Your kids can be helpful at tax time. That doesn't mean they'll sort your tax receipts or refill your coffee, but those charming children may help you qualify for some valuable tax benefits. Here are 10 things to consider when filing taxes this year.
1. Dependents In most cases, a child can be claimed as a dependent in the year they were born. For more information see IRS Publication 501, Exemptions, Standard Deduction, and Filing Information.
2. Child Tax Credit You may be able to take this credit for each of your children under age 17. If you do not benefit from the full amount of the Child Tax Credit, you may be eligible for the Additional Child Tax Credit. For more information see IRS Publication 972, Child Tax Credit.
3. Child and Dependent Care Credit You may be able to claim this credit if you pay someone to care for your child or children under age 13 so that you can work or look for work. See IRS Publication 503, Child and Dependent Care Expenses.
4. Earned Income Tax Credit The EITC is a tax benefit for certain people who work and have earned income from wages, self-employment or farming. EITC reduces the amount of tax you owe and may also give you a refund. IRS Publication 596, Earned Income Credit, has more details.
5. Adoption Credit You may be able to take a tax credit for qualifying expenses paid to adopt an eligible child. If you claim the adoption credit, you must file a paper tax return with required adoption-related documents. For details, see the instructions for IRS Form 8839, Qualified Adoption Expenses.
6. Children with earned income If your child has income earned from working, they may be required to file a tax return. For more information, see IRS Publication 501.
7. Children with investment income Under certain circumstances a child’s investment income may be taxed at their parent’s tax rate. For more information, see IRS Publication 929, Tax Rules for Children and Dependents.
8. Higher education credits Education tax credits can help offset the costs of higher education. The American Opportunity and the Lifetime Learning Credits are education credits that can reduce your federal income tax dollar-for-dollar. See IRS Publication 970, Tax Benefits for Education, for details.
9. Student loan interest You may be able to deduct interest paid on a qualified student loan, even if you do not itemize your deductions. For more information, see IRS Publication 970.
10. Self-employed health insurance deduction If you were self-employed and paid for health insurance, you may be able to deduct any premiums you paid for coverage for any child of yours who was under age 27 at the end of the year, even if the child was not your dependent
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
Sunday, January 15, 2012
Cutting Through the Social Media Clutter
Leveraging the Power Without Losing Your Sanity
Presented by Lisa Wood, Sprout New Media
With the explosion of social media in the digital marketplace, we're faced with the overwhelming task of choosing the right tools to promote our businesses online. How are we supposed to keep up? How do we find the time? Join us for an interactive discussion designed to help you cut through the clutter and focus on what's important for you and your business.
We'll discuss the basics of today's popular tools and brainstorm ways you can use them to drive traffic to your website. You'll learn how to identify the tools that work for you so you can focus on those and ignore the rest.
Lisa Wood is a local small business owner with over 15 years experience marketing on the web. She started Sprout New Media (formerly Performance Web Solutions) in 2008 so she could help small businesses and entrepreneurs grow their businesses online. Services include web design & development, general web marketing consulting, social media coaching and WordPress training. Lisa lives in Stowe with her family, and you can find her at SproutNewMedia.com and on twitter as @lisawood.
Lamoille County Business Network, LLC
Tegu Hall, Morrisville
Friday, February 24, 2012 at 8am
To register: www.lamoillecountybusinessnetwork.com
Presented by Lisa Wood, Sprout New Media
With the explosion of social media in the digital marketplace, we're faced with the overwhelming task of choosing the right tools to promote our businesses online. How are we supposed to keep up? How do we find the time? Join us for an interactive discussion designed to help you cut through the clutter and focus on what's important for you and your business.
We'll discuss the basics of today's popular tools and brainstorm ways you can use them to drive traffic to your website. You'll learn how to identify the tools that work for you so you can focus on those and ignore the rest.
Lisa Wood is a local small business owner with over 15 years experience marketing on the web. She started Sprout New Media (formerly Performance Web Solutions) in 2008 so she could help small businesses and entrepreneurs grow their businesses online. Services include web design & development, general web marketing consulting, social media coaching and WordPress training. Lisa lives in Stowe with her family, and you can find her at SproutNewMedia.com and on twitter as @lisawood.
Lamoille County Business Network, LLC
Tegu Hall, Morrisville
Friday, February 24, 2012 at 8am
To register: www.lamoillecountybusinessnetwork.com
Make Marketing A Habit
Do you believe you don't have time for marketing? Feeling overwhelmed by all the different tools and things you "have to do"? Amy will share her method for adding new marketing techniques into her calendar on a regular basis. Find out how to spend less than an hour a day and make the most impact with the resources you have. By the end of a year, you will have a marketing habit that is part of your daily routine.
Amy Shollenberger has more than 13 years of grassroots organizing, policy, and political issue campaign experience, including work as a press secretary for a member of the U.S. House of Representatives and as a senior policy analyst for Public Citizen’s Critical Mass Energy and Environment Program. As Rural Vermont’s executive director, she worked to help members successfully lobby for several bills. In 2010, she was the campaign manager for a gubernatorial primary candidate in Vermont. She currently serves multiple clients through her Action Circles firm, offering help with political strategy, organizational capacity building, and meeting facilitation.
Amy is a member of Vermont Businesses for Social Responsibility, Women’s Business Owners Network, and the Vermont Consultants Network, and she serves on the board of Salvation Farms. More information about Amy and Action Circles can be found at www.action-circles.com.
Lamoille County Business Network, LLC
Friday, March 30, 2012 at 8:00am
Tegu Hall, Morrisville
Www.lamoillecountybusinessnetwork.com
Amy Shollenberger has more than 13 years of grassroots organizing, policy, and political issue campaign experience, including work as a press secretary for a member of the U.S. House of Representatives and as a senior policy analyst for Public Citizen’s Critical Mass Energy and Environment Program. As Rural Vermont’s executive director, she worked to help members successfully lobby for several bills. In 2010, she was the campaign manager for a gubernatorial primary candidate in Vermont. She currently serves multiple clients through her Action Circles firm, offering help with political strategy, organizational capacity building, and meeting facilitation.
Amy is a member of Vermont Businesses for Social Responsibility, Women’s Business Owners Network, and the Vermont Consultants Network, and she serves on the board of Salvation Farms. More information about Amy and Action Circles can be found at www.action-circles.com.
Lamoille County Business Network, LLC
Friday, March 30, 2012 at 8:00am
Tegu Hall, Morrisville
Www.lamoillecountybusinessnetwork.com
Saturday, January 14, 2012
Six Important Facts About Dependents and Exemptions
Even though each individual tax return is different, some tax rules affect every person who may have to file a federal income tax return. These rules include dependents and exemptions. The IRS has six important facts about dependents and exemptions that will help you file your 2011 tax return.
Exemptions reduce your taxable income. There are two types of exemptions: personal exemptions and exemptions for dependents. For each exemption you can deduct $3,700 on your 2011 tax return.
Your spouse is never considered your dependent. On a joint return, you may claim one exemption for yourself and one for your spouse. If you’re filing a separate return, you may claim the exemption for your spouse only if they had no gross income, are not filing a joint return, and were not the dependent of another taxpayer.
Exemptions for dependents. You generally can take an exemption for each of your dependents. A dependent is your qualifying child or qualifying relative. You must list the Social Security number of any dependent for whom you claim an exemption.
If someone else claims you as a dependent, you may still be required to file your own tax return. Whether you must file a return depends on several factors including the amount of your unearned, earned or gross income, your marital status and any special taxes you owe.
If you are a dependent, you may not claim an exemption. If someone else – such as your parent – claims you as a dependent, you may not claim your personal exemption on your own tax return.
Some people cannot be claimed as your dependent. Generally, you may not claim a married person as a dependent if they file a joint return with their spouse. Also, to claim someone as a dependent, that person must be a U.S. citizen, U.S. resident alien, U.S. national or resident of Canada or Mexico for some part of the year. There is an exception to this rule for certain adopted children. See IRS Publication 501, Exemptions, Standard Deduction, and Filing Information for additional tests to determine who can be claimed as a dependent.
For more information on exemptions, dependents and whether you or your dependent needs to file a tax return, see IRS Publication 501. The publication is available at www.irs.gov or can be ordered by calling 800-TAX-FORM (800-829-3676). You can also use the Interactive Tax Assistant at www.irs.gov to determine who you can claim as a dependent and how much you can deduct for each exemption you claim. The ITA tool is a tax law resource on the IRS website that takes you through a series of questions and provides you with responses to tax law questions.
Exemptions reduce your taxable income. There are two types of exemptions: personal exemptions and exemptions for dependents. For each exemption you can deduct $3,700 on your 2011 tax return.
Your spouse is never considered your dependent. On a joint return, you may claim one exemption for yourself and one for your spouse. If you’re filing a separate return, you may claim the exemption for your spouse only if they had no gross income, are not filing a joint return, and were not the dependent of another taxpayer.
Exemptions for dependents. You generally can take an exemption for each of your dependents. A dependent is your qualifying child or qualifying relative. You must list the Social Security number of any dependent for whom you claim an exemption.
If someone else claims you as a dependent, you may still be required to file your own tax return. Whether you must file a return depends on several factors including the amount of your unearned, earned or gross income, your marital status and any special taxes you owe.
If you are a dependent, you may not claim an exemption. If someone else – such as your parent – claims you as a dependent, you may not claim your personal exemption on your own tax return.
Some people cannot be claimed as your dependent. Generally, you may not claim a married person as a dependent if they file a joint return with their spouse. Also, to claim someone as a dependent, that person must be a U.S. citizen, U.S. resident alien, U.S. national or resident of Canada or Mexico for some part of the year. There is an exception to this rule for certain adopted children. See IRS Publication 501, Exemptions, Standard Deduction, and Filing Information for additional tests to determine who can be claimed as a dependent.
For more information on exemptions, dependents and whether you or your dependent needs to file a tax return, see IRS Publication 501. The publication is available at www.irs.gov or can be ordered by calling 800-TAX-FORM (800-829-3676). You can also use the Interactive Tax Assistant at www.irs.gov to determine who you can claim as a dependent and how much you can deduct for each exemption you claim. The ITA tool is a tax law resource on the IRS website that takes you through a series of questions and provides you with responses to tax law questions.
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