Many thanks to my IT Strategic Partner, Garett Chipman ( garett@tvgconsulting.com ) for sending me this article by Dave Johnson on CBS Market Watch – 10 common tax mistakes to avoid. Here is the link:http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-505143_162-57366394/10-common-tax-mistakes-to-avoid/The biggest mistake you could make is not having a professional prepare your taxes (how is that for self-promotion) unless you have an extremely simple return. Anyway if you have questions call me at 818-317-6035 or email me at bstonercpa@sbcglobal.net and we can discuss them.You can count on us to count for you!
Brian’s Tax Musings – Document your business mileage
If you drive your car for business as an independent contractor or unreimbursed employee, you need to document your business mileage. I know this is a broken record with me, But you need to keep an auto log with dates, mileage, odomoeter readings from your car, where you went and how it related to business. It is also good to have a couple of independent invoices (like tire and auto repairs) to validate your odometer, but not essential. The auto log is the one piece of taxpayer generated unsubstantiated documentation the IRS has to accept. At least keep a calendar with this info that you can use to substantiate your mileage. It can save you aggrevation later.You can count on us to count for you!
Brian’s Financial Musings – When To Sell An Investment
Remember the three key items in investing I memtioned before:How much of your portfolio should you spend on an investment?When should you buy an investment?When should you sell an investment?I have told you about the first two keys – how much to buy and when to buy. Now I want to discuss when to sell. This may be the most important of the three, because if you don’t know when to get out of an investment, so risk a huge loss if you become married to it. A huge loss can offset a bunch of smaller winners in a particular year and make it a disaster.Trailing stop losses can help tell you when it is time to sell an investment. Usually selecting a selling point of 20 to 25% of the purchase price of an investment allows you to take a little risk if it goes down then jumps back up, but will protect you from the back breaking loss (your stop loss starts at your purchase price and increases if the investment goes up. If you buy something for $1000, your stop loss is $750 – you lose $250. If the investment jumps to $1500, your stop loss increases to [...]