Above All Accounting, Inc - Clackamas

07/22/2026

Why is your housing budget buying so much less home today?

Rising costs mean a $2,500 monthly payment buys $133,000 less than it did just a few years ago.

https://www.google.com/search?q=https://www.wsj.com/economy/housing/home-ownership-costs-charts-7fe04eb3%3Fmod%3Dhp_lista_pos1

07/21/2026

𝗖𝗮𝗻 𝗜 𝗴𝗲𝘁 𝗮 𝘁𝗮𝘅 𝗯𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗸 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗮 𝗰𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗴𝗲 𝗰𝗹𝗮𝘀𝘀 𝗜 𝘁𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝘁𝗼 𝘂𝗽𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗱𝗲 𝗺𝘆 𝗷𝗼𝗯 𝘀𝗸𝗶𝗹𝗹𝘀?

You can use the Lifetime Learning Credit to lower your federal tax bill even if you aren't enrolled in a full degree program. This credit offsets 20% of your first $10,000 in qualified tuition and enrollment fees.

To max out the $2,000 cap, you can group your expenses into a single tax year. IRS rules state you can claim tuition paid now for an academic term that starts within the first three months of the following calendar year.

If you haven't hit the $10,000 qualified expense limit by mid-December, pay your upcoming Spring semester tuition before December 31st.

Prepaying your tuition keeps you from splitting expenses across two separate years and diluting your annual credit. Just make sure your course is hosted by an eligible institution that issues Form 1098-T.

𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘧𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘴𝘬𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘺𝘰𝘶'𝘳𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘶𝘱𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘴?

07/20/2026

𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗰𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗲𝘀 𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗻𝗼𝘄?

📊 Spreadsheet
📱 Budgeting app
🔔 Relying on bank alerts
🙈 "What budget?"

Drop the emoji below that matches your approach.

07/17/2026

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗜 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝗯𝗲𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝘀𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘂𝗽 𝗮𝗻 𝗜𝗥𝗦 𝗽𝗮𝘆𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗻?

Before you submit any payment plan request to the IRS, you need to read the fine print. Rushing into an agreement you cannot afford or do not fully understand creates long-term problems, like missed payments or defaulted agreements.

3 rules to understand before you move forward:
1. You must be current on your tax filings. The IRS rejects your payment plan request if you have unfiled tax returns from previous years.
2. Setup fees can vary. A short-term extension has no setup fee, whereas a long-term plan carries a user fee of up to $178.
3. Rejected proposals can give the IRS more time to collect later. Submitting a payment plan request pauses active levies, but it also pauses the IRS's 10-year deadline.

The goal is to choose a payment plan that you can actually keep, rather than just getting temporary protection. Ask yourself the following before agreeing to a plan:
𝘐𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘤𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘵?
𝘞𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘩𝘭𝘺 𝘱𝘢𝘺𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘧𝘪𝘵 𝘮𝘺 𝘣𝘶𝘥𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘴𝘪𝘹 𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘩𝘴 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘯𝘰𝘸?

07/16/2026

How Does the Lifetime Learning Credit Work for McMinnville Students, Parents, and Professionals?

How does the lifetime learning credit work? We’ll show you how to time tuition and lower MAGI to save up to $2,000 on your tax bill.

07/16/2026

If you're within 10 years of retirement, dialing your savings in is key. We can definitely help you with #4: https://www.schwab.com/learn/story/6-things-to-do-if-youre-nearing-retirement

07/16/2026

What If I Can't Pay The IRS What I Owe? Help for McMinnville Taxpayers

Panicking over what if I can't pay the IRS what I owe? See why a CP14 notice isn't an immediate levy and how to leverage the 10-year CSED clock.

07/15/2026

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗜𝗥𝗦 𝗿𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗲𝗳 𝗼𝗽𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗱𝗼 𝗜 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗶𝗳 𝗜 𝗰𝗮𝗻'𝘁 𝗽𝗮𝘆 𝗺𝘆 𝘁𝗮𝘅 𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗶𝗻 𝗳𝘂𝗹𝗹?

Just because you can't pay all of your taxes right now doesn't mean you can't do anything. You have three main paths to look at:

𝗦𝗵𝗼𝗿𝘁-𝗧𝗲𝗿𝗺 𝗘𝘅𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗼 𝗣𝗮𝘆
If you can pay the full balance within a few months, the IRS can give you up to 180 days to pay in full. There is no setup fee, though penalties and interest still accrue during that time.

𝗦𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗺𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲𝗱 𝗜𝗥𝗦 𝗜𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗔𝗴𝗿𝗲𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀
If you owe $50,000 or less in combined tax, penalties, and interest, the IRS approves payments over as long as 72 months without requiring detailed financial statements. An approved agreement drops the monthly Failure-to-Pay penalty from 0.5% to 0.25%, slowing the account's growth while you make payments.

𝗙𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁-𝗧𝗶𝗺𝗲 𝗜𝗥𝗦 𝗣𝗲𝗻𝗮𝗹𝘁𝘆 𝗔𝗯𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 (𝗙𝗧𝗔)
This administrative waiver depends on your compliance history. If you filed required returns, paid prior balances, and avoided penalties for the past three tax years, the IRS can remove penalties for one tax period. It doesn't erase the tax itself, but it reduces the total balance.

You don’t have to sort through the IRS collection process on your own.

DM us to schedule an appointment to look at your situation.

07/14/2026

𝗗𝗶𝗱 𝗮𝗻𝘆𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗲𝗹𝘀𝗲 𝗴𝗲𝘁 𝗮 𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝘄𝗿𝗼𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗮 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗺𝗼𝗻𝗲𝘆 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝘆𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗠𝗼𝗻𝗼𝗽𝗼𝗹𝘆 𝗮𝘀 𝗮 𝗸𝗶𝗱?

Turns out the actual rules of that game don't translate very well to real-life financial survival.

Wouldn't we all love to settle a major, overwhelming debt by just giving the bank a tiny deed to Baltic Avenue? Or pull a piece of cardboard out of your pocket to instantly get out of a financial jam?

Dealing with mounting debt takes a little more strategy than just rolling the dice. Real recovery is built on a clear, step-by-step resolution plan that tackles the numbers head-on.

You don't have to navigate financial stress alone. If you need a concrete plan to get back on track, send us a message today and let's fix this together.

07/13/2026

𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗱𝗼 𝗜 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗺𝗼𝗻𝗲𝘆 𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗺𝘆 𝗜𝗥𝗔?

Under current SECURE 2.0 laws, you must start taking Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs) at either age 73 (if born between 1951 and 1959) or 75 (if born in 1960 or later).

The IRS lets you delay your first distribution until April 1st of the following year.

But doing this forces your first two RMDs into the same calendar year, creating an artificial income spike that can push you into a higher tax bracket.

Unless you have a specific reason to delay, your next move would be to take that first distribution by December 31st of your initial eligibility year.

Don't let a simple timing error give your hard-earned savings right back to the government at the finish line.