Dr. Friday explains phase-out thresholds for tax credits like child tax credits, adoption credits, and education deductions. She highlights how marriage can impact eligibility.

Transcript:

G’day, I’m Dr. Friday, president of Dr. Friday’s Tax and Financial Firm. To get more info, go to www.drfriday.com. This is a one-minute moment.

Some things have what we call a phase-out. For example, the child tax credit—it starts at about $200,000 for a single person and about $400,000 for a married couple. Adoption credit? Pretty much $252,000 for a single, and guess what? The same exact number for a married couple. So there’s the marriage penalty for you. Interest on education? $80,000 for a single, $165,000 for a married couple. You get where I’m going here. In most cases, the limit doubles for married couples, but not always. Educational savings bonds? Again, another marriage penalty. You need to understand these dollar amounts—otherwise, you won’t be able to take the tax credit.

Need help? Call 615-367-0819. You can catch the Dr. Friday Call-In Show live every Saturday afternoon from 2 to 3 p.m. right here on 99.7 WTN.

Dr. Friday explains depreciation rules, including accelerated depreciation and recapture. She highlights mandatory depreciation for rental property owners.

Transcript:

G’day, I’m Dr. Friday, president of Dr. Friday’s Tax and Financial Firm. To get more info, go to www.drfriday.com. This is a one-minute moment.

Let’s think about depreciation, especially for business owners or renters. There are a lot of different things that can be depreciated. And the thing is, do you want to accelerate? We still have accelerated depreciation. You need to understand how that will affect you in the long run for recapture of depreciation. Also, keep in mind that you don’t have a choice with rental properties—you have to depreciate. It is not an “Oh, I might want to or not.” Tax law says it’s a mandate. So understanding what you have to do to stay in compliance, how you might be able to reduce it now for less recapture later—these are important things to know.

Understanding taxes is what I do, so call me if you need help. You can catch the Dr. Friday Call-In Show live every Saturday afternoon from 2 to 3 p.m. right here on 99.7 WTN.

Dr. Friday discusses how marriage can impact your taxes, including penalties on capital gains, child tax credits, and educational savings. She highlights why understanding these tax rules is important before making financial decisions.

Transcript:

G’day, I’m Dr. Friday, president of Dr. Friday’s Tax and Financial Firm. To get more info, go to www.drfriday.com. This is a one-minute moment.

Happy Valentine’s Day! And for some of you, maybe even an anniversary. That being said, let’s think a little bit about getting married and how the tax law doesn’t necessarily reward individuals who are married. There are a lot of marriage penalties. Look at capital gains—if I’m single, I have $200,000. If I’m married, I only get $250,000. Also, keep in mind child tax credits if your income is too high. So when you’re thinking about Valentine’s, your sweetheart, and being smart about your money, consider what kind of tax advantage it may be to stay single or file as head of household.

If you need help, call 615-367-0819. You can catch the Dr. Friday Call-In Show live every Saturday afternoon from 2 to 3 p.m. right here on 99.7 WTN.

Dr. Friday explains tax requirements for household employees, including the need to file a Schedule H and pay Social Security and Medicare taxes for workers earning over $2,700 per year.

Transcript:

G’day, I’m Dr. Friday, president of Dr. Friday’s Tax and Financial Firm. To get more info, go to www.drfriday.com. This is a one-minute moment.

Domestic helpers. Now, a lot of times people think that, well, they don’t really have to do much. Someone comes to my house, I’ll give them a 1099 at the end of the year and make a payment. But keep in mind, if you’re paying somebody basically as an employee and it’s over $2,700 per year, they really do need to file a Schedule H. Schedule H is where you report your household employees. You actually need to pay their Social Security and Medicare, just like an employer would. It’s important to understand—just because someone is working in your house, that’s still a job for them, and therefore, they are still your employee.

If you don’t understand that or need help, give us a call at 615-367-0819. You can catch the Dr. Friday Call-In Show live every Saturday afternoon from 2 to 3 p.m. right here on 99.7 WTN.

Dr. Friday clarifies that estimated tax payments are not optional but required to avoid penalties. She explains how failure to pay on time results in monthly penalties from the IRS.

Transcript:

G’day, I’m Dr. Friday, president of Dr. Friday’s Tax and Financial Firm. To get more info, go to www.drfriday.com. This is a one-minute moment.

Let’s talk about estimated tax payments. So often people come in and think it’s some sort of voluntary thing that all of us are doing—as if we would voluntarily want to pay money before we had to pay it! That’s not the case. We don’t want to pay penalties. There is an exact penalty for failure to make estimated tax payments. So you make a choice: You can pay 0.5% every month that you forget to do it or choose not to, or you can pay it on time. I kind of like to get the IRS out of my bank as soon as possible, so I make my payments. But people make that choice. Just understand there’s a penalty for not doing it.

Need help? Call 615-367-0819. You can catch the Dr. Friday Call-In Show live every Saturday afternoon from 2 to 3 p.m. right here on 99.7 WTN.

Dr. Friday reminds taxpayers enrolled in the health care marketplace to obtain their 1095-A form. She also discusses the importance of the IRS-issued IPN number for certain individuals.

Transcript:

G’day, I’m Dr. Friday, president of Dr. Friday’s Tax and Financial Firm. To get more info, go to www.drfriday.com. This is a one-minute moment.

If you still participate in the health care marketplace, do not forget to get the 1095-A form—that is necessary for us to prepare your taxes. We so often have individuals that forget two major things. One, the 1095-A from the marketplace because you don’t really think about it since you have an insurance card or whatever, and it’s there. The other is the IPN number that the government will give to individuals who are already listed at risk. If you don’t have those, we can’t file your taxes, and they will be wrong.

You need help? Give us a call at 615-367-0819. You can catch the Dr. Friday Call-In Show live every Saturday afternoon from 2 to 3 p.m. right here on 99.7 WTN.

Dr. Friday explains the benefits of 529 savings plans, including the ability to contribute five years’ worth of gifting at once. She highlights how these funds can grow tax-free for future educational expenses.

Transcript:

G’day, I’m Dr. Friday, president of Dr. Friday’s Tax and Financial Firm. To get more info, go to www.drfriday.com. This is a one-minute moment.

A 529 plan. That is something that I find is great if you happen to have a fairly big family or some very nice grandparents. One of the laws that they’ve passed is that you can actually give up to five years’ worth of gifting into a 529 in one year. So, for example, if it’s $17,000—this year’s actually $18,000—but let’s say they want to give five years’ worth or $85,000. They could do it all at once, not worry about the gifting laws, and put it into that 529 to grow for later, for where your children are going to go to school. Very important. These funds can even be used for secondary or even preschool if necessary.

You can catch the Dr. Friday Call-In Show live every Saturday afternoon from 2 to 3 p.m. right here on 99.7 WTN.

Dr. Friday explains various education-related tax benefits, including student loan interest deductions, employee tuition assistance, and tax-free scholarships. She highlights income limits and how 529 plans can help families save for education.

Transcript:

G’day, I’m Dr. Friday, president of Dr. Friday’s Tax and Financial Firm. To get more info, go to www.drfriday.com. This is a one-minute moment.

Educational-related tax benefits. Let’s talk about student loan interest. If you make less than $90,000 as an individual, less than $185,000, you will be able to take up to $2,500 of interest. Employee tuition assistance—$5,200 is tax-deferred. If you have scholarships, some of that can be non-taxable and some can be used for tuition and fees. Make sure you’re maximizing these benefits, especially if you have kids in college. It’s expensive! So if you need help understanding what you can deduct and how a 529 plan can help, give us a call at 615-367-0819.

You can catch the Dr. Friday Call-In Show live every Saturday afternoon from 2 to 3 p.m. right here on 99.7 WTN.

Dr. Friday explains what qualifies as a legitimate business expense and highlights common misconceptions. She warns against claiming personal trips as business expenses without proper justification, as the IRS scrutinizes such deductions.

Transcript:

Business expenses. What really is a business expense? Probably the biggest thing that people think about for a trade or business is something that it takes for you to actually do your business. So I have sometimes people that will say they’re real estate agents, and then they say that they’ve taken four trips to other states or other countries to possibly look at real estate, but yet they don’t actually own or have even licenses in those states. Keep in mind, the government isn’t quite that gullible, right? So make sure that it’s a necessary expense, not just something you want to take as a family vacation.

You need help? Give us a call at 615-367-0819.

You can catch the Dr. Friday Call-In Show live every Saturday afternoon from 2 to 3 p.m. right here on 99.7 WTN.

In this episode, Dr. Friday breaks down what counts as taxable income and clears up common misconceptions. She emphasizes the importance of reporting all income sources, including business earnings, rental income, interest, royalties, dividends, and alimony (if applicable under pre-2019 rules). Dr. Friday also warns against misinterpreting new tax laws regarding alimony.

G’day, I’m Dr. Friday, president of Dr. Friday’s Tax and Financial Firm. To get more info, go to www.drfriday.com. This is a one-minute moment.

What is income? I mean, what do we really have to report? What can we just say, “Ah, that’s not really income, so Uncle Sam does not need to know about it?” One would be, of course, the simple things—gross income from your business or W-2s. How about rental income, interest, royalties, dividends, and alimony if it happened before 2019?

I’ve had a number of people come in after hearing that alimony is no longer taxable, so they stopped reporting it—even though they’ve been divorced for 20 years. This is a new law that only affects recent cases, so make sure you’re reporting all your income.

If you need help, go to drfriday.com.

You can catch the Dr. Friday Call-In Show live every Saturday afternoon from 2 to 3 p.m. right here on 99.7 WTN.