Taxes Archives - HBS Financial Group, Ltd.

10 Personal Money Management Concepts

10 Personal Money Management Concepts High Schools Should Teach

Personal money management topics are highly neglected in the school system and I believe this is something we all should be very concerned about. Our children grow up with virtually no concept of personal money management, the importance of money, or what to do with it when they have it.

It’s a mistake to rely only on parents to teach their children these things because many parents don’t practice good personal money management themselves. It’s a vicious cycle and it needs to be broken.

We all benefit from learning about the basic concepts View full post…

Posted: May 19, 2020
Under: Money Management
By: Gust Lenglet

Read More... Please comment

Online Tax Preparation Made Easy

Finally a Solution to Online Tax Preparation That Makes Sense

Now that you’ve decided to take advantage of the online tax preparation method of filing your income tax return, you need to select one of the tax vendors from the many listed in the search results.

You really need to select the one that will best supply your needs, and this will involve some research on your part. This guide may be of help to you as well. We’re assuming that you haven’t filed a tax return online before, so you may not be 100% certain on the services that you may need.

There are various factors to consider, as well as tax documents you need to have in hand before you start to look for an online tax filing service. Get all of your tax documents together such as W-2’s, 1099’s, and any other information that was sent to you.

If you’re not buying a home and don’t View full post…

Posted: May 5, 2020
Under: Income Tax
By: Gust Lenglet

Read More... Please comment

5 Free Tax Return Filing Tips

5 Free Tax Return Filing Tips to Simplify Filing Your Taxes

It’s a known and unfortunate fact that most individuals aren’t too efficient when it relates to tax return filing. We offer these free online tax preparation tips to help those who are disorganized and/or unprepared. Many are stressed out because they are not organized and it doesn’t have to be that way.

A checklist can be a big help in getting organized.

Making use of a good checklist will guide you in organizing all of the correct documents that you need. This one free tax return filing tip alone can make sure that you don’t miss any required details. Did we mention less stress? Getting your required documentation organized will allow you to View full post…

Posted: March 6, 2020
Under: Income Tax
By: Gust Lenglet

Read More... Please comment

How to File Your Taxes Online

How to File Your Taxes Online Faster with These Tips

There are many reasons to look for tax filing help, especially if you’re not sure how to file your taxes online. Many individuals feel that the tax laws are very complicated, and they’re simply not comfortable in filing their own tax returns.

For these individuals, tax filing help can come from a couple of sources. One option is going to a tax preparer and having him/her prepare your tax return. This may appear to be the easiest way out of your dilemma; however, the taxpayer is ultimately responsible for the return. Plus, the high fees can be a turn-off.

If the tax preparer isn’t competent, or makes an error or View full post…

Posted: February 26, 2020
Under: Income Tax
By: Gust Lenglet

Read More... Please comment

Stepped-Up Cost Basis Rule

Stepped-Up Cost Basis – Very Important Tax Benefit

Practically all married couples have their home and other assets titled jointly with a right of survivorship. What that means is that when one spouse passes away, their ownership of the home or other asset passes on to the surviving spouse. This triggers a tax benefit called stepped-up cost basis.

This arrangement works very well for married couples who have a modest estate and want all of their assets to pass on to the surviving spouse. In most situations, these assets will pass to the surviving spouse without any federal or state death taxes. Plus, there is no need to get involved with lengthy and complicated estate or probate procedures.

What often happens though, the surviving spouse and/or inexperienced executors overlook a very important tax benefit that the survivor is qualified for. Perhaps because the joint ownership rules are so simple, this fact doesn’t surface.

A home, for instance, may have been purchased by the couple at very low cost many years ago. Over the years, it may have increased in value substantially, and at the date of death of the first spouse, may View full post…

Posted: November 26, 2019
Under: Income Tax
By: Gust Lenglet

4 Simple Small Business Tips

Some Important Small Business Tips for an Annual Checkup

There are many challenges that an entrepreneur faces daily, and one of the major ones is improving cash flow. Practically every small business owner looks for ways to cut expenses and to collect money that is owed to them. Working capital is needed no matter if it happens to be in a slow period or a time of expansion. Here are a few small business tips for your annual checkup.

Getting all of your financial records together for your accountant to file your annual business tax return takes some time, but it will give you the information needed for a review. This is a good time to take stock of your business operations for the past year. You have what you need to make sure that it is operating as efficiently as it can.

Your accountant can be a big help in pointing out areas that need to be reviewed. If certain expenses appear to be out of line, he can steer you in that direction to see why. In conjunction with the preparation of the business tax returns, we offer the following small business tips that may help you increase your cash flow for the new year.

Review your business plan – You do have one, don’t you? Many View full post…

Posted: February 8, 2019
Under: Money Management
By: Gust Lenglet

Read More... Please comment

Lucrative Free Tax Filing Online

The Ultimate Guide to Free Tax Filing Online

Do you still take your tax records to a CPA or other tax professional for a simple return? Each year, millions of taxpayers are taking advantage of free tax filing online at one of the online tax filing firms.

Cost and convenience are the two major reasons for this change. Having a tax professional prepare even a simple return without itemizing, can cost several hundred dollars. Traveling to and from a tax professional can be very inconvenient as compared to doing your taxes online from the comfort of your home.

You’ve probably heard about the new tax law that goes into effect for 2018 tax returns. The primary change in this law raises the standard deduction to View full post…

Posted: January 18, 2019
Under: Income Tax
By: Gust Lenglet

Read More... Please comment

Do Your Taxes Online Fast & Accurately

How To Do Your Taxes Online In Minutes

Quite often it doesn’t make much sense to have a professional handle your taxes. There are many reasons why it makes more sense to do your taxes online yourself.

It all boils down to cost. When you consider the fees charged by professionals versus the small fees to file your taxes online, its a no-brainer. During the 2018 tax season, the average fee by a pro for a federal and state return using the standard deduction was $175.00.

Filing the same return using itemized deductions, the total fee was $275.00. Say you had a side gig and had to file a Schedule C, the total fees would be in the area of $450.00 and up. In some areas of the country where the cost of living may be higher, your total fees went well View full post…

Posted: December 18, 2018
Under: Income Tax
By: Gust Lenglet

The New Tax Law

The new tax law: What you need to know now

(BPT) – With the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 having been signed into law, here are some of the things you should be thinking about as tax season approaches, according to Robert Fishbein, vice president, and corporate counsel, Prudential Financial Inc.

2017 tax returns

The new tax law is generally effective starting in 2018, which means that your 2017 income tax return is largely unaffected. However, there may be actions you can take now to benefit from the change. For example, assuming you are eligible, you could fund a traditional IRA before the due date of your tax return; the income exclusion may be more valuable under higher 2017 tax rates.

Lower tax rates and new withholding

The hallmark of the new tax law is lower marginal View full post…

Posted: December 7, 2018
Under: Income Tax
By: BPT

Tax Reform and Baby Boomers

Tax Reform and Its Effect on Baby Boomers

The new Tax Cuts & Job Act (TCJA) has been a hot topic most of this year, both in social and financial circles. Tax reform will have different effects on many taxpayers in different situations.

Previous articles have discussed how millennials are affected by the TCJA tax reform, and now another group is in the spot light. Baby Boomers it’s now your turn.

To assist you in visualizing just how tax reform will affect various individuals in the baby boomer generation, we’ve provided a Tax Reform Calculator. Check out the different scenarios and create your own to give you an idea where you stand.

As you hear the drum roll in the background, we are about to reveal the parts of the TCJA that will mostly affect baby boomers.

The standard deduction has almost doubled
For each filing status, the new standard deduction has almost doubled. What this means is that many taxpayers who have been itemizing their deductions in the past on a Schedule A will have no need to do it on 2018 taxes.

View full post…

Posted: October 10, 2018
Under: Income Tax
By: Gust Lenglet

Tag: Taxes

10 Personal Money Management Concepts

10 Personal Money Management Concepts High Schools Should Teach

Online Tax Preparation Made Easy

Finally a Solution to Online Tax Preparation That Makes Sense

5 Free Tax Return Filing Tips

5 Free Tax Return Filing Tips to Simplify Filing Your Taxes

How to File Your Taxes Online

How to File Your Taxes Online Faster with These Tips

Stepped-Up Cost Basis Rule

Stepped-Up Cost Basis – Very Important Tax Benefit

4 Simple Small Business Tips

Some Important Small Business Tips for an Annual Checkup

Lucrative Free Tax Filing Online

The Ultimate Guide to Free Tax Filing Online

Do Your Taxes Online Fast & Accurately

How To Do Your Taxes Online In Minutes

The New Tax Law

The new tax law: What you need to know now

Tax Reform and Baby Boomers

Tax Reform and Its Effect on Baby Boomers

Fast & Easy Online Tax Filing

NATP Member

Recent Posts

Categories

Gust Lenglet, Platinum Author

Legal Disclosure