its doors for the second round of Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) Loan applications. As we’ve covered previously, PPP loans […]
Unsolicited Call from a “Tax Expert?” Don’t trust it.
Your phone buzzes inside your pocket, an out-of-state number. It could just be spam, but maybe it’s important. So, you answer the call. The man on the other end knows your name. He knows about your tax lien. He knows about your debt with the IRS. And he claims he can make it all go […]
IRS Leaves 75 Million Phone Calls Unanswered in 2020, New Report Finds
Botched stimulus payments. Millions of unprocessed tax returns. Now, an annual report from the National Taxpayer Advocate, Erin Collins, provides a concerning look at the current state of the IRS. Of the 100 million phone calls made to the IRS’s toll-free phone lines in 2020, only one in four were answered. That leaves about 75 […]
2021 Tax Season Overview: Important Deadlines, E-Filing to Start in February
The IRS announced that E-filing will open for 2020 tax returns on February 12th, kicking off the 2021 tax season. And like last year, this year will be a chaotic one for the IRS. So, it’s best to start early. Here’s what you need to know: When are Taxes Due? Individual and corporate tax […]