To return to a pet peeve of mine: is there any inflation in the US? Well our government says no, but if you add in food and gas (which the government excludes from their calculation) it sure walks like a duck and quacks like a duck.Ever wonder why the price of gold and silver are close to the highest price they have ever been? It is because we are pricing them in dollars. They have become more valuable in all currencies for sure, but because the value of the dollar is slipping, these items, and other commodities are jumping to new highs.It makes sense to have some or all of these items in your investment portfolio in some form. Allocate a percentage that makes sense to you, but these items are probably going to continue to increase when we finally do get inflation (ha ha).
Brian’s Tax Musings
If you have a regular or ‘S’ corporation and have a calendar year, your return is due March 15, not April 15. The good thing is you can file an extension until September 15 to put off filing your return a little longer
Brian’s Tax Musings
What is a Miscellaneous Itemized Deduction? Well scientists have been debating this question for centuries and have reached a consensus – we don’t know, consult with your tax preparer.Well, a misceallanous itemized deduction is a deductible item that doesn’t fit in the traditional medical, tax, interest or charity catagories (hence the term miscellaneous). Some items have to be reduced by 2% of your income, some don’t. Items in the reduced area include:Union Dues, Investment Expenses, Unreimbursed Employee Business Expenses (another topic all by itself), tax preparation (my fee), Safe Deposit Box, Job Hunting Expenses, and other. Other can be some legal expenses used to protect your property or income (not setting up a living trust, but certain property settlements in a divorce, and other fees that assist in the generation and protecton of income(this is not an exclusive list-items probably should be judged on an item by item basis).Items not reduced by the 2% include:Various trust and estate expenses, brush clearing (don’t ask me why), gambling losses to the extent of winnings and other (?). See this article and IRS website for further confusion:http://www.smartmoney.com/personal-finance/taxes/miscellaneous-itemized-deductions-9547/