Individual Tax Planning
Americans have been dealing with a federal income tax system since 1913, when the 16th Amendment was added to our Constitution. Every year since then, new rules, tax rates, and deductions have challenged Americans' ability to pay the lowest possible amount of tax.
What makes it even tougher is that normal life changes also affect your taxes. If in the last year, you got married or divorced, adopted or had a child, paid off a mortgage, opened a home business, or simply got a raise ... the number of exemptions claimed, your filing status, and deductions you are allowed to take will also change.
Tax guide, for planning for the up coming changes to the tax law and how to maximize savings for next year.
Tax Practice Marketing Guide (Word file), which includes sample letters for presenting the 2014-2015 Tax Planning Guide, as well as model business development campaigns.
TAX RATES
Your filing status determines your tax bracket; and the amount of income made during the year determines your tax rate. If you think of the five tax rates: 15%, 28%, 31%, 36%, and 39.6% as layers, you would pay zero on the bottom layer, 15% on the next layer, and so forth. The highest layer (or bracket) that your income reaches is known as your marginal rate.
MILEAGE RATES
Beginning on Jan. 1, 2020, the standard mileage rates for the use of a car (also vans, pickups or panel trucks) will be:
- 57.5 cents per mile driven for business use, down one half of a cent from the rate for 2019.
- 17 cents per mile driven for medical or moving purposes, down three cents from the rate for 2019.
- 14 cents per mile driven in service of charitable organizations.
The business mileage rate decreased one half of a cent for business travel driven and three cents for medical and certain moving expense from the rates for 2019. The charitable rate is set by statute and remains unchanged.
The standard mileage rate for business is based on an annual study of the fixed and variable costs of operating an automobile. The rate for medical and moving purposes is based on the variable costs.
For more information, please go to IRS issues standard mileage rates for 2020
