Paycheck Protection Program

Arguably one of the most popular programs from the Cares Act was the ability to get a loan and have a large part, if not all, of it forgiven. This became the greatest selling point for getting the Paycheck Protection Program Loan. If you thought getting the PPP loan was full of ambiguities and difficult to navigate, buckle up because this will be one bumpy road to forgiveness. Questions abound, answers aren’t specific and that gives us heartburn when we try to plan. In general, you should have a separate bank account for the proceeds from your PPP loan and only use it for covered costs: Payroll Costs, Rent, Utilities, and interest on certain loan payments. The amount spent on […]

Energy Tax Credits

Can I still make some energy efficient improvements on my home and take a tax write-off? Well yes and no. The $500 lifetime credit for personal energy property expired back in the end 2017. You can no longer take deductions on your federal return for those energy-efficient doors, windows or insulation on your home. The good news is even though you cannot claim this deduction on your federal tax return; you can still claim it on your Idaho return. Idaho allows you to deduct those windows and insulation and even the amount charged for labor to install the energy efficiency upgrades. There is still one big energy tax credit you can claim on your federal tax return. If you invest […]

Qualified Charitable Distributions (QCD)

With the new tax law, the standard deduction was raised considerably. Due to this change, not as many people will be able to itemize. So this begs the question, are my charitable donations worth anything anymore? We have one possible solution to this question and the answer is yes, if you are 70 ½ or older you can use the QCD (Qualified Charitable Distributions) deduction. Individuals age 70 ½ or older can make QCDs, which are transfers from their IRAs directly to a qualified charity [IRC Sec. 408(d)(8)]. QCDs are limited to $100,000 per individual per year and are not included in the individual’s income or allowed as a charitable deduction. QCD’s can also count towards your required minimum distributions […]