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Can I Claim Moving Expenses on My Taxes?

You can claim a tax deduction for moving expenses as long as you meet several IRS requirements

Moving is a real pain in the butt, there’s no changing that. But a nice deduction from the IRS can take the sting out of it.

That’s right, you may be able to deduct the cost of packing and shipping your stuff as well as traveling and lodging (but not meals).

In order to claim these expenses, however, you must meet several IRS requirements that ensure your move was required for business. That’s right, not every move qualifies. You can only claim the deduction if you move to start a new job or seek work in a new city, and you can only deduct expenses that were not reimbursed by your employer.

In addition, you must pass two IRS tests: the distance test and the time test. Continue reading “Can I Claim Moving Expenses on My Taxes?”

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Amazon to Collect California Sales Tax

Starting September 15 Californians and Pennsylvanians will have to start paying sales tax on Amazon purchases

Listen up Amazon junkies. Starting September 15, Amazon purchases are about to get a whole lot more expensive for customers living in California and Pennsylvania. That’s because Amazon has agreed to start collecting sales tax for these two states.

This means that you better bulk up on online goods now if you want to save money.

For shoppers in these states, sales tax amounts to no inconsiderable sum. Californians pay somewhere in the neighborhood of 7.25% – 9.75% of sales tax on purchases. Pennsylvania residents, in contrast pay about 8% in sales tax.

One of Amazon’s great advantages over its brick and mortar competitors used to be its lack of sales tax, which made its goods considerably cheaper. It used to pay sales tax only in the states where it had a physical presence, such as a distribution warehouse. But over the last few years, the trend has been a new willingness on the part of Amazon to cut deals with states and start collecting sales tax. Continue reading “Amazon to Collect California Sales Tax”

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Business Travel Tax Deductions

Many of the expenses involved in a business trip are tax deductible

Those who have to do a lot of traveling for work will be relieved to know that you can deduct many of those expenses and thus significantly lower your tax bill.

What travel expenses can I claim?

According to the IRS, you can claim the “ordinary and necessary expenses of traveling away from home for your business, profession, or job.”

Be warned: the expenses cannot be “lavish or extravagant” in the eyes of the IRS. Obviously no personal expenses are deductible either. It might make sense to exclude questionable expenses from your return as they can increase the chance of you getting audited.

The travel expenses you can deduct include Continue reading “Business Travel Tax Deductions”