Audacious
 Tax Deductions
- Deducting dog food as a home security expense.
- Gynecology invoice deducted as "repairs and maintenance" of the business.
- $100,000 swimming pool deducted as a medical expense.
- Trees cut down during home landscaping were deducted as a charitable donation.
- Landlord deducts tenant as their dependent and is forced to pay the IRS $5,000 in back taxes and $2,000 in penalties.
Thinking "outside-the-box" and getting overly creative with the tax return can be too much of a good thing. Are you crystal clear how realistic all your deductions are? Just remember the IRS has seen just about everything, so it could be worthwhile to consult with a professional on deductions that might prove troublesome. I can lend some perspective on how it might stand-up under closer examination and what it would take to document and substantiate a claimed deduction. |
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"Cash for Clunkers"
also known as the
Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2009
(signed into law on June 24, 2009)
The government provides a cash incentive for individuals and businesses to trade in older gas-hogging vehicles for new, more fuel-efficient ones. The incentive comes in the form of a voucher of $3,500 or $4,500 depending on the type of vehicle traded in and the fuel efficiency of the vehicle purchased. Different rules apply to passenger cars, and various categories of trucks. The new vehicle must be purchased between July 1 and November 1 of 2009.
Eligible trade-in vehicles are those that at trade-in time: are in drive-able condition; have been continuously insured and registered to the same owner for at least one year; were manufactured less than 25 years before the trade-in date; and in the case of an auto, achieve a combined fuel economy of 18 mpg or less. A single person may get only one trade-in voucher and only one voucher is available for joint registered owners of a single eligible trade-in vehicle.
The new vehicle purchased need not be purchased from the new GM (Government Motors). |
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What is Your Household's
"Cap-and-Trade" Tax Burden?
(The House passed this legislation on June 26th)
Many policymakers portray a cap-and-trade system as a way to curb greenhouse gas emissions without burdensome taxes. However, the financial burden of such a system would be passed on to consumers, not simply borne by energy companies. (Read more on this research by clicking on the picture of the green house above)
A cap-and-trade system designed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 15 percent would place an estimated annual burden of $144.8 billion on American households. The average annual household burden would be $1,218, which would be approximately 2% of the average household income.
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