Tax Learning Center

Explore the differences between a CPA vs. a tax preparer. Find out which one suits your needs when seeking accounting services for small businesses.

Follow our guide on tax planning for small business owners. Learn how you can minimize your tax burden in this blog. Start planning with us today.

Many are unaware of required US Treasury filings like BOI & FINCEN reports. Learn about these crucial compliance measures and avoid a $10000 penalty.

Donating an investment, such as stock, mutual fund or real estate, that has significantly gone up in value creates a double tax saving. First, you get a tax deduction for the value of the investment donated; second, you also avoid paying taxes on the investment when you eventually sell it. People often sell a stock, and then donate the proceeds to a charity, which creates a tax bill for selling the stock. In these cases, it’s a no-brainer to donate the investment directly to charity, since you avoid paying tax on the capital gain. If you donate the investment directly to a charity and have the charity sell it, the charity does not pay taxes on the gain since the charity is tax exempt. It's a win-win! The trick is to help the charity receive the investment . Generally speaking, most large charities have an investment account, while many smaller charities do not. I work with clients to help their favorite charities (e.g. church or synagogue) set up a low-cost investment account, using popular brokerage accounts such as Vanguard, to facilitate the donation. The brokerage account won’t charge you anything to transfer the stock, and the charity will most likely pay an estimated $20 to sell the donated stock, so cost is not an issue. Another tip: Ensure the charity is a U.S. charity , since foreign charity donations are not eligible for you to take a tax deduction. Please email matthew@msabrams.com with any questions you have.

Learn about converting a non-deductible IRA to a Roth IRA. Understand the tax implications and benefits of this for your retirement savings.

Year-end donations of clothing and household goods can significantly reduce your tax burden. Learn how donations can lead to valuable tax deductions.

Repair deductions are often claimed on rental properties or office in home deductions. However, repairs that replace a component of a property with something new is not deductible as a repair expense but must be added to the cost of the property and depreciated over time. A common example is replacing a roof on a building with a new roof. On the other hand, repairing a leak in a roof is deductible as a repair. ​Other building components that are replaced are not considered repairs are anything structural or something that cannot be removed without damaging the building. Walls, doors, windows, floors, electrical and plumbing are all considered part of the building structure, and if replaced cannot be deducted as a repair and must be added to the cost of the building. Replacing carpeting, linoleum floors, appliances, cabinets and fixtures are also added to the cost of the building but can often be expensed under special depreciation rules. ​When remodeling or renovating a building it is important to categorize the costs by these categories and not by the part of the building being repaired. E.g., a kitchen remodeling has components that are both structural that will be deducted (depreciated) over 27.5 to 39 years, but also includes appliances and fixtures that are added to the cost of the building but can often be expensed in one year.