Blog | WM. F. Horne & Company, PLLC

Article Highlights:

• Purpose of Qualified Tuition Plans
• Gift Tax Implications
• Special Five-Year Election
• Change of Beneficiary
• Eligible Expenses
• Direct Payment of Tuition

Qualified tuition plans (QTPs) provide a means for family members and others to save for the future educational needs of children. Investment earnings within a QTP account are tax deferred and not taxable when withdrawn if used to pay qualified tuition and certain other expenses.

Each individual’s contribution to a QTP (also sometimes referred to as…

Article Highlights: 

• Child Age Limits
• Employment-Related Expense
• Married Taxpayer Earnings Limits
• Disabled or Full-Time-Student Spouse
• Expense Limits

Summer has just arrived, and there is a tax break that working parents should know about. Many working parents must arrange for care of their children under 13 years of age (or any age if disabled) during the school vacation period. A popular solution — with a tax benefit — is a day camp program. The cost…

June 2019 Individual Due Dates

June 10 – Report Tips to Employer

If you are an employee who works for tips and received more than $20 in tips during May, you are required to report them to your employer on IRS Form 4070 no later than June 10. Your employer is required to withhold FICA taxes and income tax withholding for these tips from your regular wages. If your regular wages…

Article Highlights: 

• Family Court
• Division of Property
• Spousal Buyout Debt
• Filing Status
• Joint and Several Liability
• Claiming the Children as Dependents
• Head of Household Filing Status
• Higher Education Tuition Credits
• Child Care Credit
• Child Tax Credit
• Earned Income Tax Credit
• Alimony
• Child Support
• Conflict of Interest

Divorce is a traumatic event in anyone’s life, and the tax aspects are frequently overlooked, which can add to the distress. The following is an overview of many of the commonly encountered tax issues associated with divorce.

Article Highlights: 

• ID Theft
• What’s in Your Wallet or Purse
• Phony E-mail
• Pop-up Ads
• Only Access Secure Websites
• Avoid Phishing Scams
• Security Software
• Educate Children
• Passwords
• Phony Charities
• Impersonating the IRS
• Back Up Files
• If It Is Too Good to Be True

As much as the Internet has changed our lives for the good, it has also opened us up to threats from crooks from all over the world. They are smart and always coming up with a new trick to separate you…

Article Highlights:

• Service Member Residence or Domicile
• Service Member Spouse’s Residence or Domicile
• Non-Taxable Allowances
• Combat Zone Exclusion
• Home Mortgage Interest Deduction
• Home Property Tax Deduction
• Home Sale Gain Exclusion
• Moving Deduction
• Death Gratuity Payments
• Child Credit
• Earned Income Tax Credit
• IRA Contributions
• Reservist’s Travel Expenses
• Qualified Reservist’s Pension Withdrawals
• Retired Military Disability Compensation

Military members benefit from a variety of special tax benefits. These include certain non-taxable allowances, non-taxable combat pay, and a variety of other special tax provisions. Here is a rundown on…

Article Highlights: 

• Refundable vs. Nonrefundable Credits
• Home Solar Credit
• Solar-Power Tax Credit Phaseout
• Is Solar Worth the Expense?
• Homeowner vs. Home Resident
• Solar Additions
• Leased Solar Systems
• Plug-in Electric Vehicles
• Multiple Vehicle Purchases
• Personal Tax Credits
• General Business Credits

Congress uses tax deductions and tax credits to influence taxpayers’ actions. For instance, it seeks to stimulate taxpayers to reduce their energy consumption and moving away from the use of fossil fuels. In this article, we explore the benefits and drawbacks of…

Generally speaking, tax return mistakes are a lot more common than you probably realize. Taxes are naturally complicated, and the paperwork required to file them properly is often convoluted. This is especially true if you’re filing your taxes yourself — and all of this is in reference to a fairly normal year as far as the IRS is concerned.

The 2018 tax year, however, certainly does not qualify as a…

Article Highlights:

• Reasons to Keep Records
• Statute of Limitations
• Maintaining Record of Asset Basis

If you are a neat-nick and your tax return for last year has been completed and filed, you are probably thinking about getting rid of the tax records related to that return. On the other hand, if you are afraid to dump old records, you are probably looking for a box to put them in so you can…