A Novel Way to Make COVID-19 Relief Donations
On March 13, 2020 the President issued an emergency disaster declaration under the Stafford Act as a result of the coronavirus disease pandemic. The disaster area covers all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and five U.S. Territories. As a result, and as was done in the past in the wake of major disasters, including Hurricanes Katrina, Sandy, Harvey and Maria, the IRS is providing special relief that allows employees to donate their unused paid vacation, sick leave, and personal leave time to COVID-19 relief efforts.
Here is how it works: if your employer is participating, you can relinquish any unused and paid vacation time, sick leave and personal leave for cash payments which your employer will donate to COVID-19 relief charitable organizations. The cash payment will not be treated as wages to you and your employer can deduct the amount donated as a business expense. However, since the income isn’t taxable to you, you will not be allowed to claim the donation as a charitable deduction on your tax return. Even so, excluding income is often worth more as tax savings than a potential tax deduction, especially if you generally claim the standard deduction* or you are subject to AGI-based limitations.
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Taxpayers with disabilities may qualify for a number of tax credits and other tax benefits. Parents of children with disabilities may also qualify. Listed below are several tax credits and other benefits that are available if you or someone else listed on your federal tax return is disabled.
Prior to the passage of tax reform, individuals who moved as the result of a job change or job relocation could deduct their unreimbursed moving expenses if the driving distance from their home to the new job location was at least 50 miles more than the driving distance from home to the old job location. There was also a requirement that the individual work in the new location for a specified minimum period of time after the move.
A commonly overlooked requirement of taking a tax deduction for donating clothing and household goods to charity is the substantiation requirement, for both what is donated and the value placed on the donation. Because the IRS has encountered so much abuse in this area, it has increased the donation verification requirements over the years, and taxpayers risk losing the deduction if their donations are not correctly documented and reasonably valued.
An often asked question is: are meals and entertainment deductible in the course of one’s business, and if so, under what circumstances? This type of expense requires you to comply with some pretty complicated qualifications, and if you can jump through the hoops, the expenses may be deductible in certain cases.
Military service members have special obligations and take risks while performing their service to our country, which impact their tax situation. As a result, they are entitled to a number of special tax breaks. Included in this article are the predominant tax breaks available to military personnel.
Parents who work or are looking for work must arrange for care of their children during working hours or while looking for work. If this describes your situation, and your children requiring care are under 13 years of age, you may qualify for a child care tax credit.
The only interest that is still deductible as an itemized deduction is home mortgage interest and investment interest. If you are like so many others with large consumer debt, such as credit cards and car payments, you are paying high interest rates that are not deductible. If the amount of consumer interest you pay each year is substantial and you itemize your deductions, you may want to consider converting that nondeductible interest into tax-deductible interest by paying off the consumer debt with a home equity line of credit. Generally, current law allows individual taxpayers to borrow up to $100,000 of home equity and deduct the interest on that loan as home mortgage interest. This would also apply to planned large consumer purchases, such as a car or motor home. Using a home equity line to purchase these items will make the interest deductible.
If you are an adoptive parent or are planning to adopt a child, you may qualify for a substantial income-tax credit. The amount of the credit is based on any expenses incurred that are directly related to the adoption of a child under the age of 18 or a person who is physically or mentally incapable of self-care.
