Fix My Finances
Helping You Get “Back In The Black”

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is helping unemployed workers out a bit.  While all unemployment compensation received in 2008 is taxable, the first $2,400 in unemployment that each taxpayer receives is not subject to federal taxes.  If both spouses are unemployed, each spouse can deduct the first $2,400 of unemployment compensation they received during the [...]

With the value of properties dropping over the last couple of years many people have been forced to sell their homes for less than they owe on the property.  When this happens, the bank can require that the people who owe the mortgage still owe the outstanding balance or it can forgive the outstanding amount, [...]

Did you make less  than $49,000 last year?  Are you 60 years or older?  If so, you qualify for free income tax preparation from the Internal Revenue Service. VITA and TCE are two programs implemented by the Internal Revenue Service to help low income and elderly taxpayers file their income taxes for free.  There are [...]

Tax time is quickly approaching.  While many people dread this time of year, it isn’t that scary if you know what you are doing.  One way to make tax time less scary is to prepare your taxes with software.  There are plenty of great softwares available that will walk you through the steps to prepare [...]

Money is tight for everyone now, but this is especially true for small businesses.  Because of the economy, banks are not lending or make it extremely difficult to get a loan.  In order to succeed, small businesses need to find ways to stretch their dollars.  Check out these great ways to make your dollar stretch [...]

Tax time is rolling around again so what can you do now to ensure a less painful tax preparation this year?  The easiest thing to do is keep a record of your transactions.  Sounds easy but we all forget to save those receipts or print out those statements. What records and receipts should you be [...]

The Internal Revenue Service issued a decision this week that casual gamblers recognize wins or losses when they redeem their tokens.  This means that if you go gambling for the weekend and have a win on the first day and then lose money on the second day, each time you cash in your tokens is [...]

Everyone hates paying taxes.  We all accept it as inevitable but look for ways to reduce our tax liability.  Luckily for us, the IRS offers incentives in the form of tax deductions.  Some common deductions include charitable contributions, interest on your home mortgage, and interest on your student loans.  While you may have no control [...]

Understanding finances and how to keep track of your finances can make or break your business.  Keeping track of your finances is especially important for small cash based businesses.  It is very easy to forget or lose track of what you make, the taxes you need to pay on your sales, and what was sold [...]