FILAM FINANCE

Nowadays, more people are starting a home based business. Is it still an IRS red flag? Not anymore but that does not mean that they are not going to audit you. To deduct home office, the taxpayer must prove that he/she uses the home are exclusively and on a regular basis either as:
1. A place […]

Whether you are doing taxes yourself or have a tax question, you can always contact the IRS if you have any tax issues. The website, www.irs.gov, is a very informative website. You can search different topics there or even download various publication or forms. You can also check the status of your refund or how […]

It is tax season and it is time to go back to my seasonal line of work (my part time job). Tax preparation is one job that is recession proof. Even if the economy is down, people still have to complete and submit their tax return.One of my associate actually took this job because she […]

It is April 15 again and here in the United States, it means the deadline for taxes for those individuals and businesses who are on a calendar tax year. It is actually 45 days from the end of your tax year. So if you are on a fiscal year and your tax year end is […]

Good news for a lot of taxpayers, the $168 billion economic stimulus package has been approved by Congress today. The stimulus is expected to provide the economy the financial help to avoid the most dreaded word: Recession.
Under the terms of the package, the single filers would receive a maximum of $600 rebate while the […]

I’m sure that you have seen those ads about getting your refunds fast in two to three days. Well, these are not really your refunds but a loan from a bank that charges you fees. Your anticipated refund is just a collateral. It should be noted that taxpayers can get their refunds in as little […]

For a change, IRS is giving us money by offering a tax refund on those “telephone excise tax.” If you’re wondering what is that telephone excise tax,  it is a tax that was created in 1898 to fund the Spanish-American War. After losing several lawsuits disputing the legitimacy of the tax, the IRS instituted a program […]

On my previous post, Can I deduct my gambling losses, I mentioned that gambling losses are only deductible up to the amount of the winnings and if you are itemizing your deductions on Schedule A. Also, you need to be able to substantiate your winnings and losses by keeping wagers, tickets, or any records just […]

Most people in the office create a pool of money to play the state lottery. In our office, we normally play when the jackpot prize is big. In January 2006, our group of 18 people won a decent prize by getting 5 out 6 numbers in the California Super Lotto. The number that we missed is the mega […]

On my previous post “Why buying a home is better than renting,” I mentioned that one of the advantages of owning a home is that homes build equity. Equity is the difference between the current value of the house and the amount owed. Overtime, houses appreciate in values while your home mortgage decreases as you […]