Nobody likes paying taxes, especially when the IRS heaps on penalties for an honest mistake. Watch this video to discover a few tips on getting the IRS to back down on those penalties. Have tax questions? Talk with Maryland tax attorney, Steve Thienel.

Owners who list their Maryland property on AirBnB should know a major change in the tax laws for short-term occupancy taxes. The change took effect on June 1, 2019. AirBnB has noted the tax on its website. Many property owners fear that the mandatory occupancy tax will reduce the number of guests who book their property, but owners of hotels and other businesses already subject to state occupancy taxes were for the change.

The IRS views digital currency as property. Therefore, the applicable tax code for cryptocurrency is typically the portion of the code that relates to capital gains or losses. However, some transactions involving digital currency may be treated as income for the owner. Now that Bitcoin and other forms of digital currency have gained in popularity, and increased substantially in value, the IRS is interested in ensuring that taxpayers report cryptocurrency correctly.

Tax Attorney Steve Thienel discusses time-honored tactics for reducing stress around tax time.

Individuals who work or live in Maryland are typically subject to state taxes based on their residency status. Therefore, your residency status can have a significant impact on whether you owe state income taxes. If Maryland demands you file a tax return and pay state income taxes even though you were not a resident, contact a Maryland tax attorney to discuss your options for challenging the state’s claim of residency.

For taxpayers who do not pay taxes throughout the year or underpay, they may face a large tax penalty when they file their tax returns. If you are going broke paying estimated tax penalties, working with a Maryland tax attorney to identify problems with your estimated tax payments could help eliminate those penalties.

The deductions you may take for interest on your boat loan has changed somewhat since the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), but the deductions have not been eliminated. Below is a brief discussion from Maryland tax attorney, Steve Thienel, of some changes in the tax reform bill that impacts interest deductions for a boat. If you follow the current rules in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, you may still benefit from certain deductions.

As a musician, you have expenses that are unique to your industry. Utilizing the tax deductions available for musicians is essential to reducing your tax liability. This is especially true since some of the deductions musicians may have used in past tax years were eliminated with the passage of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.

In this article, we discuss several of the unique income tax planning issues for musicians and how musicians can take advantage of tax laws to reduce income tax liability.

Business owners who use a portion of their home for business may benefit from using the home office deduction when preparing their income taxes. Claiming a deduction for a home office often reduces tax liability. However, the IRS has strict guidelines for claiming a home office deduction on your tax return. A Maryland tax attorney can help you determine if you can claim a home office deduction and the best way to maximize tax benefits for this deduction.

Updated 2020 - The rules have changed on how you can deduct your business-related auto expenses on your S-Corp taxes under the Tax Cuts & Jobs Act (TCJA). A Maryland tax attorney can help.

Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs) are used by many people to save for retirement because of the benefits of contributing to IRAs while you are working. However, if you want to access the money in your IRA before age 59 ½, you may owe taxes on the withdrawal, in addition to the hefty 10 percent penalty for early withdrawals.

An LLC may elect how it wants to be taxed: as a sole proprietorship, partnership, S-Corp, or C-Corp. Depending on the situation, electing one income tax structure over another income tax structure for an LLC can provide important tax benefits for the company and the owner. Because tax law can be complicated, it's beneficial to discuss your concerns and needs with a Maryland business tax attorney before electing how your LLC should be treated for tax purposes.

A Maryland tax attorney can do many things for clients. We are not only called upon when someone has a problem with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) or other taxing authority. A tax attorney can help you with all matters related to personal and business taxes with two goals in mind – reducing your tax burden and preventing an audit.

Several events should trigger a review of your estate plan, such as the birth of a child, a divorce, or the death of an heir. Another reason to review your estate plan is a change in the tax code. When Congress passed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), I received numerous calls from clients with questions about how the changes to the federal tax code impacted their estate plans.

A tax and retirement planning tool used by some individuals has been eliminated with the passage of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA). However, even though we may be losing an effective tax planning opportunity, all is not lost. There are still some ways to use IRA recharacterizations that comply with the TCJA.

Many of the changes made by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 benefit businesses. However, some of the changes may make it more difficult for businesses to write off certain expenses. For example, changes in the entertainment deductions for 2018 may cost companies thousands of dollars, especially for companies who have a strong sales department that entertains clients and potential customers on a regular basis.

Choosing the right business entity is an important phase in business formation. Each type of business entity has certain advantages and disadvantages for the partners. The type of business, the partners’ goals, and state laws factor into your decision whether to form an LLP or an LP. An experienced business formation attorney can help you determine whether an LP or an LLP is best for your needs and goals.

A tax levy is a legal action that allows the IRS to legally take property in order to pay off a tax debt. As a result of IRS litigation and other actions, you could see your wages garnished, assets frozen, or even the seizure of your vehicles and real estate. This is not something that happens overnight though. The IRS must satisfy a number of requirements before can actually issue a levy.

For many companies, especially smaller businesses, the tax code is a large source of unnecessary frustration. While the individual tax code is complex enough, the reporting and filing burden on companies is even higher. In addition to the federal requirements, each state has its own tax code which includes its own tax forms, payment thresholds, filing deadlines, filing schedules, and payment thresholds, among other unique requirements and obligations. Business tax compliance can be a true nightmare.

For a business, regardless of the business entity or the size of the business, taxation is anarea in which even a small mistake can become very costly. Failure to properly account for payments to independent contractors can lead to steep penalties. However, penalties, interest, and additional taxes are not the only consequences a business owner should worry about when making a tax-related mistake. Business taxation mistakes can lead to expensive and time-consuming tax audits.