Returning Value Blog

You’ve probably heard about the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision allowing state and local governments to impose sales taxes on more out-of-state online sales. The ruling in South Dakota v. Wayfair, Inc. is welcome news for brick-and-mortar retailers, who felt previous rulings gave an unfair advantage to their online competitors. And state and local governments are pleased to potentially be able to collect more sales tax.

You may have breathed a sigh of relief after filing your 2017 income tax return (or requesting an extension). But if your office is strewn with reams of paper consisting of years’ worth of tax returns, receipts, canceled checks and other financial records (or your computer desktop is filled with a multitude of digital tax-related files), you probably want to get rid of what you can. Follow these retention guidelines as you clean up.

Under the new tax law, you can’t deduct hobby expenses.

Do you know who received the first Social Security check and for what amount?

Which countries, states, and individuals give the most to charity?

One sure sign that spring is coming: It is time to prepare to file your annual tax return. You can alleviate some of the usual stress if you have your 2017 return professionally prepared, but you still have some work to do. Here are seven practical suggestions to help you spring into action: 

Volunteers can get a tax break for unreimbursed expenses.

With the recent Equifax hack, it serves as a reminder of how easily your information can fall into the wrong hands. Here are some basic guidelines of just how liable you are for lost or stolen bank cards.

Do you provide car rides through a mobile app, rent out your spare room using an online platform or repair computers for local businesses on demand? If so, you may be considered part of the "sharing economy" also known as the Gig or on-demand economy.

What to expect if you win the big lottery jackpot.