Rod's Blog

Despite what some may tell you, it’s nifty being 50. Your kids are [most likely] grown, you’re well-settled in your career – and possibly in your peak earning years, and you may finally get your first AARP card. (It’ll come in handy, we promise!) As you enter your 50s, many of your larger expenses – like your mortgage or Ryan’s braces – may be behind you, and you can hopefully start putting more toward retirement. Still, as always, a new decade means new expenses and new tax concerns. This week as we continue our “taxes through the ages” series, we’ve got a few tax tips for you, 50-somethings!

Turning 40 (or “39 again”) can feel like a big milestone for many. But just like your 20s and 30s, your 40s bring a wealth of learning opportunities as you raise a family, grow your career, and settle in to yourself. And as always, new growth opportunities mean new expenses and new questions come tax season. As we continue our “taxes through the ages” series, here are a few tax tips for folks in their 40s. 

For many, the big “3-0” is the first age at which the reality of adulthood sets in. As your friends – or you – marry and start families, the responsibilities can seem to pile on pretty quickly. And it can certainly be argued that transitioning from your 20s to 30s means big shifts in the way you spend and manage money. This week we continue our taxes through the ages series with tax tips for our friends in their 30s. 

Remember back when you were still working your first or second job and had to navigate the tax waters for the first time? (Or maybe that’s you now – deep breaths. Keep reading!) It may have seemed like an overwhelming process as you tried to figure out what form went where, what a “deduction” was, and how you could receive the biggest return possible without drowning in paperwork. The truth of the matter (as you may have learned by now) is that no matter your age or experience, taxes can still be confusing. And over the years, you may find that your taxes, just like your interests and expenses, will change and evolve – after all, what’s relevant for a 25-year-old probably isn’t for a 75-year-old. At Polston, it’s our goal to make filing your taxes a breeze. So, over the next few weeks, we’ll be discussing tax tips for different age groups. First up: 20-somethings. 

Tax Day is officially behind us – this means we can start talking about the almost post-apocalyptic world of payments & refunds. Before we jump in to this week’s subject, we want to remind all of our readers that we are a valuable resource for all things related to taxes. We specialize in working with small businesses and individuals with tax liabilities. Today, we’re talking about Installment Agreements with the IRS. 

Even though we’ve passed Tax Day, we know how important it is for small businesses and small business owners to understand the tax realm of the work that they do. One of the ways we like to show appreciation for the hard work that these sort of people do is by sharing some of our knowledge about tax write-offs that might be available for them in their field. With that said, even though tax day has passed us by, make sure you’re taking careful notes when we post these articles – you never know what you might want to have been accounting for when the next tax season rolls around. This week, we’re talking about tax breaks for Freelance Writers!

Despite the fact that we’ve loosened our ties a little bit in moving through tax season, we’re trying to encourage all of our small business friends to stay on top of their potential write-off expenditures throughout the rest of the year. The Small Business Corner is geared towards helping different businesses get a clearer idea of what sort of write-offs might be available for them when it comes to filing taxes. We get that it can be difficult to try to run the whole gamut of tax season, and that’s where we come in. This week, we’re discussing Etsy Businesses – if you have any questions for us at the end of this article, we encourage you to reach out to us!

We’ve been putting together a series of posts dedicated to answering questions from the small business owners who frequently come to us for advice. Today, we’re going to be shedding some light on the potential deductions for Car Dealership owners and Car Salesmen!

We get it – in your field, sometimes life feels like it’s zooming by, and you’re not sure if, at the end of the day, your brain has enough gas in the tank to figure out exactly what you can and can’t write off of your taxes this year. That’s totally understandable – do us a favor, and let us do you a favor. We’ve compiled some information on write-offs for you to look at, and compile. If after you read this, you find that you have some questions, please don’t hesitate to contact us! 

Let’s face it – all of us have a bit of an entrepreneurial spirit inside of us. When it comes down to it, we may have the wherewithal to get the job done, but when it comes to managing the books, it can feel a little unnatural from time to time. Fortunately, for those of us with ideas bigger than life itself, but financial skills smaller than, say, an ant hill, there are business services that are designed specifically around taking the hardship out of the money game. 

Tax Day is right around the corner – literally! With that in mind, we’ve been working on a series of posts that are geared towards answering the hard hitting questions that we often receive from small business owners who are frequently reaching out to us. If you’re interested in learning about the industry-specific tax breaks to look out for this year, and you have questions about how to prepare for them, look no further!

This week, we’re examining some specific Hair Salon related tax deduction information. Now, whether you’re the owner of a Hair Salon, or just renting a booth at a Hair Salon, we know that you’re running a business that is often more of a lifestyle – strap your seatbelts on and hold on tight, we’ve got a lot of information about some (perhaps surprising) things that you can write off on your taxes this year.