It's Really Summer

A couple weeks ago, I expressed some surprise in this space that summer was already approaching as we were only a few days away from Memorial Day.  And now that the calendar has turned to June, it is impossible to push off any disbelief about the time of year. And now, with this time of year comes a few things that you may want to be aware of for tax purposes.

First, this is a big time of year for people to get married. So, if you are doing this and it results in a name change, be sure to report that to the Social Security Administration. Additionally, if it results in a change of address, be sure to notify the United States Postal Service, employers, and the IRS, as well. This will help ensure that everything that needs to reach you can do so come tax time.

Also, by the very name itself, this is the time of year for summer camp. If you are sending a kid to one, there may be a tax benefit, so keep any receipts from those payments.

Once kids get a little older, though, this is also a big time of year for part-time work. If this is the only work one does for the year, then there very well may not be any federal withholding tax owed from this money. So maybe it makes sense to fill out new hire paperwork to not have any withheld from one’s paycheck. Either way, though, make sure these workers know about filing a return come tax time. After all, a relatively small amount of effort to complete a return is likely to result in them receiving a refund. And who ever minds receiving money?

Finally, I wanted to mention travel during the summer. Obviously, this is the time of year when many families do a lot of their travel with there being no worries about school. We have heard various stories, however, of people who try to write off vacations as a business expense.  So please remember that, yes, we understand you may have done some work while on vacation, but just because you can answer some emails from the beach doesn’t mean you had to be on the beach to answer those emails. So, let’s be careful about what are business expenses and what are not, and as always, remember we are here to help when such questions arise.

Warmly,

Josh Bousquet
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