AKIF CPA

Calling all expats (and wannabe expats!) ⁠
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You don't have to give up or stop investing in your U.S.-based retirement funds just because you're living abroad!⁠
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We've got a new article on how to manage a Roth IRA with foreign earned income, including....⁠
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👉️How to contribute foreign earned income⁠
👉️How foreign tax credits impact your eligibility⁠
👉️How to withdraw money from a Roth IRA while abroad⁠
👉️Whether you should move your Roth IRA with you⁠
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Bonuses:⁠
⭐️ Filing Requirements and Forms⁠
⭐️ Impacts from Exchange Rates⁠
⭐️ Remote Work and the 183 Day Rule⁠

Remember, the best advice you can get is advice from a cross-border CPA with knowledge of your situation!
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Read it now: https://akifcpa.com/how-to-manage-a-roth-ira-with-foreign-earned-income/

Tax Savings Tips for Salaried Employees (link to full article)

To make things easy, we've divided this list into three categories:
Low Effort
Medium Effort
High Effort

Remember to speak with a CPA before making any changes to your tax strategy!

Tax Saving Tips for Salaried Employees – AKIF CPA Please note: these are general options you have for reducing your taxable income, and their appearance on this list does not necessarily mean it’s the best option for you. We always recommend speaking directly with a CPA to develop a tax savings strategy that helps you save on taxes while taking i...

Let's Talk High Effort Tax Savings Tips For Salaried Employees!⁠
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👉️Pro tip: balance short-term tax savings with long-term tax savings
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1️⃣ Plan Out Short-Term and Long-Term Tax Savings Goals
💲💲💲Potential Savings: Maximum Available
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Balancing immediate tax savings with long-term tax saving potential is the ultimate way to hack the US tax system!

Big Questions to Ask Yourself:
- What do I expect my salary to be in 10 years?
- Do I want my retirement distributions to be taxed as income, or tax-free?
- What's my investment plan?
- What's my risk-tolerance level?

Keeping income safe from taxes can mean investing in a 529 education fund for your kids, investing in municipal bonds, aiming for capital gains, and diversifying your accounts.
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2️⃣ Set Up a Formal Side Business
💲💲Potential Savings: Varies
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If you already have a hobby, side business, or passion project, setting up a formal business can open you up to major tax savings:
- Home Office
- Internet and Phone
- Meals and Travel
- Vehicle Use
- Business Loans
- Member Dues and Professional Organizations
- and more

Remember! It's TOTALLY okay to not want to start a side business. Not everyone needs one. There are so many ways to save on your taxes—starting a biz is just one of them.
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🔄 Rethink Your Approach

👍️ Money spent on a CPA consultation is an investment in yourself, your financial literacy, and your earning power
👍️ CPAs spend YEARS learning and studying the tax system, it's not fair to expect you'll figure this out on your own
👍️ These consultations can really change your financial outlook
👍️ The only RIGHT tax-savings approach is the approach that works for YOU
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Tax Literacy is Financial Literacy! ⁠⁠ 🤩⁠
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Always speak to a CPA before making changes to your tax strategy.⁠
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Let's Talk Medium Effort Tax Savings Tips For Salaried Employees!⁠
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👉️Pro tip: a little time and money put into your tax-saving strategy can lead to big results
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1️⃣ Learn More About Employee-Sponsored Retirement Options
💲💲💲Potential Savings: $23,000-$26,500
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Ask about:
- 401(k)
- Roth 401(k)
- Additional Retirement options
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2️⃣ Open Up a Traditional IRA
💲💲Potential Savings: $7,000-$8,000⁠
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If you've maxed out your 401(k) contributions, or don't have a 401(k) at work, you can put up to $7,000 ($8,000 if you're 50 and older) into a traditional IRA for tax savings
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3️⃣ Check Where You Fall Within the Tax Brackets
💲💲Potential Savings: 2%, 3%, 8%, or 10% (depending on your current tax bracket)
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If you're within thousands of the next-lowest tax bracket, or are comfortable enough to put major contributions to tax-savings plans, the more you put in, the lower your adjusted gross income, meaning the lower your taxable income. For many, the money they are spending on taxes could be put into a retirement savings account, with tax savings to boot.
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4️⃣ Set up a Tax Strategy Meeting with a CPA
💲💲💲💲 Potential Savings: Maximum Available
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The most straightforward way to save on taxes as a salaried employee is to invest in a tax-savings strategy session with a CPA. In just a handful of hours with a CPA, you'll get...

👍️ A clear picture of how your finances influence your taxes
👍️ Eligible tax credits and deductions you've missed out on
👍️ Direct advice on how to direct taxable income
👍️ Long-Term and Short-Term tax savings goals
👍️ Most new clients save $2,000-$5,000 or more each year
❌️ No more worrying that you're overpaying on taxes
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Tax Literacy is Financial Literacy! ⁠⁠ 🤩⁠
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Always speak to a CPA before changing your tax strategy.⁠
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Let's Talk Low Effort Tax Savings Tips For Salaried Employees!⁠
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👉️Pro tip: subtle changes can make a big difference in your tax savings⁠
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1️⃣ Change Your Withholding on Your W-4⁠
💲Savings Vary⁠
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Withhold too little and you've got a major tax bill at the end of the year. Withhold too much and you're living paycheck to paycheck, and much less likely to participate in savings and investments that reduce your tax burden. Find the balance that supports your longterm goals⁠
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2️⃣ See if You Are Eligible for EITC⁠
💲💲Potentail Savings $17,640 - $63,390⁠
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The Earned Income Tax Credit is available for some individuals who earned under $63,393-$24,210 (depending on filing status and dependents) who meet specific expense qualifications.⁠
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3️⃣ Max Out Contributions to 401(k), FSA, HSA, IRA⁠
💲💲💲Potential Savings: $37,350-$42,850⁠
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2024 Contribution Limits are:⁠
- $3,200 for FSA⁠
- $4,150 for individuals/$8,300 for families ($1,000 catch up) for HSA⁠
- $7,000 ($1,000 catch up) for an IRA⁠
- $23,000 ($3,500 catch up) for 401(k)⁠
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That's a lot of potential tax savings!⁠
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4️⃣ Claim All Eligible Tax Credits⁠
💲💲💲 Potential Savings $0 - 10's of $1,000's⁠
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Don't leave savings on the table. Check out...⁠
- Standard Deduction⁠
- Itemized Deduction⁠
- Child Tax Credit⁠
- Home Mortgage Interest⁠
- Charitable Donations⁠
- Rental Property Loss⁠
- Property Taxes⁠
- Homeowner Deductions⁠
- Student Loan Interest⁠
- Solar Tax Credit⁠
- and more!⁠
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Tax Literacy is Financial Literacy! ⁠
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Always speak to a CPA before making changes to your tax strategy.⁠
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Let's build wealth everyone 🤩⁠
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We're hearing a lot of confusion about 1099-k's this year—what's the threshold? Will I receive one? Do I have to report income if I don't receive one?

We have a new post outlining exactly
👉️ What is a 1099-k?
👉️ What qualifies as a payment?
👉️ What platforms?
👉️ 1099-k thresholds for 2023, 2024, and beyond
👉️ Do you need to report income if you did NOT receive a 1099-k
👉️ Common misconceptions about 1099-k's (including what to do if you take payments through platforms like Venmo, but also use it to split the check with friends)
👉️ What to do if you're unsure

https://akifcpa.com/1099-k-reporting-requirements-thresholds-and-faqs/

Just last week, the IRS announced that the agency would bring on two “private-sector experts” to assist with efforts in cryptocurrency and digital assets.

The focus appears two be two-fold, given that one expert is a practicing attorney, while the other is a CPA. Both have experience in both tax and crypto, and are charged with helping to lead the charge when it comes to the IRS’s goal of building reporting, compliance, and enforcement programs for cryptocurrency and the digital asset economy.

Learn more about the duo here: https://akifcpa.com/crypto-accounting-news-the-irs-adds-two-experts-to-focus-on-digital-assets/

Get the full rundown of where and how to download your tax forms (1099k's, VAT, sales tax reports, etc.) from popular e-commerce, resale, and payment sites, including...

Amazon Affiliate Marketing Tax Forms
Amazon Store Tax Forms
Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing Tax Forms
BigCommerce Tax Forms
Ebay Tax Forms
Etsy Tax Forms
Paypal Tax Forms
Poshmark Tax Forms
Shopify Tax Forms
Square Tax Forms
Squarespace Tax Forms
Stripe Tax Forms
Wix Tax Forms
WooPayments (WordPress) Tax Forms

https://akifcpa.com/where-to-download-paypal-1099k-ebay-tax-forms/

Roughly 1,000 people turn to the internet each month to search for a crypto tax calculator. And, while there’s no way to know exactly what those searchers are hoping to calculate, we’re going to dissect the results and see which one you should use.

Looking at The 5 Most Commonly Used Crypto Tax Calculators
Instead of ranking the calculators by quality, we examined these calculators based on their positions in current search results on Google. Meaning, we looked at the Top 5 search results for “crypto tax calculator” to see what most people are finding and using, and examined the accuracy of that data.

We did our best to keep the data consistent:

Single Filer
$50,000 Estimated Taxable Income
Cost of Crypto Purchase: $1,000
Total Proceeds from Sale: $10,100
Owning this Crypto for Less Than One Year

And evaluated the top 5 results:
1st Result – Turbo Tax Blog Crypto Tax Calculator
2nd Result – CoinLedger Crypto Tax Calculator
3rd Result – Nerd Wallet Cryptocurrency Tax Calculator 2023-2024
4th Result – Forbes Advisor Cryptocurrency Tax Calculator
5th Result – TaxAct Bitcoin Tax Calculator

https://akifcpa.com/which-crypto-tax-calculator-should-i-use/

2023 Tax Filing Deduction and Credit Changes:
- American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 Expires-
- Changes to Standard Deduction
- Child Tax Credit Changes
- EITC Changes

Deadline Reminder! April 15th is Tax Day!
We wish to remind all folks filing in the U.S. that the deadline for filing your 2023 taxes is April 15th, 2024. This is with the exception of individuals filing from Maine and Massachusetts, who have until April 17th.

https://akifcpa.com/credit-and-deduction-changes-for-2023-tax-filings/