Michael J. Gollob, CPA
Student loans are a burden on many Americans, but thankfully there is a way to retrieve a portion of the money spent on the interest payments. For the interest on qualified education loans, the maximum deduction allowed for the taxable year is $2,500.
Full Deduction < $70,000
No Deduction > $85,000
Full Deduction < $145,000
No Deduction > $175,000
Source: Fidelity.com
The following annual adjustments are applicable to the 2023 tax year.
You can read more on irs.gov.
https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/irs-provides-tax-inflation-adjustments-for-tax-year-2023
StayNJ is a recently finalized program aimed at assisting homeowners and renters 65 years of age and older in New Jersey. The fine details on filings & procedures are currently being ironed out.
Click the link below for more details.
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/21/nyregion/property-tax-cut-new-jersey.html
The IRS announced that taxpayers will now be able to submit documents online when receiving notices by the IRS. Taxpayers can securely upload documents rather than sending them by mail, reducing overall time and tax efficiency. For more information on how the document upload tool works, click here: full article.
The IRS has adjusted tax brackets, the standard deduction, and more for 2023 to adjust for inflation. See how you could be affected in the following article from CNBC:
Later this year Social Security benefit recipients will begin to see an 8.7% increase in their monthly payments. While some beneficiaries will notice an increase in December of this year, most will begin receiving the increase in January of 2023. Throughout the last few decades, the social security benefit rate has only increased about 1.5 – 5%. The 2023 increase will be the 4th largest increase since 1975. Find more information at SSA.gov.
Photo by Sven Mieke on Unsplash
You could be eligible for student loan debt relief. If you received the Federal Pell Grant, you are eligible for up to $20,000 in relief and $10,000 for non-Pell Grant recipients. According to Federal Student Aid, if you’re an individual that made less than $125,000 in 2020 & 2021 or families that made less than $250,000 in 2020 & 2021, you are eligible for loan forgiveness. The application takes less than 5 minutes to complete and does not require submitting any documentation. For more information on student loan forgiveness, click here: https://studentaid.gov/manage-loans/forgiveness-cancellation
As of 10/21/2022 student loan forgiveness has been halted but is expected to resume in the upcoming weeks.
Photo by javier trueba on Unsplash
The IRS has announced that due to Covid-19, they will be issuing about $1.2 billion in refunds/credits for 1040 & 1120 filers who paid a late filing penalty. This could apply to you if you filed your 2019 return by August 1, 2020 or your 2020 return by August 1, 2021.
Read the full article.
Did you know the IRS has a tax withholding calculator? You will be asked several questions about your filing status & your current place of employment. The only documents you need to help determine if you are being properly withheld are one of your most recent pay stubs, a recently filed tax return, and any other income information.
Try this handy withholding calculator.