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Showing posts from October, 2023

How long do I keep Tax Records? A Guide

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  I'm sure you have asked this question at least one time right after you have filed your tax return every year. As a Professional Tax Preparer/Accountant, I get asked this question a lot.  So, here is the basic rule of thumb for holding onto those very important documents: • MINIMUM 3 YEARS After Date Filed for All Tax Returns and Records used to prepare the tax return. • ADDITIONAL 3 YEARS For Sale/Disposal of REAL ESTATE PURCHASED (including your home). Keep the records that show the original cost of the property (purchase price) plus improvements done over the years. • ADDITIONAL 3 YEARS For Sale/Trades of INVESTMENT SECURITIES (stocks, bonds, crypto, mutual funds, etc.). Keep the records showing the purchase amounts to include stock splits, dividend reinvestments, and nontaxable distributions. Also keep track of when any bonds or Treasury bills/notes mature. • ADDITIONAL 3 YEARS After Depleting Accounts that show payments made to NONDEDUCTIBLE IRAS or POST TAX 401(k)s

Crypto Currency and the IRS- What you need to know!

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  If you are a TRADER in the CRYPTO MARKET or are making plans to be , then you must understand how DIFFICULT  it can be to REPORT these trades accurately and timely on your tax return. Crypto currency is commonly referred to as DIGITAL ASSETS and until just recently, the trading of these assets has gone pretty much unregulated. Except for the large brokerage firms, REPORTING the amount you PAID to buy crypto (COST) and the amount you SOLD  the crypto (PROCEEDS) for has been left up to the trader to figure out on their own. Since the trading of these assets must be reported on the tax return, this information is necessary to be able to correctly report the GAINS OR LOSSE S from these trades (like stock/bond trading). As a tax preparer, I have received a variety of information from clients who typically use a CRYPTO TRADING PLATFORM which mostly provides some type of a  disorganized spreadsheet of random transactions  that don’t clearly define or match up the COSTS and PR