Miscellaneous

With Veterans Day just around the corner on Friday, November 11, we at G.I. Tax would like to encourage you to join us in honoring all the brave men and women who have served our country – both past and present – and also offer some suggestions as to how you can help show veterans in your community the support they deserve.

Before searching for ways to give back to those who have put their life on the line to protect our freedoms, it’s important to first understand when and how this holiday arose and why we continue to observe it to this day.

When filing their taxes, some people have tax questions that they’re too embarrassed to ask because they think they’re too simple. But this couldn’t be further from the truth. In fact, many of these common questions are extremely important to avoid making mistakes that could result in stiff penalties from the IRS.

Tax fraud is considered failure to file taxes or filing fraudulently. Both of these situations carry penalties to offenders. However, the severity of the penalty and how the IRS will come after you depends on which offense you’ve violated and how flagrantly you violated it.

Failure to File Taxes

With the deadline for filing your tax return quickly approaching, you may think that you can file your taxes on your own. While technically you can, you may be missing out on several advantages that using a tax professional can provide.

Being self-employed can be a difficult and costly task. As a business owner, you’re responsible for all costs of your company as well as getting customers and generating income.

Luckily, the government has taken into account these hardships giving the self-employed certain tax deductions that can make their financial situation a little easier.

Self-Employment Tax Deductions

The average American family pays almost $7,000 in state and local taxes annually. But some states pay much less than others.

In 2015 WalletHub analyzed how state and local taxes compared in each of the 50 states plus Washington, D.C. They based their study on nine different types of taxation: real estate taxes, state and local income taxes, vehicle property taxes, vehicle sales taxes, sales and use taxes, fuel taxes, alcohol taxes, food taxes, and telecom taxes.

At GI Tax we understand that many people are nervous to prepare their own taxes. There are many confusing terms and rules you must follow, and we understand the confusion. One of these terms that makes most equal parts confused and terrified is the Federal Tax Lein. Have no fear, GI Tax is here to explain to you this term and what it means for you.

The most terrifying thing you can receive after you’ve submitted your taxes is a letter from the IRS informing you that your taxes are being audited. While there is nothing inherently bad about being audited, it still can strike fear in the hearts of even the most stoic tax-payers. Audits are simply the IRS checking your numbers as they are very invested in ensuring that people aren’t cheating on their taxes.

While it is a little early for most people to be thinking about tax season, here at GI Tax we think about taxes all year long. We firmly believe it’s never too early for you to start preparing your taxes to make your life easier around April. Here are a few tips we can give you to help take the confusion and pain out of tax season:

Organize your documents – Even if it’s just one file you keep all the receipts in to sort out later, the practice of keeping all your documents in one place will ensure you’re not tearing your hair out trying to figure out where you put everything.