If you are a business owner, chances are you spend a significant portion of your business money on entertaining potential clients, current clients, colleagues, and on travel expenses such as hotels and meals away from home. Although most business owners are aware that they can take a tax deduction for meals, travel and entertainment expenses, many of them are unaware of the specifics of this tax code. When it comes to entertainment expenses, you are only allowed to deduct half of the total … [Read more...]
Archives for February 2011
Getting a Copy of an Old Tax Return
February 10, 2011 By Leave a Comment
In some cases, you will need to access your prior year tax information. For example, it was mentioned in the previous post that you can file an amended return up to three years after the originally filing date if you have discovered an error. If you had a professional do your taxes for you, that person may have copies available. If this is not an option, you will need to contact the IRS to access your tax information. Your first option is a Tax Return Transcript, which is available for the … [Read more...]
How Long Should You Keep Tax Documents?
February 2, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Many people are clueless when it comes to knowing how long they should keep copies of important tax-related documents. Some choose to throw everything away after tax season is over, while others hang on to every document for decades. Neither of these two extremes is necessary, though. The IRS recommendation for the length of time to hold onto tax documents varies based on what type of document is involved. The IRS can audit you up to seven years after you file if they suspect that you failed … [Read more...]
