The Internal Revenue Service has issued the 2017 optional standard mileage rates to calculate the deductible costs of operating an automobile for business, charitable, medical or moving purposes. 

If you make a donation to a charity this year, you may be able to take a deduction for it on your tax return. Here are the top ten things the IRS wants every taxpayer to know before deducting charitable donations:

 Protect Your Ability to Exclude the Gain on the Sale of Your Home

So through some miracle, you ended up with enough healthy players at the end of your season to triumph in your fantasy football championship.  Although you may still be riding that high, like yours truly, it’s good to know how this may or may not affect your tax return for this year.  With fantasy football becoming ever more popular year after year, it’s becoming a larger target to the IRS.

As summer winds down, many parents are now facing the reality of what their summer child care costs actually totaled. Surprisingly, it is quite significant. When registering little Timmy for day camp back in the spring, the $250 early-bird fee seemed so insignificant. In addition to the weekly cost of camp, there were a variety of incidental costs, such as concession stand monies, field trip fees, souvenir dollars and three replacement swim goggles that contributed to a very shocking bottom line. 

Each year, many people get a larger refund than they expect. Some find they owe a lot more tax than they thought they would. If this has happened to you, review your situation to prevent a tax surprise. Did you marry? Have a child? Change in income? Life events can have a major impact on your taxes. Bring the taxes you pay closer to the amount you owe. Here are some tips to help you come up with a plan:

Recently, pop star Iggy Azalea discovered (the hard way) that even though you might an iconic pop star, you still have to pay your fair share of taxes on earnings.

With school just a few weeks away, many parents are in the thick of back-to-school shopping. The thought of spending countless hours in the stores and comparing sale prices online to save on pencils, paper, book bags and school clothes can be daunting.

Fortunately, the State of Ohio has renewed legislation allowing for a second sales tax holiday, August 5 – 7, 2016.  This sales tax holiday only applies to certain types of goods purchased from 12:01 am August 5^th through 11:59 pm August 7^th. 

So you’ve finally had enough of the hype and are determined to score a pair of tickets to see “Hamilton” for Lin-Manuel Miranda’s final performance as the lead.  Tickets selling through ticket brokering sites are going for outrageous prices, and you’re a bit short on cash.  Should you embark on a personal revolution and loot your retirement accounts to go?

In a recent article, we addressed the exceptions to the early withdrawal penalty on IRA distributions taken prior to an individual reaching age 59 1/2.  In such a case, the IRA distribution would still be subject to federal income tax and, potentially, state income tax, and would result in permanently removing those assets from the IRA, having a negative impact on the availability of future retirement income. 

So, if you need a quick cash infusion and do not want to suffer the income tax ramification of an IRA distribution, what can you do?  One option would be to take a loan from your retirement account.  While an advisor may not typically recommend that an account owner borrow from their retirement account, a loan from one’s retirement can have both benefits and costs, as discussed below: