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Rudy Raborn CPA LLC, 1300 Willis Street, Batesburg, SC (2026)

08/18/2025

Workplace Educational Assistance Programs and Student Loans

The IRS recently issued a reminder that employers may continue to use workplace educational assistance programs to help employees repay student loans through December 31, 2025. In general, employers may provide up to $5,250 of assistance per year to employees for qualifying education expenses, without those funds counting as taxable wages. In other words, employees may exclude the assistance from their reported gross income.

Traditionally, workplace educational assistance programs only cover current education expenses, such as tuition, books, and certain other required fees and course materials. However, a temporary provision currently in effect allows the programs to also cover repayment of qualifying student loans. This special provision will expire at the end of 2025, so those who wish to use tax-free educational assistance to repay loans should do so before January 1.

08/11/2025

One Big Beautiful Bill Act Creates New Tax Deductions – Did You Know? (3/3)

As a result of Congress enacting the 2025 One Big Beautiful Bill Act, many people will have the opportunity to claim new tax deductions over the next several years. These deductions will be available both to those who itemize deductions and those who use a standard deduction. One of the new deductions is offered exclusively to seniors, while another relates to interest on auto loans.

For tax years 2025 through 2028, eligible people of age 65 or older may claim a general deduction of up to $6,000 per year (up to $12,000 for joint filers). Note that you may claim this new deduction in addition to the enhanced standard deduction already available to seniors. However, seniors with modified adjusted gross incomes (MAGIs) above $75,000 (or $150,000 for joint filers) may not qualify for the deduction, or may receive a reduced deduction amount.

The car loan interest deduction will apply to auto loans initiated after December 31, 2024, along with certain auto loans refinanced after that date. In order to qualify for the deduction, the loan must be used to finance the purchase of a qualifying new (not used) vehicle. The maximum deduction amount is $10,000 per year, with the deduction phasing out for people with MAGIs above $100,000 (or $200,000 for joint filers).

The IRS will provide additional guidance on these deductions later this fall.

08/04/2025

One Big Beautiful Bill Act Creates New Tax Deductions – Did You Know? (2/3)

As a result of Congress enacting the 2025 One Big Beautiful Bill Act, many people will have the opportunity to claim new tax deductions over the next several years. These deductions will be available both to those who itemize deductions and those who use a standard deduction.

One of the new deductions relates to bonus pay that employees may receive for working overtime. In general, eligible employees may deduct overtime pay that exceeds their normal pay rate. For example, if employees ordinarily get paid $20/hour, but a $30/hour rate applies to their overtime work ("time and a half"), then up to $10/hour of their overtime earnings will be deductible. The maximum deduction amount will be $12,500 per year, or $25,000 for joint filers.

People with modified adjusted gross incomes (MAGIs) above $150,000 (or $300,000 for joint filers) may not qualify for this deduction, or may receive a reduced deduction amount. To be eligible for this special deduction, overtime pay must be reported by an employer on an official IRS document like Form W-2. The IRS will provide additional guidance on this deduction, including special transitional rules for 2025, later this fall.

07/28/2025

One Big Beautiful Bill Act Creates New Tax Deductions – Did You Know? (1/3)

As a result of Congress enacting the 2025 One Big Beautiful Bill Act, many people will have the opportunity to claim new tax deductions over the next several years. These deductions will be available both to those who itemize deductions and those who use a standard deduction.

One of the new deductions is for qualified tip income received in occupations where tipping is customary. The maximum deduction amount will be $25,000 per year, with a lower limit potentially applying for those who receive tips in the context of self-employment. People with modified adjusted gross incomes (MAGIs) above $150,000 (or $300,000 for joint filers) may not qualify for the deduction, or may receive a reduced deduction amount.

The IRS will release a detailed list of occupations that may be eligible for this new deduction sometime this fall. Only tips reported on an official tax document like Form W-2, 1099 or 4137 will qualify for the deduction. Therefore, tipped employees should continue submitting required monthly tip reports to their employers.

07/21/2025

Receiving Online Payments - Did You Know?

If you are self-employed and receive payments through online payment processing platforms, take care to separate business and personal transactions. You can do this by setting up separate business accounts on the platforms, or by using features that allow you to specify the purpose of payments. Otherwise, the platforms may overreport your income.

07/14/2025

IRS Impersonation Scams - Did You Know?

The IRS recently issued new warnings about ongoing IRS impersonation scams designed to steal people's money, identities or both. The first thing to know about these scams is that the IRS almost always initiates contact with a person by sending a letter through the mail on official letterhead. If you receive an IRS letter and have created an IRS online account, you can log in to your account to check whether the letter is authentic. Otherwise, if you have doubts about a letter you receive, call the IRS at 800-829-1040 for more information.

The IRS does not initiate contact through email or social media messages, and only sends text messages with the recipient's permission, for instance because the person signed up for notifications. If you receive a message supposedly from the IRS promoting mysterious stimulus payments or tax credits, it is almost certainly a scam. Delete the message and do not click any links, as the links typically lead to fake IRS websites created to steal people's tax refunds or personal information.

Finally, when reaching out by phone, IRS employees do not leave aggressive messages threatening people with arrest. They also never demand payment in a specific format, such as prepaid gift cards. If you are unsure about the legitimacy of a phone call supposedly from the IRS, hang up and call an official IRS customer service number for more information.

07/07/2025

Flexible Spending Arrangements (FSAs) - Did You Know?

Considering a job change? Before leaving your current position, check the account balances in your flexible spending arrangements (FSAs). You generally cannot transfer an FSA to a different workplace, so you will want to use up those funds to avoid forfeiting them to your employer.

06/30/2025

Employer Childcare Tax Credit – Did You Know?

Businesses that provide childcare services for employees may be eligible to claim a tax credit for some of the expenses involved. The Employer-Provided Childcare Tax Credit is offered to organizations that maintain on-site childcare facilities for employees, or provide resource and referral services like contracting with a qualified childcare facility.

To qualify for the Childcare Tax Credit, a business must incur expenses to provide childcare services for employees. The standard credit amount is 25% of costs associated with maintaining a childcare facility, or 10% of resource and referral costs, up to a maximum of $150,000. Eligible businesses may claim the credit as part of their general business credit, and so may carry any unused credit amount back one year, or forward up to 20 years. A business tax professional can help you structure the childcare services your enterprise provides for employees to meet the requirements for this business tax credit.

06/25/2025

Workplace Health Benefits - Did You Know?

If you set aside pre-tax dollars for medical expenses through a workplace benefits program, pay careful attention to whether the plan is a flexible spending arrangement (FSA) or health savings account (HSA). Generally, you must use up an FSA balance each year or risk losing it. This restriction does not apply to HSAs. Rules may vary slightly depending on your employer's plan options.

06/16/2025

Summer Tax Planning Reminders – Did You Know?

A variety of summer activities have the potential to generate taxable income, or to help you qualify for tax benefits. For example, if you engage in part-time, seasonal or gig economy work during the summer, then you may need to adjust your tax withholding or make estimated tax payments to account for the extra income. If your children work during the summer, they may need to file a tax return next spring to claim any IRS refunds they have coming.

Self-employed people who travel for business purposes may generally deduct travel expenses to reduce their taxable income. However, if a summer trip involves both business and personal activities, you must take care to only deduct expenditures that serve a clear, legitimate business purpose.

Finally, if you make improvements to your home this summer, then you may qualify for home energy tax credits. A variety of credits exist for projects that improve energy efficiency, or involve generating or using renewable energy like wind or solar power. You must carefully document all eligible expenses in order to claim these credits. Also note that the rules for energy credits may change after this year, so this summer might be the ideal time to complete a project. A tax professional can help you analyze the potential tax impacts of all your summer endeavors.

06/09/2025

Overseas Tax Filing & Quarterly Installment Deadlines

If you are a U.S Citizen or Green Card Holder living abroad and have not filed your taxes yet, the deadline is coming up on Monday, June 16th, 2025.

If you are making quarterly estimated tax payments to the IRS, the due date for the April 1 – May 31 quarter of the year is also June 16th.

For payments made using IRS Direct Pay, you can make payments until 11:45PM EST, and for payments using a credit or debit card, payments can be made up to midnight on the due date.

06/02/2025

Summer Day Camp Expenses – Did You Know?

Parents who paid for their children under the age of 13 to attend summer day camps may qualify to claim the Child and Dependent Care Credit on their tax returns. This credit provides assistance for parents who pay care expenses for a qualifying child so that they can work or seek work. You may also be able to claim the credit for day camp or other care costs for a dependent age 13 or older with a permanent disability. Note that expenses associated with sending children to overnight summer camps generally do NOT qualify for this credit.

To qualify for the Child and Dependent Care Credit, you must have earned income, and your adjusted gross income (AGI) must not exceed limits set by the IRS. Typically, the credit covers 20-35% of qualifying day camp or other childcare expenses, up to a maximum of $3,000 for one child or $6,000 for two or more children.

When claiming the Child and Dependent Care Credit, you generally must provide the name and taxpayer identification number (TIN) of the day camp or care provider on your tax return. In most cases, married taxpayers must file a joint return in order to get the credit, although exceptions exist for cases where spouses live apart. A tax professional can help you determine whether your summer day camp or other childcare expenses qualify for this valuable credit, and if so, help you maximize your credit amount.

Rudy Raborn CPA LLC

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