Mike and Brian guide you through recognizing 2022 imbalances that had built in the economy and setting ourselves up for what comes next as the economy and markets find their way back to steadier ground—even if the adjustment period continues.
As you watch, if you have any specific questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to reach out to our team!
When you own a business, you get to deduct business expenses from your business income. This general rule applies, subject to certain limitations, whether you are a sole proprietor with employees or a self-employed freelancer working in the gig economy. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) allows you to claim tax deductions for expenses that are necessary and ordinary for your business.
While many of these tax deductions are obvious, others are more obscure. Here are five commonly overlooked tax deductions.
When you are self-employed, you may claim a tax deduction for health and long-term care insurance premiums. A current or former employer must not pay these insurance premiums. You may write off Medicare Part B premiums as a business expense. You may claim a full health insurance expense deduction for yourself, your spouse and your children’s premiums.1
You may deduct interest as a business expense as long as the expense is for your business. For instance, if you buy a building for your business, the interest on that mortgage is deductible. If you use your personal vehicle half the time as a business vehicle, you may write off half of the interest on your car loan as a business expense, as long as you choose to itemize auto expenses (not take the standard mileage deduction). Similarly, if you charge business purchases on a credit card, you may also deduct the interest you incurred on that card.
This business interest deduction is subject to the IRS section 163(j) limitations of a business having less than $25 million in annual gross receipts and not being a tax shelter. The limitations do not apply to excluded businesses, such as self-employed service providers and certain businesses that request exceptions, such as farms.2
Education expenses are deductible if they directly relate to your business. You cannot get a four-year college degree and write it off as a business expense. However, costs for seminars, workshops, and classes related to your business are generally deductible. If you buy a book or subscribe to a magazine to learn more about your industry that may be deductible too.3
If you are self-employed, once you use your cellphone for business, it may become a deductible business expense.
As a self-employed person, here is how to figure out how much of your cellphone bill is deductible. First, estimate how much of the time you use the phone for personal use versus business use. Then, multiply the business use percentage by your cellphone bill to calculate your deduction. For example, if your cell phone costs $1,200 per year and you use it 25% of the time for work, your deduction might be $300.
If you are an employee, unreimbursed business expenses, such as personal cell phone use for business, are not deductible.4
You may deduct a portion of the cost of certain meals. Suppose you take your accountant out for coffee; that is deductible as long as you talk about business. Or if you have a business partnership and you go out with your business partner for dinner to discuss your marketing plan, your meal’s cost is deductible.
The expenses must be reasonable, not extravagant and may be subject to limitations. If you purchase the meal from a restaurant, it is 100% deductible. If not, the cost is 50% deductible.5
Unfortunately, eating alone is not a deductible expense for the self-employed, even if you work while eating. However, you may deduct a portion of the meal expenses when you travel, subject to limitations. The limitations are 50% of the actual cost or 50% of the IRS standard meal allowance.6
Important Disclosures:
The opinions voiced in this material are for general information only and are not intended to provide specific advice or recommendations for any individual.
This information is not intended to be a substitute for specific individualized tax advice. We suggest that you discuss your specific tax issues with a qualified tax advisor.
All information is believed to be from reliable sources; however LPL Financial makes no representation as to its completeness or accuracy.
This article was prepared by WriterAccess.
LPL Tracking # 1-05345916.
Footnotes
1 The Self-Employed Health Insurance Deduction: A Valuable Personal Deduction https://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/the-self-employed-health-insurance-deduction-a-valuable-personal-deduction.html
2 Basic questions and answers about the limitation on the deduction for business interest expense https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/basic-questions-and-answers-about-the-limitation-on-the-deduction-for-business-interest-expense
3 Topic No. 513 Work-Related Education Expenses https://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc513
4 Can Cellphone Expenses Be Tax Deductible with a Business? https://turbotax.intuit.com/tax-tips/small-business-taxes/can-cellphone-expenses-be-tax-deductible-with-a-business/L6NQvycMO
5 How to Deduct Meals and Entertainment in 2022 https://bench.co/blog/tax-tips/deduct-meals-entertainment/
6 Tax Deductions for Business Travelers https://turbotax.intuit.com/tax-tips/jobs-and-career/tax-deductions-for-business-travelers/
If you hope to retire soon and are concerned about what the future may hold for your investments, you are not alone. Inflation has many retirees and soon-to-be retirees worried about outliving their savings and investments.1
What might you do to survive and even thrive during volatile markets? A financial plan may help you feel more confident and help you consider a few additional ways to manage your financial worries in retirement.
Having a financial plan—and sticking to it—may help ease your mind during market downturns. There are many reasons for this. A financial plan may:
The temptation to do something—anything—when your investments decline is strong. A financial plan may ground you and help ensure that your actions align with your strategies and goals.
Along with having a financial plan, here are a couple of strategies you may consider during a down market.
Reduce Your Debt
Paying back expensive debt or anything with a variable or adjustable rate may help you withstand economic uncertainty. Higher interest rates mean a higher cost of borrowing, so the more debt you have, the more it costs you.
By prioritizing debt paydown, you may put yourself in a position of financial flexibility, allowing you to balance your household expenses to match your income or investment gains.
Have Adequate Cash Reserves
Although reducing debt is a worthy goal, it should not happen at the expense of all of your cash. You want to strike a balance between putting away money and lowering your overall debt load.
For retirees, having between 12 and 24 months of living expenses in cash may help you avoid having to withdraw from retirement funds during a market downturn.2 By keeping your funds invested, they may be poised to recover once the downturn ends.
Consider Tax Loss Harvesting
Suppose you are holding some taxable investments that are worth less than you paid for them. In that case, you may be able to take advantage of tax-loss harvesting to offset some capital gains tax liability for other investments. By selling these investments (or “harvesting” your loss), waiting one month, and then repurchasing the same assets, you may generate a paper loss (a loss in value that appears in your accounts, but does not involve a real cash loss) that you could use for your tax liability on the winning investments.
If tax losses exceed annual gains for that tax year, the taxpayer may use the rest of the losses to offset up to $3,000 in ordinary income from federal taxes.3 Tax losses may also be carried forward to continue to offset investment gains in the future.
Footnotes
1 Inflation has many retirees worried about outliving their savings, NPR, https://www.npr.org/2022/02/19/1081875948/inflation-has-many-retirees-worried-about-outliving-their-savings
2 ·Navigating retirement savings during volatile markets, BlackRock https://www.blackrock.com/us/individual/education/retirement-volatility-strategies
3 Can Tax Loss Harvesting Improve Your Investing Returns?, Forbes, https://www.forbes.com/advisor/investing/tax-loss-harvesting/
Important Disclosures
The opinions voiced in this material are for general information only and are not intended to provide specific advice or recommendations for any individual.
Asset allocation does not ensure a profit or protect against a loss.
This information is not intended to be a substitute for specific individualized tax advice. We suggest that you discuss your specific tax issues with a qualified tax advisor.
Inflation is the rate at which the general level of prices for goods and services is rising, and, subsequently, purchasing power is falling.
All information is believed to be from reliable sources; however LPL Financial makes no representation as to its completeness or accuracy.
This article was prepared by WriterAccess.
LPL Tracking #1-05335330
Whether you’re hoping to retire soon or are just beginning to explore the idea of stepping back from your job, you’re probably wondering how to make it happen. Will you have enough money? How will you spend your time? What will you do for health insurance? Here, you’ll find a useful countdown of the five biggest steps to developing a solid retirement plan.
What does retirement look like for you? Do you plan to or want to continue working part-time? Will you travel? Do you want to sell your home and hit the road in an RV? At what age will you claim Social Security? When will you qualify for Medicare?
Everyone’s retirement goals are different, which means your financial plan for retirement will also be different.
Depending on whether your assets are held in a pre-tax account, a post-tax account, or a taxable account, your savings drawdown strategy can vary widely. Your age can also dictate when, how, and how much you withdraw from your retirement accounts. For example, if you plan to retire before age 59.5, you may want to first begin withdrawing funds from a taxable account to provide flexibility until you’re able to take penalty-free withdrawals from a 401(k) or a traditional IRA.
If you don’t yet have a dedicated financial professional, now may be the time to assess your retirement readiness and work to optimize your income and assets as you enter retirement. You don’t want to find yourself in a position where your retirement needs exceed your income or assets and you’re forced to scale down—or even go back to work—after you’ve already been enjoying retirement for a few years.
Beginning your retirement with multiple large, unexpected expenses can send even the most carefully planned budgets off track. Before you retire, consider some of the biggest expenses that are likely to come your way.
By planning for large expenses before you retire, you can work to ensure these costs won’t catch you by surprise.
Whenever you’re making a big financial shift or embarking on a new phase of your life, it’s important to revisit and assess your estate plan. If you pass away without a valid will or other estate plan, your heirs could find themselves embroiled in a messy, expensive court battle to reclaim and divide your assets.
In some cases, you may only need a will to dispose of your assets in the way you’d like. Other situations may call for an irrevocable trust or some other multifaceted approach to managing your estate. Talking to an attorney and your financial professional can give you a better idea of the options available to you and where each different path may lead.
Important Disclosures:
The opinions voiced in this material are for general information only and are not intended to provide specific advice or recommendations for any individual security. To determine which investment(s) and options may be appropriate for you, consult your financial professional prior to investing or withdrawing.
This information is not intended to be a substitute for specific individualized tax or legal advice. We suggest that you discuss your specific situation with a qualified tax or legal advisor.
This article was prepared by WriterAccess.
LPL Tracking # 1-05337697.
