First State CPAs and Associates

𝙒𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙤𝙘𝙘𝙪𝙥𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙮 𝙩𝙖𝙭𝙚𝙨?

If you rent out your home, apartment, or spare room to guests, income taxes may not be the only tax issue on the table.

Occupancy taxes are taxes charged on the rental price paid by your guest. They’re sometimes called tourist tax, hotel tax, room tax, or lodging tax.

They’re different from income tax, which is based on your profit.

The confusing part is that occupancy tax rules can change depending on your city or county. And if the tax isn’t collected and sent in correctly, the penalties can be a real problem.

Have a short-term rental or thinking about starting one? Comment “RENTAL” to get help with the tax obligations.

𝘾𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙢𝙮 𝙩𝙖𝙧𝙞𝙛𝙛 𝙧𝙚𝙛𝙪𝙣𝙙 𝙘𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙩𝙚 𝙩𝙖𝙭𝙖𝙗𝙡𝙚 𝙞𝙣𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙚?

If your business deducted tariff payments as an expense in prior years, you may not be able to treat the refund as tax-free money when it comes back.

Most of the refund will likely need to be reported as taxable income in the year you receive it.

There’s another piece to watch too: CBP may include interest with the refund.

For tax reporting, you’ll need to separate:
• The refund principal
• The interest paid on the refund

Don’t just plan for the cash coming in. Plan for how it may show up on your tax return too. DM us if you want help getting that plan in place.

Google's updates to its search bar are really interesting: https://www.techbrew.com/stories/google-it-while-you-still-can

And you might be tempted to ask all kinds of tax questions with the new features. And the thing is, the answer might sound definitive in the results but actually still be wrong for your situation.

Tax questions need details that AI agents don't think to ask for.

Maybe your income changed. Maybe you got an IRS notice. Maybe you’re asking about a deduction, but the real issue is how your business is set up.

Don't rely on quick answers from Gemini when it comes to your IRS obligations.

Ask a professional you can trust (we're right here).

𝘿𝙤 𝙄 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙥𝙖𝙮 𝙩𝙖𝙭𝙚𝙨 𝙞𝙛 𝙄 𝙧𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙢𝙮 𝙝𝙤𝙢𝙚 𝙤𝙧 𝙨𝙥𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙧𝙤𝙤𝙢?

If you’re charging people to stay in your house, apartment, or even just a spare bedroom, that income may need to be reported on your tax return.

In the eyes of the IRS and state taxing authorities, you’re acting as a landlord once guests are paying to stay there.

But the tax treatment depends heavily on your personal use of the space.

Two questions to think about:
1. How many days did guests stay there?
2. How many days did you use the property yourself?

So if you’re renting out part or all of your home, don’t just look at how much money came in.

Your guest days and personal-use days matter too.

"𝗦𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗜 𝗼𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗿 𝗮 𝗿𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗻 𝗶𝗻 𝗺𝘆 𝘀𝗺𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗯𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀?"

About 42% of full-time working Americans don’t have access to a retirement plan. And as a business owner, you have the power to influence that statistic.

If you've avoided offering a plan because of the administrative burden, it may be worth taking another look.

Under the SECURE 2.0 Act, eligible small businesses may qualify for:
1. A startup cost credit covering up to 100% of eligible administrative and employee education costs.
2. A credit that may help offset employer contributions for qualifying employees.
3. A separate credit for adding automatic enrollment.

But don’t add a retirement plan just to chase tax credits.

What we need to consider is: does the plan fit your cash flow and your long-term business goals?

Let's run the numbers and figure out whether a retirement plan makes sense for your business.

Vehicle costs can sneak up on you. Fuel. Maintenance. Miles driven for work. It adds up fast, especially when your car is part of how you earn income.

Getting better gas mileage is one way to keep those costs down. Keeping better records is another.

If you use your vehicle for business, make sure you’re tracking mileage, expenses, and the purpose of each trip throughout the year.

It’s a lot easier to stay organized as you go than to recreate everything at tax time.

Are you tracking your business mileage as you go?

Driving Tips for How to Save Gas | Toyota.com Toyota offers easy tips on how to get better gas mileage so you can drive more and fill up less. Learn simple tricks that will help you save.

𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗱𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗳𝗶𝗹𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗮𝗻 𝗜𝗘𝗘𝗣𝗔 𝘁𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗳𝗳 𝗿𝗲𝗳𝘂𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵 𝗖𝗔𝗣𝗘?
If you qualify for an IEEPA tariff refund, you’ll file through the CAPE tab in ACE.

Here’s what that process looks like:

1. Verify your ACE account -- Make sure your CBP Importer Record uses your company email, not your broker’s.
2. Set up ACH -- Refunds are paid by ACH, so your bank info needs to be set up in ACE.
3. Identify eligible shipments -- Review your Form 7501 records for IEEPA-related HTS Chapter 99 codes.
4. Prepare your CAPE declaration -- Your CSV needs one column titled “Entry Number,” with each entry number exactly 11 characters.
5. Submit and monitor your claim -- Upload the file in ACE under the CAPE tab and watch for your Claim Number.

A wrong digit, old email, or mismatched filer code can slow down the whole refund process.

We can help you review your records and figure out the right next step.

What's the most unconventional thing you've heard of someone try to do to save money on their taxes?

𝙎𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙄 𝙪𝙥𝙙𝙖𝙩𝙚 𝙢𝙮 𝙒-4 𝙖𝙛𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙛𝙞𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙢𝙮 𝙩𝙖𝙭𝙚𝙨?

If any of these things happened in 2026, then you need to update your W-4:
• You got married or divorced
• You started a second job
• Your spouse started or stopped working
• You had a child
• You started a side hustle
• You bought a home

Those changes affect how much federal (and state) tax comes out of your paycheck each pay period.

For example, if your withholding is still designated as a single person but you recently got married, you may end up giving the Treasury more money than you need to.

If you’re not sure whether your withholding needs updating, DM us, and we can help you review and adapt to your circumstances.

𝙒𝙝𝙮 𝙞𝙨 𝙜𝙚𝙩𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙖 𝙗𝙞𝙜 𝙧𝙚𝙛𝙪𝙣𝙙 𝙖 𝙗𝙖𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜?

We all get excited about a refund becuase it feels like “extra money.”

But sometimes a big refund actually means you paid more in taxes than you needed to throughout the year.

Say you got a $3,000 refund because too much in taxes was being given to the IRS. But could that $250 per month have been available to you during the year instead?

If your withholding could be adjusted, would you rather…
A) Get a larger refund at tax time
B) Have more money available in each paycheck
C) Aim for as close to break-even as possible