Whether people like to admit it or not, April 15 is a day that all too many Americans know in their heart to be ominous.
Yes, it is the day your taxes are due.
A day synonymous with money normally wouldn’t be so bad, but countless individuals end up saying goodbye to some of their income, shipping it off for state and/or federal tax liabilities.
With that in mind, did you make sure this tax season that you got each and every deduction possible?
Knowing When You Need Help
For many individuals, getting each and every deduction they are entitled to sometimes is made more difficult than is necessary.
They may question a possible deduction, not recorded the needed information during the prior year to receive that deduction, or forgot altogether to note the item. As a result, they miss out on fair and legitimate deductions.
So that you can make sure you’ve found and received all your necessary deductions for 2015, keep the following in mind:
- Home deductions – There are many deductions that can be made on your home, especially if you run a business out of your residence. Such deductions can include a portion of your home that you use as an office, Internet charges if you use your computer for work, your phone if part of your work requirements, mailings, home office supplies, and more. Homeowners that became new parents in this past year can get a new child credit, while both homeowners and renters can get deductions if they did work to the residence, especially if it involved a home-related business. With all the information available on the web, along with what a tax expert can provide you with, always look to find as many home deductions as possible;
- Road deductions – If you use your vehicle for work-related travel, then make sure you are recording each and every usage when warranted. Okay, driving your car on your lunch break to the mini-mart for a soda doesn’t exactly qualify as a worthy deduction. That said you can and should record mileage to and from meetings with clients, mileage if driving to conferences and other networking events, mileage to pick up supplies etc. If you travel for work via airplanes, make sure to record your income spent on airfare, hotel stays, rental cars and the like;
- Do I need help? – There may come a time (you might have already reached it) during your tax preparations that you will require help putting everything together. Even more importantly, there may arise that time when you need legal assistance to sort everything out regarding your returns. In such cases, finding a Rochester tax attorney (or one in your area) might prove necessary. Such attorneys (see more below) can help you in the event you are being audited and/or have other related tax disputes;
- Finding the best legal representation – In locating the best legal representation for your case or cases, be sure to take the time to vet each and every attorney you consider doing business with. Look at how long they have in fact been in business, what kind of success to failure ratio they have, what other consumers have had to say about their work and more. The latter can typically be found by not only asking family, friends, and co-workers who they have turned to in need of such assistance, but also by turning to social media. Yes, some comments on social sites such as Facebook, Twitter and others can be very personal. If someone had a bad experience with legal representation they may take to social networking to vent about it. Others, meantime, may also turn to social media in order to praise an attorney and his or her team for assisting them with a tax dispute. Read each and every post with a grain of salt, knowing you are the one that ultimately has to decide if an attorney you are considering is in your best financial interests.
Tax time can certainly be taxing.
In order for you to put yourself in the best possible situation to emerge with a refund or at least break even, make sure you know all your legal deductions.
Lastly, should you be involved in a tax dispute, finding the best attorney to represent you will give you a fighting chance to win your case.