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IRS Gives You Five Reasons to Visit IRS.gov
[Stacie says: The IRS wants you to visit their website this summer. And they give you five reasons why.]
IRS.gov is available 24 hours a day 7 days a week. Whether you need a form or have tax questions, IRS.gov has a wealth of information. IRS.gov is accessible all day, every day.
Here are five reasons to visit IRS.gov this summer.
Get information about the numerous tax breaks made available earlier this year in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
Calculate the right amount of withholding allowances on your W-4. The IRS Withholding Calculator will help you ensure that you don’t have too much or too little income tax withheld from your pay.
Search for charities. Search Publication 78, Cumulative List of Organizations, to find out if an organization is exempt from federal taxation and, if so, how much of your contributions to that organization are tax deductible.
Get information about careers at the IRS. No matter what your professional specialty, the IRS can offer you a variety of full-time career or seasonal job opportunities.
Get tax forms and publications. You can view, download and order tax forms and publications any hour of the day or night.
Remember that for the genuine IRS Web site be sure to use .gov. Don’t be confused by internet sites that end in .com, .net, .org or other designations instead of .gov.
The address of the official IRS governmental Web site is http://www.irs.gov/.
Links:
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009: Information Center
IRS Withholding Calculator
Search for charities
Is it a Hobby or a Business?
Summer is a time many Americans take their fishing poles and gardening tools out of storage. Hobbies – such as woodworking, stamp collecting and scrapbooking – are often done for pleasure, but can result in a profit.
If your favorite activity does make a profit every year or so, there may be tax implications. You must report income to the IRS from almost all sources, including hobbies.
Here are eight questions that will help determine if your activity is a hobby or a business.
Is the purpose of your activity to make a profit? Generally, your activity is considered a business if it is carried on with the reasonable expectation of earning a profit.
Do you participate in your activity just for fun? Hobbies – also called not-for-profit activities – are those activities that are not pursued for profit.
Do you depend on income from the activity? If so, your activity is likely considered a business.
Have you changed methods of operation to improve profitability? If so, your hobby may actually be a business.
Do you have the knowledge needed to carry on the activity as a successful business? People who carry out hobbies just for fun, often don’t have the business acumen to turn their not-for-profit activity into a profitable business venture.
Have you made a profit in similar activities in the past? This may indicate your activity is a business rather than a not-for-profit hobby. An activity is presumed carried on for profit if it makes a profit in at least three of the last five tax years, including the current year – or at least two of the last seven years for activities that consist primarily of breeding, showing, training or racing horses.
Does the activity make a profit in some years? Even if your activity does not make a profit every year, it still may be considered a business.
Do you expect to make a profit in the future from the appreciation of assets used in the activity? This indicates your activity may be a business rather than a hobby.
If your activity is not carried on for profit, allowable deductions cannot exceed the gross receipts for the activity. If you are conducting a trade or business you may deduct your ordinary and necessary expenses.
More information about not-for-profit activities is available in Publication 535, Business Expenses, available on the IRS.gov Web site or by calling 800-TAX-FORM (800-829-3676).
Link: IRS Publication 535, Business Expenses
Stacie's Tax Stuff 