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IRS Boosts 2025 Mileage Rates: How to Maximize Your Deduction 🚗💨

If you’re one of the millions of people earning extra cash driving for Uber, Lyft, DoorDash, or just running your own side hustle, you know the grind. You know the best routes, the busy times, and how to handle a spilled drink in the backseat. But when tax season rolls around, things can get a little scary. Here is the good news: Your car is likely your biggest business asset, and the IRS just announced how much that asset is worth to you for the 2025 tax year. The Magic Number: 70 Cents per Mile For 2025, the IRS standard mileage rate for business use is  70 cents per mile . That is up 3 cents from last year. It might sound like small change, but let’s do some quick math. If you drive 10,000 miles for work this year, that’s a  $7,000 deduction  you can take off your taxable income. That isn't free money the government hands you, but it  is  income you don't have to pay taxes on. That huge chunk stays in your pocket instead of going to Uncle Sam. 💸 Other Rates ...

6 Reasons Why You Won't Get a Large Tax Refund in 2026 Despite What You’ve heard.

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  Don’t spend that refund check before you actually file. Recently, President Trump has been posting on social media claiming taxpayers will see the " largest refund in history " in 2026 . Many influencers and preparers are repeating this soundbite just to grab attention, promising massive checks due to the new retroactive tax cuts . But they are leaving out  critical  context. While it is true that some withholding tables didn’t update in time, meaning some people overpaid, that doesn’t guarantee a huge refund for everyone. In fact, many hard-working taxpayers are in for a surprise. As a tax professional, I want to give you the real story. Here are the 6 real reasons why you might not get a large refund, or worse, no refund at all. 1. You Didn’t Adjust Your W4 (Insufficient Withholding) The most common reason for a disappearing refund hasn’t changed: incorrect withholding. Despite the news about tax cuts, the math remains simple. If you didn’t update your  Form ...

Is it too late to change my payroll exemptions at work? Or, how often can I do it?

Is it too late to change my payroll exemptions at work? Or, how often can I do it?  Answer: No. You can change the number of allowances or payroll exemptions anytime you wish, just submit a new W-4 form to your payroll department. A client asked me and commented on this by saying that her employer won’t allow her to make a change in her payroll allowances. I assumed that she didn't have the right information and I suggested to ask the right question. By law, any employer must change payroll exemption any time the employee makes the proper request by following the company’s policy, of course. Don’t be afraid to request any changes to your information. Just ask the proper question to the right person or department. Original Post and reference: Random questions asked by taxpayers

An Open Letter to Taxpayers and Tax Professionals

Dear taxpayer and tax professional, Today February 12th, 2018, out of frustration, I've decided to write an open letter to the taxpayer and to "tax professionals". The following words are coming out of my experience with taxpayers and tax professional in the Hispanic / Latino community. I've been working as a part-time tax professional officially since 2013, but my relation to tax preparation goes back to 2005. One of my primary duties as a tax pro is to educate the taxpayer, which becomes more difficult every year. But this year, I've come across questions and opinions that just make me rethink the nature of this business and why I keep doing this. I've been told many things, but I'm going to focus this writing on four things that just blew my mind this tax season. These are four things I've been asked or in a way told or heard by a client and/or a "tax professional": - How much can you get me? (this is a question I ge...

5 Tools that will help you keep your office paperless.

5 Tools that will help you keep your office paperless. The World has Changed. We can all agree there is no going back from the digital age. Today we live in the world of emails and direct deposits. There is a chance that you work with someone you rarely see because everything is done with emails and software. The same scenario is happening with the way we delivery goods and services. Most of the people we helped during tax season didn't show up. Most of them sent emails and/or faxed their tax documents. Why paperless. In our case, we need to keep all our client documents in a readable format. Also, we need a way to find documents fast if ever requested by the IRS. But let’s look into another benefit, paper. Paper is expensive to our pockets and to the environment. I did not know how expensive paper was until I had the need to purchase it in large quantities. I am going to detail 5 tools that I have mastered to keep my office paperless. I am doing this with...