Unsplash+ in collaboration with Getty Images I haven’t yet seen any of those holiday car commercials with big red bows atop the gifted vehicles. But is a good time to start thinking of new transportation, particularly if you’re considering an electric vehicle (EV). That’s because under the second Trump Administration, and with the support of a Republican-led House and Senate, the $7,500 EV tax credit soon could be history. Trump's tax credit aversion: While Donald J. Trump has vacillated between loving or hating electric vehicles, he’s more consistently been opposed to them, or at least the associated tax breaks. "Tax... Read more →
Transportation
Taking advantage of these inflation-adjusted tax breaks could put more money in your hands instead of Uncle Sam's bank account. (Photo by Osarugue Igbinoba on Unsplash) Many taxpayers look forward to tax filing season because they are getting a refund. Others just want to pay the smallest possible tax bill. Some Internal Revenue Code provisions, ranging from tax deductions to tax credits to income exclusions, can help in both cases. Deductions, like the standard amounts discussed in Part 2 of the ol' blogs annual tax inflation series, are a relatively easy, and popular, way to reduce a tax bill. Deductions... Read more →
Election results, however, could change that. Here's how to claim the alternative fuel vehicle tax credit now, just in case things change after the Nov. 5 results. Republican presidential nominee Donald J. Trump has softened his stance on electric vehicles, likely because of his burgeoning personal relationship with Tesla CEO Elon Musk. But even though Trump says he’s now “totally for” EVs, he also says he would consider eliminating a $7,500 tax credit for some of the vehicles. “Tax credits and tax incentives are not generally a very good thing,” Trump told Reuters after a campaign event Monday, Aug. 19,... Read more →
Photo by Tom Fisk In June, the Treasury Department announced that it netted more than $556 million in airline warrants, issued in connection with COVID-19 relief funds, that had been sold. The airlines issued the stock warrants in 2020 and 2021 as partial compensation for financial assistance and loans that Treasury provided to the airlines during the coronavirus pandemic. Provisions in the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act); the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021; and the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 gave the federal government the option to purchase shares of airline stock at a set price,... Read more →
This street art in Barcelona, Spain, isn't exactly what tourists want to see when they visit the capital of Catalonia. Public sentiment against the crush of tourists has prompted the city to seek an increase in its tax on cruise passengers who disembark in the Mediterranean Sea metropolis. (Photo by Mattsjc via Wikimedia Commons) COVID-19 literally is in the rear-view mirror for millions of travelers. After a rush to see new places and revisit old favorites as soon as coronavirus restrictions eased, travel now is returning to pre-pandemic normal. Customers are going back to basics, looking for, as they did... Read more →
For most U.S. families, summer vacation involves a road trip. Taking to the country’s highways is a chance to enjoy new landscapes, listen to (and sing along with) favorite playlists, and share time with the family. Road trips also mean stops for fuel, both for auto occupants and the vehicle. The good news for summer 2024 drivers is that the cost of gasoline isn’t that bad. AAA data show that the average price of gas as of mid-July is just more than $3.50 a gallon. That’s the same as the average price per gallon in 2023. Motorists in seven states,... Read more →
An aerial view of planes at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City. (Photo by Miguel Ángel Sanz on Unsplash) It will be a while before we get a final accounting of the COVID-19 pandemic costs, but last week we some good and bad tax-related figures connected to the health crisis. On the negative side of the ledger, there are the Employee Retention Credit (ERC) claims. This program that helped businesses keep workers on payroll in 2020 and 2021, but a rash of post-pandemic claims has cost the U.S. Treasury, at last count, $230 billion. There is, however,... Read more →
Unsplash+ in collaboration with Getty Images Tax credits are better than deductions because credits provide a dollar-for-dollar reduction of tax you owe. But sometimes, getting a credit’s benefit in a real-life cash-flow situation is better than the financial results at tax filing time. That’s the case, for example, in making a major consumer purchase, like a car. And that’s why the Treasury Department and Internal Revenue Service last year issued guidance on the Biden Administration’s Inflation Reduction Act clean vehicle provisions to help buyers of qualifying energy-efficient autos get immediate use of the credit. Under the rules, eligible vehicle buyers... Read more →
The coming Memorial Day break is seen as the unofficial start of summer in the United States. It’s also usually been the start of higher summer gasoline prices. That’s not the case this year. So far. Pump prices rose nationwide this spring, but actually have fallen a tad recently. Today’s AAA national average of a gallon of regular gasoline was $3.598. That was up a smidge (0.008) from yesterday, May 20, but less than the $3.612 recorded a week ago. Record road trips: Will the lower gas prices hold? An expected record number of drivers hope so, at least until... Read more →
Unsplash+ in collaboration with Getty Images If you're self-employed, use your car for work, and have taken your last business trip of 2023, go out to your vehicle and take a photo of the odometer. There's no Internal Revenue Service rule that you record your odometer's annual reading. But it's a good idea. A date-stamped smartphone image — either on the last day of the year, the first day of the next year, or, say some tax advisers, on both days — is a digital record that can help you determine how much you drove your vehicle for business. If... Read more →
Unsplash+ in collaboration with Getty Images Electric vehicles (EVs) are supposed to be one way to cut fossil fuel emissions and help slow, if not stop, climate change. But the best laid plans often go awry when lawmakers get involved. A $7,500 EV tax credit was part of the climate-related tax provisions in the Inflation Reduction Act achieve change. But it came with limits, with the full amount applying only to EVs and plug-in hybrids assembled in North America. Then this week, the Treasury Department further tightened the EV credit rules. Now a certain percentage of the components and minerals... Read more →
Photo by Xingchen Yan on Unsplash If your work involves driving, the Internal Revenue Service has some good news for your 2024 business trips. Today, the tax agency announced that on Jan. 1, 2024, the standard optional mileage rate you can use to claim those eligible miles will go to 67 cents per mile. That's a 1.5 cent increase over the 2023 mileage rate. However, the other two mileage rates that the IRS evaluates and adjusts each year are going down. Travel for medical and, in the case of qualified active-duty members of the Armed Forces, moving purposes will be... Read more →
If you stopped at a Georgia gas station today to top off your tank, you might have encountered a line. Peach State motorists will see fuel prices increase tomorrow, Nov. 30, as the governor's emergency suspension of the state fuel excise taxes expires. So you couldn't blame them for trying to get one last bargain at the pump. Gov. Brian Kemp's decree, first issued in September and then extended in October through most of this month, saved drivers of gasoline-powered vehicles 31.2 cents per gallon. Drivers of auto that use diesel saved 35 cents per gallon. In addition to the... Read more →
One of the advantages of traveling by car is you can stop and enjoy the scenery. Just be sure to budget enough to cover your fuel costs, which could be higher due to state gasoline taxes. (Photo by Unsplash+ in collaboration with Getty Images) The hubby and I are Thanksgiving outliers. Our holiday spread is good ol' Texas smoked brisket and sausage and all the sides instead of turkey and all those sides. We do, however, add a pumpkin pie to the banana pudding dessert menu. We also don't go anywhere on this holiday. One of the great homebody benefits... Read more →
Taking advantage of these inflation-adjusted tax breaks could put more money in your pocket instead of Uncle Sam's bank account. (Photo by Sasun Bughdaryan on Unsplash) Each of our tax situations is unique. But every taxpayer can agree on one thing. We all want to pay the least amount of tax as possible. That universal goal can be reached by taking advantage of tax deductions, tax credits, and income exclusions. Deductions, like the standard amounts discussed in Part 2 of the ol' blogs annual tax inflation series, are a relatively easy, and popular, way to reduce a tax bill. Deductions... Read more →
A field of tulips in Keukenhof, Lisse, Netherlands. (Photo: Unsplash+ in collaboration with Zdeněk Macháček) Tax season, at least the filing part for most of us, ended this week with the arrival on Oct. 16 of the extension deadline. That means that many of us in the tax world are thinking of taking a bit of a break. One place to consider is Amsterdam. The Netherlands capital has always been a popular tourist destination. Yes, I'm starting with the city's more-lax laws in connection with mood altering substances and, shall we say, personal interactions. For the less daring tourist, the... Read more →
Photo by Christine Roy on Unsplash If you're planning to squeeze in an end-of-summer vacation, budget a bit more for added taxes. The tax costs are being felt primarily by international travelers. U.S. travelers, no longer so concerned about COVID-19, have embraced delayed European trips. Residents of the destinations are, for the most part, happy for the added income. However, in particularly popular disembarkation sites, the sightseers are contributing to local infrastructure stress. Those visitors, say locals, should contribute to the area's upkeep and repairs. So tourist taxes have been instituted or increased this year in visitor-favored destinations such as... Read more →
If the owner of this Tesla I was behind a few years ago sells it, it could get the buyer a $4,000 used EV tax credit. (Photo by Kay Bell) This week brought a tale of two tax credits that were expanded as part of the Inflation Reduction Act for electric vehicles, usually referred to as EVs. Tesla fans got some good news. It appears that the electric automaker's used vehicle now qualifies for the $4,000 electric vehicle (EV) tax credit. Meanwhile, the Vietnamese EV manufacturer VinFast is working to get its autos on the list of new EVs that... Read more →
Danielle Scott via Flickr CC I'm exploring an auto insurance option that could my policy premiums. It's a discount for folks who don't drive very much. The trade-off is that I must install a travel tracker in my car. That same sort of tracking system is what a handful of states use to charge motorists by the distance they drive instead of by their fossil fuel usage. Oregon, Utah, and Virginia have implemented per-mileage vehicle taxes. Hawai'i is poised to be the fourth. And a national per-mile pilot program is planned, thanks to funding included in 2021's Infrastructure Investment and... Read more →
Photo by Durmuş Kavcıoğlu on Unsplash Some folks are already en route to their long Memorial Day weekend destination. Millions will be flying, with AAA projecting that this holiday's nearly 3.4 million air travelers will surpass pre-pandemic numbers. But the number of holiday travelers hitting U.S. roads will dwarf all other modes of Memorial Day travel. AAA expects more than 37 million will drive 50 miles or more starting today, Thursday, May 25, through Monday, May 29. Gas prices are lower this holiday compared to last year, notes AAA, when the national average was more than $4 a gallon. When... Read more →