In January 2006, when the 29-year old Blake MyCoskie vacationed in Argentina, he discovered the “alpargatas,” a canvas shoe worn by Argentine farmers. He also noticed the extreme poverty and lack of shoes (particularly for children). Inspired, he reminisced on this inspiration in a 2011 article for The Business Insider saying “….the intense pockets of… Read More
As the year draws to a close, here are a few last-minute tax tips… Read More
As a long-time tax preparer, I have learned that there is a special language sometimes used in dealing with the IRS. I call this language “Taxlish.” I am not encouraging the use of this language, because it can lead to problems in an IRS audit examination, but I have assembled a Lexicon that translates common… Read More
I recently wrote this letter to a client of mine who purchased a house and wanted to know what to deduct: Q: I bought a house – what do I deduct? A: “Dear Andrew… Congratulations on your home purchase. Your home mortgage interest and property taxes are tax-deductible so you are now going to be… Read More
Beating the computer and avoiding an IRS audit: (Read Part 1 Here) List a Conservative Occupation Right next to your signature you are requested to list your occupation. Some occupations attract conservative and law-abiding individuals, who help keep the DIF score low for everyone who lists that occupation on their 1040. From accountants, auditors, bank… Read More
The first defense against an IRS audit is to avoid them in the first place – and knowing how IRS audits are triggered in the first place can equip you to take steps to avoid them. The secret IRS program The IRS runs a top-secret computer program (the “discriminate income function” or DIF) that analyzes the millions of… Read More