Why Shohei Ohtaniโs heavily-deferred contract could be model pro athletes ask for going forward
Ohtani has decided to defer $680 million of the contract until after his playing days are over, meaning heโll take in roughly $2 million of salary each year for the duration of the contract that will run through 2033.
St. Johns County commissioners introduce sales tax increase, aiming for November ballot measure
The St. Johns County Board of Commissioners read through an official proposal Tuesday afternoon, which, if passed, would increase the countyโs sales tax rate by one percent for at least the next ten years.
Explainer: Duval County schoolsโ half-cent sales tax vs. millage rate increase
As Duval County Public Schools continues to grapple with a crippling teacher shortage and retention problem, superintendent Diana Greene recommended that the school board consider hiking property taxes by one mill in order to boost salaries, fill the record number of vacant staffing positions and bolster the districtโs arts and athletic programs.
Explainer: How the child tax credit will change once the stimulus bill is signed
Below is a brief look at how the child tax credit will change under the $1.9 trillion stimulus package, which is expected to be signed by President Joe Biden:AGE: Only children under the age of 16 are eligible for the current child tax credit, but the stimulus bill will make most children under the age of 18 eligible. AMOUNT: While the current child tax credit provides $2,000 per child each year, the stimulus bill will boost that to $3,000 for each child ages 6-17 years old; and $3,600 for each child under 6 years old. DISTRIBUTION: Like most credits, the current child tax credit is received as part of your annual filing process and is either applied to your income tax or your refund balance. The other half willLIABILITY: The new version of the child tax credit is expanded to be The new version of the child tax credit is expanded to be fully available to the poorest families , instead of restricting it based on the parentsโ tax liability. To read the full text of the child tax credit section of the stimulus bill, refer to page 475 of the full document.
How to file your taxes online securely
Ninety percent of Americans will file their taxes online, either using a professional tax preparer or tax software. Itโs the only one tested to earn top marks for data privacy, data security, and usability. You can also protect your personal tax information by simply looking for the HTTPS or a little lock at the beginning of a web address. So if either is lost or stolen, your personal data canโt be accessed. Consumer Reports has created a free online security planner to help you secure your devices and accounts.
Tax Time: How COVID-19 is impacting your W-2
Your job, health, and finances may look a little different in the year of COVID-19, and that doesnโt stop with taxes. โIf you work in a high tax state or a state thatโs separate from yours now youโve got two state income tax returns youโre going to have to file,โ said Gary Kane, CPA at Kane & Associates. Each state has their own tax laws, which varies by the number of days worked, so check with your advisor. AdโThe tax brackets are like stair steps and so if your income is down, youโve gone down the stair steps, and youโre paying tax at a lower rate,โ said Kane. โThat can grow and earn tax free, and you can use that money to pay your medical bills,โ said Kane.
Is it time to switch to paying quarterly taxes? Hereโs when to decide, and how to get it done
Thereโs one day each year that sticks out to American taxpayers everywhere, and this year is April 18: Tax Day. But to another group of people -- the ones who make quarterly payments -- there are three other times a year to pay up.
Collecting internet taxes in Florida has a new twist
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. โ The Florida Senate Finance and Tax Committee approved a bill Thursday requiring out-of-state retailers to collect sales tax on internet purchases. Florida is one of only two states that donโt require out-of-state retailers to collect the sales tax due from online purchases. He wants any added revenue from the collection of internet sales tax to be offset by tax cuts elsewhere. If they want to do internet sales, whatโs the revenue increase? AdFlorida is the only state that collects a sales tax on commercial rent payments.
2 steps to protect yourself from identity theft during tax filing season
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. โ Tax season is here, and with more people filing online than ever before, the risk for identity theft is even greater. According to the IRS, 80% of all Americans file their tax return online. According to the Federal Trade Commission, more than 100,000 people reported either tax- or employment-related identity theft in 2020. The second is getting an Identity Protection PIN (IP PIN). This is not a new tool for the IRS, but the first time anyone can use it -- not just someone who has already been an identity theft victim.
Answers to your questions about tax filing season
And if you lost your job, you may actually owe money to the government. Here are the most common questions News4Jax has been asked:Will I owe taxes on my stimulus payments? If you did not receive all of your stimulus money, on your 2020 tax return, you need to request that money under the Recovery Rebate Credit on your 1040 form. AdDo I owe taxes if I received unemployment benefits? The IRS is aware of those who received unemployment money and will expect you to include income on your tax return.
Lost a job or income? Donโt lose access to key tax credits
The โlookbackโ rule allows taxpayers to use either their 2019 or 2020 income, whichever is most beneficial, in order to get the most out of the Earned Income Tax Credit and the Child Tax Credit. These are considered the two most valuable tax credits for low- and moderate-income working families. And they are refundable tax credits, which are particularly beneficial because they can reduce the amount of tax someone owes to zero or potentially yield a refund. That is because people need some earned income to claim the credits and money from unemployment benefits is not considered earned income in the eyes of the IRS. The Earned Income Tax Credit is worth $538 to $6,660 depending on income and number of children.
DeSantis proposes holding tax โholidaysโ again
Ron DeSantis is again seeking to hold sales-tax โholidaysโ for disaster-preparedness supplies and back-to-school shopping as part of economic initiatives included in a proposed $96.6 billion budget released Thursday. In his new budget proposal, DeSantis projected $65 million in savings for Floridians from the two proposed sales-tax holidays. AdDeSantis also asked for a 10-day disaster-preparedness tax holiday before hurricane season, with shoppers able to avoid sales taxes on storm supplies, including generators priced up to $750. DeSantisโ proposed budget also includes $5 million for Enterprise Florida, the stateโs business recruitment agency, and $50 million for Visit Florida, its tourism-marketing arm. The Visit Florida funding would be the same as in the current fiscal year.
Avoid the Audit: How to properly handle home office tax deductions
If youโve been working from home, you may be wondering if you qualify for a home office tax deduction. The 2020 rate is $5 per square foot with a maximum of 300 square feet. So, if your office is 200 square feet that would be $1,000. Certain businesses, such as day cares, may have different qualifications for a home office deduction. These are complicated tax issues so be sure to check with your own tax advisor.
Florida gets boost in tax revenues in December
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. โ Florida in December recorded its best monthly general-revenue collections since the start of the coronavirus pandemic. The Legislatureโs Office of Economic & Demographic Research estimated revenue for December at $336.7 million over a forecast revised in August. Whatโs more, the $2.999.4 billion in overall revenue was $154.4 million higher than what had been forecast before the pandemic hit. โThe December results were above the pre-pandemic estimates for the month by the largest margin seen since the pandemic began,โ the revenue report released Tuesday said. Sales tax numbers were up $178.3 million over the revised August forecast.
Local tax referendums on the ballot throughout Florida
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. โ Voters in at least two dozen Florida counties are being asked to increase taxes on themselves or provide tax breaks for businesses creating jobs. The success of local tax referendums is often tied to how much control citizens have over the use of the funds. There are more than 25 tax referendums in the hands of local voters around the state. In nine counties, school boards are seeking to raise money through penny or half-penny sales taxes, or property tax increases. โSo clearly the communities wanted to support their local school districts,โ Messina said.
The IRS has made changes to the tax bracket -- hereโs what it will mean for you
Earlier this week, the IRS announced the 2021 tax year annual inflation adjustments for more than 60 tax previsions. Those include tax rate schedules and other tax changes. The following are the 2021 tax rates, which will be used when filing taxes in 2022 for the previous year of income. Taxpayers with lower incomes with have lower federal tax rates. Click or tap here to learn about more changes that have come with tax inflation adjustments for tax year 2021.
Hereโs how the top tax preparation softwares stack up against each other
The clockโs winding down on the extended tax season, and for those who might have procrastinated, weโre here to fill you in on your options, so you can decide for yourself which tax preparation service is best for you. With the help of Consumers Advocate, weโve provided a comprehensive list for you. Click on the following company names to learn more about how the services they provide stack up: Jackson Hewitt | TaxPoint | Taxbrain | OnePriceTaxes.
Income tax filing deadline moved to July 15: What does it all mean?
WASHINGTON โ The income tax filing date has been pushed back from April 15, to July 15, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said late last week. Mnuchin announced the decision in a tweet Friday, saying that at President Donald Trumpโs direction, โWe are moving Tax Day from April 15 to July 15. The delay is available to people who owe $1 million or less and corporations that owe $10 million or less. It is expected that many states will follow the lead of the federal government and delay their tax filing deadlines as well but that will be a state by state decision. The administration is working with Congress to develop a $1 trillion support package and Mnuchin has said the IRS payment delay will add $300 billion to that effort.
For some, credit cards are a major part of tax season, survey finds
Tax season and credit cards seem to go hand-in-hand like peanut butter and jelly, at least if you believe the findings of a recent study conducted by Credit Card Insider. Using SurveyMonkey to conduct an online survey of 3,114 adults from Feb. 3-5, Credit Card Insider found out the following information when it comes to how important credit cards are for people during tax season. 14% of respondents who expected to owe this year planned on using a credit card to pay their taxes. Of those expecting a tax refund, 40% had credit card debt. 75% of those with debt plan to use their tax refund toward paying it off.
Waiting for a tax refund? Hereโs when you can expect to get it
But listen, if youโre thinking you might be getting a refund, thatโs pretty good incentive to get it taken care of. If IRS accepts return by: Direct deposit sent (or paper check mailed one week later): Feb. 3 Feb. 14 (Feb 21) Feb. 10 Feb. 21 (Feb 28) Feb. 18 Feb. 28 (Mar. 6) Feb. 24 Mar. 10) March 29 Apr. Are you currently waiting on a refund?
Social Security & Tax Breaks
Figuring out what you owe can be complicated, here is some information to understand what is taxable under Social Security. Social Security is taxable at three different levels, based upon how much other income you have and your income tax filing status. This is 50% of your household Social Security benefits plus all of your other taxable income, plus any tax-free income. These breakpoints are the same if your filing status is Married Filing Separately and the couple does not live together during the tax year. If your Provisional Income (defined above) is less than the first breakpoint based on your filing status, then none of your Social Security is taxable.
How to prepare for next year's taxes now
To avoid the chaos that can come with filing taxes, use these tips to start preparing for next year's return. Start filing: Dedicate a box to all of your documents that you will need to file next year's taxes. When it's time to do your taxes all of your materials will already be gathered. Find a tax specialist: If you are in the need of a tax specialist for next year, now is the time to look. Keep a list of questions: If you have questions throughout the year about your taxes, keep a running list so you can ask your tax professional when it is time to file.
Million-dollar ideas that paid off
Many Americans are fascinated with the concept of the "million-dollar idea." Many of the big million-dollar (or billion-dollar) ideas of this generation are related to technology, from Apple and Microsoft to Google, from MySpace and YouTube to Facebook. Here's a small sampling of million-dollar ideas, past and present. Great Depression Basic: Spic and Span The problem with economic hard times is that even if an inventor comes up with a million-dollar idea, who's going to buy it? Ron Popeil wasn't a man with just one million-dollar idea.
5 things buisness owners could be writing of in taxes
If you are a business owner, no matter the business size, these are a few things you should be tracking over the year, as you could be writing them off in your taxes:1. Auto expenses: from home to office, to client visit. If you are expensing things - make sure you track the CC fees that could go along with your purchases. Anything you're buying and giving away (to the office, or outside of it) could be a potential write-off. Make sure to track all business expenses so you can review them with your CPA when it comes to doing your taxes!
Can't pay your taxes? There are options
By Kevin Hagen, Contributing writerIf you can't pay your taxes, you should file your return anyway to avoid a late filing penalty. If after preparing your tax return you find that you owe taxes and don't have the money to pay, you have some options. File Your Return When you can't pay your taxes, you should file your return anyway. If you don't, you will be charged a late filing penalty in addition to late payment penalties and interest. There is a fee for requesting an installment agreement, and late payment penalties and interest accrue on the balance.
Florida attorney general warns of tax season scam
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. โ Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi is warning Floridians to be aware of the threat of identity theft during tax season. "Tax identify theft is one of the most common forms of identity theft and can cause people financial issues for years," Bondi wrote on myfloridalegal.com, the website of the attorney general's office. "Identity thieves will use a taxpayerโs Social Security number and personal information to steal their tax refund, open a credit card, take out a loan or find employment, causing problems for victims when filing with the Internal Revenue Service." The site lists several recommendations to prevent identity theft and other tax-related scams:File tax returns earlyUse a secure internet connection, not public wireless networks, if filing electronicallySend returns directly from the post office if you are filing by mailShred documents containing personal informationGet recommendations and research a tax preparer thoroughly before providing personal informationFlorida residents who believe that they have been victimized by identity theft are urged to call local law enforcement or file an online complaint with the Federal Trade Commission. Consumers can also file complaints about identity theft and other types of fraud with Bondi's office by visiting MyFloridaLegal.com or calling 866-9-NO-SCAM.
Most common tax mistakes
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. โ Some tax forms are even called EZ, and most basic ones may be. We turned to HR Block to find out the most common errors people make so you'll know what to double check if you do your tax returns alone. Kellar says hands down, the biggest mistake is people not taking full advantage of the available deductions. "The education credits, the adoption credits, taking the child tax credit, the additional child tax credit, childcare credit," says Kellar. New Tax Laws: H&R Block's top things to know before you file taxes in 2012