Loopholes

Can I Deduct My Dog?

Question: I’ve had clients ask and, of course, heard at cocktail parties the discussion about claiming a pet’s medical expenses and other costs. But what is the citation that prevents these deductions?

Answer: Wouldn’t it be nice if you could get a little tax help from the government by deducting your dog? Aside from the enormous price breeders charge for designer pets, there are vet bills, food (some people even have their pets eat raw or vegan), obedience classes, clothing, exercise, and daycare to name a few!

While today’s is a softball question, I thought we could all use a break from the continuation of the never-ending tax season of 2020. It also raises the issue of citations and documentation. Have you tried finding the one that says you cannot deduct pet expenses? What about the one that says you can?

Keep reading to learn how.

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Think Outside the Tax Box provides tax reduction strategies along with practical implementation advice in order to reduce your clients’ federal tax bill with ease.

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CURRENT EDITION

The Wild West of Employee Retention Credits (ERC): Outlaws, Deputies, and Cowboys

Dominique Molina, CPA MST CTS

Gather ’round, pardners! The Employee Retention Credit (ERC) has been the latest gold rush in the tax frontier, drawing business owners, tax deputies, and even a few sly outlaws. But as the dust settles, the IRS—our law keeping sheriff—is on the hunt for any who might’ve bent the rules. In this frontier of finance, knowing who’s who can keep you out of trouble as the IRS rounds up dubious claims.

Selected Techniques to Monetize Tax Attributes

Ted Stotzer

In the prior article “Tax Trends in M&A and What It Means for Your Clients,” we had discussed certain techniques to, e.g., maximize net operating loss (“NOL”) and interest expense deduction utilization in the context of M&A transactions. This article examines certain additional strategies to monetize expiring, latent, or otherwise disallowed tax attributes.

Do Those Tricks Really Work?

Peter J Reilly CPA

On the website for Axium Wealth, Charles Dombek tells us that: “Most CPAs are historians that tell their clients how much they make, how much they owe, when and where to file their taxes, and oftentimes how to write large checks at the last minute when you least expect.” When it comes to Axium, though: “We help clients recover dollars they unnecessarily pay in State and Federal income taxes.” Axium also helps clients diversify capital into off-market passive real estate and alternative investments. Before Axium, there was The Optimal-Financial Group LLC. Of course many of the readers of Think Outside The Tax Box are CPAs, or EAs or others who both help their clients be compliant and advise on ways to minimize their liability. When I was practicing I would call the things I might suggest my “bag of tricks.”