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A Tax Savings Guide to the Holidays: Charitable Contributions

Get into the holiday spirit with gifts to charities and you could be gifting yourself a tax deduction

These days the holidays tend to involve lots of buying stuff, partying, and hectic travel. Don’t get me wrong, these activities can all net you some pretty valuable tax deductions as long as they’re done according to IRS rules.

But you can also get a tax deduction by getting into the more traditional spirit of the season, the spirit of giving.

Not only does giving to charity fit in well with the spirit of the holidays, but December also conveniently falls at the end of the year. That means that you can pretty accurately look ahead to tax season and plan your charitable giving (and by extension your deductions) so that you get the biggest possible tax benefit. You may even be able to give enough to charity so that you get bumped to a lower tax bracket.

But in order to get a deduction you have to make your donations to a group recognized by the IRS as a charitable organization. These groups must be nonprofits of a religious, charitable, educational, scientific, or literary nature or they must be involved in preventing cruelty to animals or children. Continue reading “A Tax Savings Guide to the Holidays: Charitable Contributions”

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A Tax Savings Guide to the Holidays: Tax Deductible Business Party

You can save tax money by throwing a holiday party – but make sure it’s business-related

In parts one and two of our guide to saving on taxes during the holidays, we talked about scheduling a business meeting on the way to visit relatives and deducting part of your travel expenses as well as putting a tax deductible gift to yourself under the tree.

Another great idea for saving tax money during the holidays is to throw a tax deductible holiday party for your employees or customers.

Not only is throwing a party a great way to get into the holiday spirit, it can boost employee morale and make your customers/clients happy.

But it’s not all fun and games. Your party must be directly related to your business in order for you to deduct it. Essentially what this means is you can’t go too crazy. The IRS will disallow anything it considers lavish or extravagant as well as anything that isn’t directly related to your business. Continue reading “A Tax Savings Guide to the Holidays: Tax Deductible Business Party”

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A Tax Savings Guide to the Holidays: Tax Deductible Gifts

Ask Santa to slip a tax deductible gift under the tree and you might not have to fork as much over to Uncle Sam come tax season

Looking for more ways to save on taxes during the holiday season? Why not slip a tax deductible gift under the tree?

You could save a few tax dollars by giving yourself a tax deductible gift for Christmas or Hanukkah – or having your spouse gift it to you. Think a tax deductible gift would be boring? Think again!

Many of the most desirable tech gadgets out there might qualify as tax deductible including, computers, tablets, smartphones, Kindles, cameras, video cameras, and GPS’s, as long as you use them for business.

You can also deduct the cost of self-education, so long as it maintains or improves the skills demanded by your current job, including books, subscriptions to relevant publications, and tuition for a course. Continue reading “A Tax Savings Guide to the Holidays: Tax Deductible Gifts”