The IRS announced the standard mileage rates for 2010 this week.  The standard mileage rate is the amount used to calculate the cost of using a personal vehicle for business, charitable or medical purposes.

Starting on January 1^st, the standard mileage rates will be:

Business: 50 cents per mile
Medical or moving: 16.5 cents per mile
Charitable: 14 cents per mile

The standard mileage rates are lower than the 2009 rates to reflect the decrease in the cost of gas.  The IRS studies the cost of operating vehicles to determine the appropriate rate to use for deducting car expenses each year.  If the cost of gas rises significantly during the year, such as it did in 2008, the IRS can do a mid-year increase in the standard mileage rates.

Taxpayers have the option of deducting either the actual cost of operating their vehicle or using the standard mileage rate.  However, the standard mileage rate can not be used for a vehicle if the taxpayer has deducted depreciation on the vehicle, or if they have taken the Section 179 deduction for that same vehicle.

The standard mileage deduction is beneficial for taxpayers because it reduces the amount of recordkeeping that needs to be done, but it can result in a lower tax deduction than the actual cost method for people who have purchased new vehicles.

Source: IRS Announces 2010 Standard Mileage Rate

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If you have employees or independent contractors, you only have a few days left to prepare and issue W-2s and 1099s for them.  January 31 is the official due date, but since it falls on a Saturday this year, you have until Monday February 2 to complete your forms.

Just to be clear, employees get Form W-2, independent contractors get Form 1099-MISC reporting their income.

Since most of the people visiting this blog are more likely to have independent contractors than employees, we will focus on the Form 1099-MISC for the rest of this post.

Do you need to prepare Form 1099 for anyone in your business?

Basically, you must prepare a 1099 if you paid $600 or more to an individual to perform services for you.  Some examples would be web designers, eBay assistants, virtual assistants, affiliates, accountants, etc.

You should get the name, address and social security number (or Federal EIN) from any person you expect to send a 1099 for.

You need to send copies of the 1099 to the recipient, the IRS and the state tax department.

While you can buy the forms and prepare them manually, I prefer to use an online service called www.FileTaxes.com.

For more help, please read:

Should I File a W-2 or Form 1099?
Instructions for Form 1099-MISC

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Just a reminder that your fourth quarter 2008 tax estimate is due on January 15, 2009.

This estimate goes towards your 2008 tax liability so it reduces the amount you will owe on your 2008 tax return when you file.

To avoid the penalty for not paying enough estimated tax, you need to pay in at least 90% of your 2008 tax liability or 100% of your 2007 tax liability, whichever is less.

Alternatively, you can choose to file and pay your 2008 taxes by January 31, 2009 to avoid any underpayment penalties.

Use Form 1040-ES to submit your estimated tax payment.

For a refresher on estimated tax payments, see ‘Do I Need to Make Estimated Tax Payments?’

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If you didn’t receive a rebate check in 2008, or if you think you should have gotten a larger check than you did, you can apply for the Recovery Rebate Credit on your 2008 tax return.

The Recovery Rebate Credit is a special one-time benefit that most people received last year in the form of an Economic Stimulus Payment. But people who did not receive the maximum amount of the Economic Stimulus Payment, or whose circumstances have changed, may be eligible now.

In most cases, the IRS will calculate whether a person is eligible and how much of the credit may be due automatically. To allow the IRS to calculate this automatically, simply file your 2008 tax return and follow the “Credit Figured by the IRS” instructions. However, may choose to calculate the Recovery Rebate Credit themselves instead.

In order to calculate the Recovery Rebate Credit, you to know the amount of the Economic Stimulus Payment you received in 2008. If you’re having your tax return prepared by a tax preparer, make sure you give them this info so they can calculate your return correctly.

For more information, please visit Recovery Rebate Credit Is for Individuals Who Missed Last Year’s Economic Stimulus Payment on the IRS website.

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I’m reading my favorite tax blogs and found several posts worth sharing:

• Ask the taxgirl: Girl Scout cookies – In the case of the Girl Scouts, Girl Scouts of the USA is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization. The “Cookies from Home” program allows you to pay for the cost of a box of cookies and instead of taking the cookies home and eating them …

Speaking of charitable donations, don’t forget that you must have receipts for all donations in order to deduct them.  This is trickier for non-cash donations, such as clothing given to Goodwill or the Council of the Blind.  Here’s a valuation-guide you can use to help you assign values to your non-cash donations.

• Don’t Mess With Taxes: Fun tax season ahead for free filers – Software companies a step ahead: My first thought upon hearing of this option is that it could work nicely for folks who aren’t eligible for Free File, but who buy their own tax software. Some of them, including me, don’t e-file because .

It’s important to note that the free efile program only provides the forms for taxpayers, it does not calculate your taxes like a tax software program does, so you still have to know how to complete the forms.  But for taxpayers who have simple returns, this could be very helpful.

• Delinquent Taxpayers Get Sympathy from an Unexpected Source – Settling tax debts is not necessarily high on the list of taxpayers struggling to keep their homes and who may have lost their jobs. Delinquent taxpayers are, however, getting a little bit of sympathy… from the IRS. …

As taxgirl says, I’m not sure how much help this will be for taxpayers who are fighting to keep their homes but it’s nice to see a friendlier IRS in this tough economy.

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The IRS adjusts key tax numbers each year, including personal exemptions and the standard deduction amounts.  These are cost of living adjustments required by law.

The effect of these adjustments is that the tax brackets widen (so you can earn more income before you jump into the next tax bracket).

Here are a few of the changes in effect for 2009:

• The personal and dependency exemption, available to most taxpayers, increased $150 to $3,650.
  
• The new standard deduction is $11,400 for married couples filing a joint return (up $500), $5,700 for singles and married individuals
  filing separately (up $250) and $8,350 for heads of household (up $350). Nearly two out of three taxpayers take the standard deduction, rather than itemizing deductions (itemized deductions include mortgage interest, charitable contributions and state and local taxes).
• Tax-bracket thresholds increased for each filing status. For a married couple filing a joint return, for example, the taxable-income
  threshold separating the 15-percent bracket from the 25-percent bracket is $67,900, up from $65,100 in 2008.
• The maximum earned income tax credit for low and moderate income workers and working families with two or more children is $5,028, up from $4,824. The income limit for the credit for joint return filers with two or more children is $43,415, up from $41,646.

The amount you can contribute to retirement plans also increases for 2009:

• The amount you can contribute to your 401K or 457 plan is increasing $1,000 to $16,500
• The limitation for Simple IRA accounts is increased from $10,500 to $11,500
• The limitation for IRAs and Roth IRAs is the same as 2008: $5,000, plus a $1,000 catch up contributions for taxpayers age 50 and over

For other changes, including the income limitation for taxpayers who qualify for the retirement savings credit, please visit the IRS website.

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Not many people are aware of the saver’s credit, which helps offset part of the first $2,000 that taxpayers contribute to IRAs , Roth IRAs, 401K and other retirement plans.  This credit is also known as the retirement savings contributions credit.

The saver’s credit is available in addition to other tax deductions and credits that a person may qualify for, so taxpayers who take a deduction for contributions made to IRAs, 401Ks and other tax-deferred retirement accounts, and who also qualify for the saver’s credit, essentially get a double tax break.

You still have time to make contributions to your retirement accounts and get the saver’s credit, if you qualify.  The deadline for setting up or adding money to IRAs and still get credit for 2008 is April 15, 2009.  But if you’re planning on contributing to your 401K or other employer sponsored plan, you need to get your contributions in by the end of the year.

The following people qualify for the saver’s credit:

• Married couples filing jointly with incomes below $53,000 ($55,500 in 2009),
• Taxpayers filing as head of household, with income below $39,750 ($41,625 in 2009), and
• Single taxpayers (including married individuals who file separately) with incomes up to $26,500 in 2008 (or $27,750 in 2009)

While these income limits may seem low, if you are starting a new business, are unemployed or underemployed in any given tax year, this tax credit provides incentive to continue saving for your retirement by giving you some of your contributions back in the form of a credit.

The saver’s credit is a refundable tax credit which means it can increase your refund or reduce any tax you owe.  The maximum saver’s credit is $1,000 ($2,000 for married couples), but most people qualify for much less, depending on how much you save in your retirement account, your income, and other deductions and credits.

To claim the saver’s credit, file Form 8880 and attach it to your tax return (Form 1040).  This credit was made a permanent part of the tax code in 2006, and is adjusted annually to keep up with inflation.

For more information about the saver’s tax credit, please visit the IRS website at www.irs.gov.

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I first started the Ebiz Tax Tips blog because I was getting a lot of questions from eBay sellers about taxes – whether they needed to report their income, what they could deduct, etc.

That was a couple of years ago.  Since then the number of bloggers, affiliate marketers and other people making money on the internet has exploded.  And the IRS has taken notice!

The number of 1099s that will be issued and received this year will probably be much larger than ever before.

So, you may be wondering, will you get a 1099?  And what should you do if you do receive a Form 1099?  How do you go about reporting 1099 income?

Most people are aware that they must report wages, salaries, interest, dividends, etc. on their tax returns, but many people do not realize that they also have to report other income, such as cash earned from side jobs, barter income when you exchange services or goods with someone else, awards, prizes, and even gambling winnings.

Basically, you have to report ALL income from all sources, unless it is specifically exempt from taxes.

That means if you earn money from ads on your blog, selling items on eBay, selling products for a commission, or providing a service to another person (if you are a VA, web designer, coach, etc.), then you must report that income.

If you are a sole proprietor or an independent contractor and you earn $600 or more for the year (from an individual or a company), you should receive a Form 1099-MISC reporting your income.  This income is reported to you and the the IRS. 

Even if you don’t receive a Form 1099, your income is still reportable.  There is a common misconception that if you don’t receive a form 1099, you don’t have to report your income.  Wrong!  If you are earning money from a product, service, or other activity (blog, ad revenue, affiliate commissions, whatever the source) you have to report that income to the IRS.

The good news is that you can deduct ordinary and reasonable business expenses against that income.  So you are only taxed on your net profit, not your total income.

To report your income and expenses from your online business, use
Schedule C: Profit or Loss From Business, which is then attached to
your Form 1040 (your personal tax return). You must also complete
Schedule SE to calculate your self employment taxes if your net profits
from your business exceed $400 for the year.

Note: As a self employed business owner, you are responsible for the self employment tax on top of your regular tax on your net profits.  The SE tax is 15.3% and can add up very quickly!

To minimize your SE tax, it’s important that you understand the deductions and credits available to you as a small business owner.  For a list of tax deductions for online business owners, please read “List of Tax Deductions for Online Biz Owners”.

Recommended Resources:  If you are a new business owner, and you have questions about reporting your income, what you can deduct and how to minimize your taxes, consider signing up for the New Biz Tax Consultation.

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