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In this episode of the Dr. Friday Radio Show, Dr. Friday dives into key tax updates and practical advice to help listeners navigate the 2024 tax season. From filing deadlines to common tax pitfalls, this episode is packed with useful tips for individuals, small business owners, and contractors alike. Plus, callers share unique tax situations, including gambling income, Medicare payments, and travel deductions.
Topics Covered
- Tax Filing Deadlines:
- E-filing for 2024 taxes opens January 27, 2025.
- Employers must issue W-2s by the end of January; IRS filing for employers due mid-February.
- Filing Tips for Early Filers:
- Avoid using your last pay stub to file taxes; discrepancies can lead to IRS issues.
- Tax credits like Child Credit or Earned Income Credit may delay refunds until mid-February.
- Mileage Deduction Insights:
- Business mileage rates increased to $0.70 per mile for 2025.
- Clear guidelines on deductible miles for delivery drivers and contractors.
- Medicare and Tax Considerations:
- Paying Medicare premiums via Social Security or separately has no tax impact.
- Small Business Tips:
- Importance of reconciling expenses and documenting credit card purchases for taxes.
- Use tools like QuickBooks for receipt and record-keeping.
- Gambling Income & Deductions:
- Winnings must be reported; deductions for losses limited to winnings and require itemization.
- Key considerations for online gambling and tax obligations.
- Energy Tax Credits:
- 30% tax credit for installing solar energy systems; unused credits roll over to future years.
- Unique Caller Questions:
- Handling taxes on Canadian Social Security while living in the U.S.
- Per diem and actual expenses for travel related to income-generating activities.
- Addressing scams and financial exploitation from a tax perspective.
- Tax Scams Awareness:
- IRS never demands payments via phone; verify any suspicious calls independently.
Transcript
If you want to join the show, you can at 615-737-9986.
615-7-37-9986.
And to be quite honest, it’s been a pretty quiet weekend.
Friday, most everybody was trying to deal with the snow.
Saturday, it’s been pretty nice on the roads.
I was out there a couple times, but still, it hasn’t been overly crazy.
But hopefully everyone will get back to work on Monday morning and we’ll be in good shape able to make it through and I’m sure all the kids love the snow day so that was actually a fun and exciting thing but if you have questions or you need help you can call the show I do realize it’s a it’s a pretty quiet day I’m not expecting a lot of phone calls but 615 737 986 615 737 97 9986 is the number here in the studio and you can call and ask your questions and then if you if I can help I’ll be definitely glad to you know we want to review it is what the 10th 11th of January so tax season for 2024 has started individuals are getting I know many of our clients have already received we use ADP so a lot of them have received their W-2s already some are still waiting the just so you know the employer does not have to have anything to the employees until the last day of January so and I believe they don’t even have to have filed with the Social Security Administration until the second week of February. So sometime between the end of January and the second week of February, if there’s been corrections or anything, you should be able to have your W-2. I know that some people will use their final paycheck stub. I’m going to be quite honest. In the 30 years of doing taxes, I can’t say I’ve ever been a huge. I have found that by using that final pay stub, it doesn’t always match to the penny.
exactly what the IRS receives on the W-2s.
Could be that there’s some corrections.
I can’t say I’ve done a ton of them.
But in my opinion, you might want to wait until this, until it opens up.
So that way you can, you know, make sure you’re filing everything at the right time, doing the right place.
You know, so, you know, no one wants to get the love letter.
And when you file really early, the reason you usually do that is because you’re, you’re think that you’re going to get the refund faster or you really need the refund so you you know you’re filing and then you file something that doesn’t happen so and just just for anyone that is thinking about filing early again I’m my firm we don’t do advances on on refunds just not something I’ve ever really gotten into because I found again that that can be expensive tax season officially opens us e-filing returns on January 29th so January 29th is the date that the IRS will start sending confirmation of receiving e-files.
Not to say you can’t file it prior to that, but they just, that is for your information to know that the 2024 tax season.
And if you have a child credit or an income credit, most of them they will wait until after the February 15th.
So some of those are delayed.
Now, I know you can go to companies and get advances on your refunds.
again not something I really do okay let’s see if I can get Steve and Levin thanks for calling it’s a quiet day it’s nice to have a caller hey Steve what could I do for you hello thanks for hi oops Steve we lost see if you can call us back Steve I’m not too sure but I’m not seeing you on my caller I know it’s a Medicare question so it should be a good one so again the phone number here in studio 615 7000 379986 hopefully he can get back with us and ask that question meanwhile we will continue with so filing deadlines January 29th so basically taxes can be prepared there are still many forms if you are not just a simple 1040 maybe a B skit fileer there are forms that aren’t even ready for e file yet because they haven’t been confirmed by the IRS I do think that there are some um possible forms that are holding off till after January 20th.
I know Donald Trump said he wasn’t going to backdate any taxes, tax laws, but it is possible that he does.
We’ve seen it happen.
We’ve had it more than once happen where a new president comes in and then makes some sort of adjustment that is retro.
So again, another good reason not to rush to the finish line and go from there.
Okay.
If Steve is on line one, you can add him in.
if you can.
That way we get Steve back on the…
Hey, Steve, sorry I lost you.
Yeah, I’m in the car and it’s switched over from, well, whatever.
I have Medicare and we have Social Security also.
And we have our Medicare advantage.
We pay for it separately with a check.
Right.
Security checks.
So they are, you know, they’re different.
Is there an advantage tax wise one way or the other?
If you’re paying for it either let Social Security take it out for you or pay for it separately.
Yeah, there is no, from the tax standpoint, it makes no difference.
So the fact that you probably are not going to itemize unless you have a lot of medical, a high mortgage, property tax, if you’re single or if you’re single, it’s like $17,000 if you’re over age 65 and then the standard deduction and then married is almost $3.3.3.000.
30 some thousand. So it is difficult to itemize any medical expenses, to be quite honest, unless someone’s in extended care or something. So it would make no difference, though, for tax purposes, if you write the check or if you sign up through Medicare and they take it out of your Medicare, sorry, to pay your Medicare, whichever is easier for you, I think.
Okay. Thank you so much. That was the question. I appreciate it.
Thanks, Steve. I appreciate you listening and driving. All right, buddy. Stay safe.
out there. Let’s see if we can get Richard on the phone. Hey, Richard, what can I do for you, Oh, Dr. Friday. Actually, I sent you an email last week, and I didn’t know if you would get around answering it on there or not, so I figured I’d just call you. Go for. I love it. What can I do? I’m an Amazon flex driver, which means I drive my own car delivering packages for Amazon, independent contractor, okay? And they don’t take any taxes out or anything like that.
My question is about mileage.
Okay.
I know it’s a 67 cents per mile ride off, but I know I’m not supposed to deduct the mileage going to the warehouse.
But there are times.
There are three different warehouses I deliver out of.
My question is, where does the mileage deduction stop?
Does it stop at my last delivery?
or my last delivery for the day if I go to two or three different warehouses.
Right.
So basically tax law says…
The distance between that last delivery or one and then to the next pickup is that deductible.
It is.
So bottom line is for the when you leave home and you go to your first pickup, that first pickup is when you start your time clock for miles.
And then if you go back and forth three or four times to two or three different, every miles there and back is considered, is considered deductible miles, not commuting.
Because you got the commuting miles.
And then when you drop your last package and you drive home, that’s the end of the commuting.
So the first trip to the warehouse and then from the last stop to home would be considered.
And that’s, I’m going to be quite honest with you, depending on your situation, I mean, there there could be the commuting on the way back home could actually possibly depending on the miles but i’m going to take it the safe way for because we’re on the radio richard so bottom line is home to warehouse first trip and then back and forth all day as long as you can show that you picked up from there and went to point b any stops like say you stop and got lunch that theoretically as long as it’s on the same miles and it didn’t add any miles that’s fine but lunch stop itself is not a tax deduction um or any of any personal use you did between, but from warehouse to me to drop off my Amazon and then back to another warehouse to go to another person back and forth, those would be actual true business miles. Yeah, the one thing I was concerned about was going to follow up on, you kind of touched on it. My last delivery, maybe 60, 70 miles from my house, whereas the warehouse is only five or ten miles from my house.
That’s where I have to say, you know, almost your ideal situation is the drive from that last delivery to the warehouse, call that the end of that business mile and from warehouse to home.
I mean, that’s what I was wondering about.
There is ways around it, but that would be the way around it would be to go ahead and make the drive back to the warehouse and then from warehouse to home.
and that way the commuting would be less than you get a longer business mile.
I have people that will leave their home.
And within a mile or two, their first, let’s just say, their first business is a state farm.
And it’s only two miles from the home.
So they stop there first.
So the commuting from their home to the state farm, because that’s a client, they won’t count.
But from that point on, the rest of the day, and they do the same thing on the other end, where they’re basically seeing their last client a few miles from home because the commuting is what’s, we don’t get to deduct. So yes, if you can work your calendar to allow for that, that’s a perfect miles day. Yeah, it’s possible, but it’s a headache to do because they do the routing and, you know.
And traffic, I mean, sometimes you have to put up with a lot, even those few miles could be more tedious to your nerves than it is in tax savings. But now with, what, 70 cents a mile in 2025, it’s kind of worth the headache if it’s available to you.
I mean, if that keeps going up.
Yes, well, three cents.
So like you said, it was 67 and 24 the year we’re talking, but currently you’re at 70 cents a mile.
So for next year, I’ll have even a bigger deduction.
Okay.
Yes, that. Which.
I was wondering about that because I try to keep up with it.
I basically, I’m retired and I do this, you know, just stay active.
Right, right.
And basically, I don’t go anywhere anyway.
And just driving from my house to the gas station where I fill up, I usually keep track of my mileage there.
And then come back and the next day, I use all of that mileage, but I’m only four or five miles from the warehouse.
And I take that mileage and I deduct at least 10% of it before I ever take my standard deduction.
Okay.
So, it sounds like you have a mileage law as well.
Right.
Well, that’s the advantage if you’re doing this in the way it is.
I’m concerned that tax law may eventually turn you guys into carriers like rule mail carriers, and they’re not allowed to use miles.
They have to use actual.
And I’m wondering if they’re going to eventually change the tax law for the delivery companies, because they’re very similar to rule mail carriers, you know.
but so far that hasn’t happened, Richard.
I’m just saying.
They want me to go actual.
I’ll only gain because I’m knocking at least 10% off before I ever file.
And I don’t do that many miles for personal reasons.
All right.
Well, I appreciate it.
That’s a great full call.
Thank you.
And I listen to you while I deliver, by the way.
Thank you so much, Richard.
Stay safe out there, right?
All right.
Thanks.
All right.
Jacob, I’m going to hold through the break.
I’m already about a minute over.
We’re going to take a quick break on the Doctor Friday show.
We’ll be right back.
All righty, we are back here live in studio, and I’m sorry.
We lost our last caller.
I know those breaks can be long to hold, especially if you’re driving and getting out of the car or whatever.
If you get time, you can give us a call back.
The phone lines are open.
615-737-99-86-6-15-737-97-99-8986.
I did want to go back and just reiterate for everyone.
in 2024, the miles was 67 and 2025. Your mileage rate for businesses is going to be 70 cents a mile.
It is a great tax deduction, guys. I mean, think about it. If it’s done correctly, most businesses, most individuals have miles, you know.
But what was great about the conversation we just have with Richard is he brought up the fact that commuting is where people get in big trouble.
That or just not tracking it at all, just making it, oh, I think, I think I started about 35,000 and now I’ve got at least 75, so I must have done 40,000 miles last year on my car.
It doesn’t quite fly.
At least if you’re using something like mileage IQ, your calendar is one of your better tools as well because then you know who you met with, you know, why you were meeting, is it a new client?
Was it just to go out and visit to make sure that services were going good?
Was it a meal that you took with either clients or a potentially new client, et cetera, et cetera?
Then you have the details on that.
You do need the details.
You need to understand.
Another good thing nowadays with cell phones is meals.
Meals, we all know that entertainment right now is not a tax deduction, but meals are.
So you need to make sure that you have your meals put together so that you know what meals are going to be deducted.
Is it a meal that it was just for you?
Were you out of town?
Were you, you know, traveling or, I mean, if it’s just that you were further from home.
I know a lot of people do that 50 miles from home.
That doesn’t really apply as it used to.
I mean, at one point, I know, but the IRS has pretty much come down now.
And unless that meals has to do with generating income and you eating isn’t really going to do that.
I know, again, I’ve heard the things.
I had to take a meal out because I was too far from home to get back for lunch.
Well, nowadays, again, you know, that isn’t going to be one of your things.
If you have travel, which means you’re actually spending a night someplace, then there is a traveling allowed and there are meals.
But if you’re local and you’re just feeding yourself, that’s a choice, not a tax deduction.
And if you’re feeding your crew, now that’s where it gets a little interesting because if you’ve got, 50% or more of your crew, and a lot of times, like my construction guys, they’ve got 100% of their crew almost on the site, and you decide to feed them lunch for convenience of the company so people don’t, or maybe there’s no place to eat around the job site and you bring in food, So at least 50% of it would be a deduction.
So it’s something to think about.
And in some cases, though, if you’re a restaurant and you allow your employees discounts, while they’re there because it’s better for them to just eat at the restaurant than to go out and grab something and come back and you do it during the time there.
That’s fine.
But sometimes they are also given discounts when they are not working.
And if that’s the case, that becomes actually taxable income to your employee.
So be careful about what benefits you give.
All right, we’ve got Todd in Mount Juliet.
Let’s hit Todd and see if I can help him.
Hey, Todd.
Hello.
My question is, I’m on Social Security, and I’m wondering about my taxes.
Okay. Do you have other income other than Social Security?
No, just Social Security.
Are you married? Does your spouse work?
I threw out $3,000 last year for my 401.
K-fine. Okay. And I’m wondering I need to pay taxes on that. So Todd, are you just have Social Security and that $3,000? Excuse me? So in 2024, you said you had Social Security and the $3,000. Are you married? No. Okay. And the $3,000 was the only money you received above the Social Security, correct?
Yes.
Okay.
So the fact is you’re not going to be taxable at $3,000.
The provisional tax code is 50% of your Social Security plus other income to see, but the likelihood is you are not going to actually have to worry about making any kind of payment on that $3,000.
Now, did they withhold any taxes on that?
On the $3,000, did you pay any money in?
to Uncle Sam already?
Sometimes they’ll take out 10%.
I don’t know.
My question is, do I need to file income taxes here?
No.
The only reason, my answer is, the only reason you would file income tax would be because they withheld money on that 3,000.
Many organizations, they’ll take out 10%.
And if they did, you’re going to need to file to get your $300 back.
If there’s no money withheld, you do not need to file taxes.
Okay.
And I’ve got one other question here.
I gamble on a betting site.
Okay?
And after the whole year was done, I was, after all I betted, I was, after all I bet it, I was $270 in just a good.
I mean, I bet it and I was like a 1,47,000, but I lost 40,000.
So that one, you may have to file on, Todd, because the rule on gambling has changed a lot.
Now, you will get what’s called a W2G is in gambling, and you might want to see what they’ve issued on that, because the way the deduction is, nowadays if you’re using just the same site, a lot of times they’ll take all the positives and negatives and say, here’s a W2G for your final $215, whatever.
But in some organizations, they will actually 1099 every time you win, or W2, I should say, W2G every time you win, and then you are responsible for reporting the cost, in a sense, to that.
So I would definitely say you may have to file taxes without knowing and not really don’t want to get too far into the weeds on this one.
But I would say, Todd, before you make, before you don’t file, make sure you get all of those forms, the 1099R on your 401k as well as the W2G.
And then if you get those in the dollar amounts, if they actually give you a W2G, the answer is yes, you need to file.
because most likely they’re not showing your basis.
So you’re going to tell them how much your cost was.
Will they send me that in the mail?
Most likely, or if you’re doing it on electronic app, it may be able to be downloaded at the end of the month, at the end of January.
So if I don’t get anything in the mail, do I have to worry about it?
Well, you do if they say that they’re not mailing them, they’re only electronically sending them, and then you have to be able to download it.
So you need to double check with your, I’m assuming this is an online site that you’re using.
Yes, yes.
So you need to check that online site to see if there’s any year-in tax documents you need to use, because nowadays they’re not actually obligated to physically mail that information.
But I’m sure you get a lot of questions about this, people that gamble.
is this your response to it?
That’s my response.
My response is there’s no easy answer because depending on I have people that do the boats that travel that go to Las Vegas.
I have people that do the online sporting apps and all of them treat it differently.
All I can tell you is that you will most likely get a W2G and if you do, you’re most likely going to need to file taxes.
Again, I don’t know your exact.
I mean, it’s too hard.
It’s sort of a general answer.
and I get that, but you are going to need to make sure, because I have had a number of people that get love letters back later, where it says you didn’t report all of your income, and then we have to go back and file on those W2Gs.
So if I don’t get that in the mail, I don’t have to worry about it.
No, that’s not my answer.
My answer is by law they don’t have to mail it to you.
It can be required that you have to go on to the online site and download it yourself.
They do not have to physically put it.
put it in the mail. Okay. Thank you for your advice. No problem, buddy. Thanks. Let’s see if we can get Richard real quick before the break. Hey, Richard. Hi. Hi. I put in a solar energy system in 2024 and what documentation do I need to claim it on taxes? Um, let’s see. It’s an 8,000 report. I want to say, good job for doing that it’s a 5695 5695 yes sir okay so I just fill out the form fill it out and it’s gonna you’ll have to have a receipt for I mean you should have one it may not be required to attach but we usually scan it in just to show that you paid it so you can make sure you get credit for what I’m not even sure what the credit is right now are we at what 30 40 percent do you know I don’t have any on top of my list I was trying to figure out the uh yeah i don’t know exactly but i do have a receipt for it good that’s what we’re going to need so yeah it will fall on that and then it’ll give you the residential energy credit um for for that and um i may look that up after this break here and just let you know what that percentage is uh but definitely put it on your return under that form and then it will roll over for you okay okay thanks so much hey no problem thanks for calling we’re going to take our second break here and when we get back. I will let you know what the energy credit is, as well as take some of your calls.
615-737-9-39-86. We’ll be right back. All righty, we are back here live in studio.
You can join us in the studio, 615737-9986, 6157-37-9986. And for my gentleman that just called me about the energy, it is 30% of what you paid. And then it’s not refundable. It will, reduce your taxes and then if for some reason that is more than what you owe in taxes, then you’ll be able to roll it over into 2025. But it is a credit. So it’s a great one. So depending on your situation, will be good shape to make it work for you. All right. So again, if you want to join 615-737-99-86-1-5-737-99-8986, taking our calls, talking about, hey, we’re getting tax season, right? So I wanted to make sure when I was talking to that last gentleman about the gambling, I know I think he was wanting me to say he wasn’t going to have to file, or he just wanted to know what the actual true, you know, gambling situation is. But it’s a little bit trickier when it comes to gambling and taxes. If you report your W-2 federal tax are withhold that flat rate of 24%, if they actually give you one.
If you’re using like draft kings and things like that, there are certain state and federal regulations that you need to get into.
And draft king is relatively new in my office, maybe the last four or five years that we’ve seen more and more people using the online situation.
If you have internet access and you want to know more about the gambling, you can go to the IRS website.
It’s topic 419.
gambling income and losses because it’s not quite as simple. The losses have to fall on a schedule A, right? Which we know is difficult because many people, if you only have, this gentleman, it sounds like he may have won some bigger pots, but if you won two or three thousand dollars and maybe you gamble, then you can only take up to what you won, you’re not going to get the tax deduction against the income. This is what I was trying to explain. I’m not too sure if I did a very decent job on it. But under the current tax law, it used to be you could write off your income of gambling right against your deduction of gambling under the 2106. But now they basically have it going under the Schedule A, if you don’t itemize, you may pay tax on the gambling without being able to itemize the deduction. Now again, I will say that they seem to be now when you go into casinos or if you use the same gambling for them, be it the boats or, like, Las Vegas or whatever and you gambling at the same place, they seem to take your positive and negatives and kind of wash them against each other so you don’t have to worry about paying tax on the big wins because you lost all that same money re-gambling. I mean, I know there are professional gamblers, but most people that gamble, and that could be either in gambling or in playing the stocks or anything else. Stocks, I think people have a much better chance, but I have some day traders that could easily have large losses in the 50 or 60 percentile there.
So again, just making sure that we have that information correct.
So if you need help or you’ve got a question, you want to join the show, it is a cold and wintry day outside.
Actually, you know, I just went out there a second ago, and it wasn’t as cold as I thought.
My snow is melting here in Spring Hill.
We got a pretty decent amount, but the grass is already starting to show through.
So it seems like it’s a bit warmer out there.
But if you’re sitting at home and you’re thinking, okay, I’m going to start thinking about taxes because I like to get them filed sooner versus later.
One thing would be for small business owners, this may be a perfect weekend to go in there and reconcile your final month of December.
And then review any kind of credit cards or anything where you may have had equipment purchases or trips or any kind of expense that may have been put on a credit card that you don’t you may not have picked up or if you haven’t itemized a lot of times I’ll see people that just have Chase or something like that on their expenses.
But, you know, just because you paid Chase credit cards $2,000, it doesn’t tell the IRS and or your tax person what that was for.
That needs to be broke down into office supplies, meals, equipment.
What was the money spent for?
Was it deposited in the bank?
Was it income?
You know, those are the kinds of things.
We need those details.
Sooner you keep it fresh in your brain, you go into, and I am a quick book user.
You can use desktop or they’re solely eliminating desktop and pushing everyone towards online.
But you can take pictures of all your receipts and you can upload them right in there so that throughout the year, instead of having to save every receipt, you know, every time you write a check, you can upload.
load the invoice every time you take a meals or entertainment or anything that, you know, running through your system, you can attach the receipt right behind it. And therefore, you’ve got a fairly audit-proof situation. The only time that would be questionable is if you’re taking a deduction that you really aren’t entitled to taking. A lot of times, you know, people think, again, I use meals because every many times people think anytime they eat out, every meal they ever do could be a tax deduction because they’re either thinking, doing, or going to do something to do with business, therefore, you know, but it’s not essential. Meals in most businesses are not essential.
Now, there’s always an exception to every exception in taxes. That’s why it’s difficult to just do a black and white answer.
Because usually in my own brain, I can come up with a scenario where I’ll tell someone, you know, you can’t take this commuting, but in other cases, it is deductible.
So whatever you hear on this show or any blog, or anything you’re listening to from a tax expert, just keep in mind, it’s mainly generic.
We’re not trying to give any one person tax advice.
In my case, I’m not.
I’m an enrolled agent licensed by the Internal Revenue Service to do taxes and representation.
I am trying to get people to think about their own taxes, to use tax law in the best of their ability to do it.
I mean, I don’t, many people can do their own tax return.
I don’t think everybody needs a person to prepare their tax.
But there are times when something comes up and you might need to have someone help you with your taxes.
Maybe you’ve got rental property and you don’t understand depreciation or what’s the difference between an asset and repairs?
Should it be on a Schedule C and all of you that have Airbnbs or VRBO’s short-term rentals, then most of you should be putting them on Schedule C’s, not Schedule E’s.
And this was a learning curve for many of us.
So I’m not going to say when first, but the courts have come down saying that short-term rentals are going to be considered earned income, unlike long-term rentals, which are passive.
So again, one of those things that you really want to make sure you’re going with, adjusting and taking, because what may have been 10 years ago common tax law, you know, it changes every year, guys.
So sometimes something that was isn’t anymore at all, or they’ve changed the tax law, main one that comes into mind, I still go to speaking engagements and meetings, and people will say, well, as long as I sell my home today and I reinvest it in the next year or two, I don’t have to pay any capital gains, correct?
And the answer is no, that was a tax law many, many years ago.
But the current tax law is you have an exclusion of $250 per person.
So if married people, it’s $500.
if you’re both lived in the house for two out of the last five years, single people would be 250.
If you’ve lived in that house, two out of the last five years.
And there are some mandates you have to meet if you’ve been doing it every two years or something, trying to avoid capital gains.
Again, that’s what tax law is about, is trying to maximize tax deductions, but also understanding what obligation do you have and what type of paper trail do you need?
Because there are situations, one that comes to mind where a person only lives, lived in the house a year, but due to serious medical issues, they had to sell the house.
There are exclusions on not having to meet that whole year.
Another one just came up was a divorce couple.
They had brought a house, purchased the house about a year or so ago.
They ended up divorced.
So obviously, they’re not both living there.
They sold the home because it was a joint property.
And there is an exclusion for something like that.
So, you know, even though I give you one, the standard is two out of the last five years, you get the $250,000 exclusion, but there are exceptions to most rules when it comes to taxes.
So, you know, just make sure that when you’re doing your taxes, you understand your Pacific tax situation.
That’s all I’m trying to say.
If it’s something that is black and white, 70 cents a mile for 2025, then that’s fairly black and white.
but what mild what constitute miles for you versus the guy that’s the delivery guy the guy that is like myself where i basically have a home office but my clients are not never come to my home therefore it’s for the benefit of myself more than the business um on that situation so um let’s go ahead and get alan on if we can and that way he can get through the break hey alan what can I do for you? Yeah, I’m kind of wondering, this is kind of a weird question. If somebody that is a Canadian citizen and they lived here in the United States and they have a green card, did they call it, they’re allowed to work here, and they did work some in Canada, would they be entitled for their Canadian Social Security, do you know? Oh, I mean, I have many Canadians that their Social Security from Canada, and now they live here.
Yeah.
You know, so the answer is, as far as I know, as long as you meet the Canadian criteria, whatever, and I don’t know what it is, like here in Tennessee, here in the United States, you’d have to have worked 10 years to qualify or 40 quarters for Social Security.
I don’t know what theirs is, but yes, I have people that receive their Canadian Social Security and still live here in the United States.
So that could apply to quarters rather than years.
Quarters would be the same.
Yeah, I mean, some people, let’s say they only worked half a year, so that’s two quarters in, you know, in a full year.
So you have to have had 40 quarters or 10 years, which is 40 quarters.
But some people could spread that out.
It may have taken them 15 years to get 40 quarters, I guess, what I’m saying, for the United States.
I don’t know Canadian law, so I don’t know for sure if they have, any mandate or as long as you’ve paid in.
It’s a lot like Social Security.
It seems like to me.
Well, I guess somebody gets a hold of a Malky.
There you go.
You need to go check it down.
Find out if you’ve qualified for it.
All right.
Well, thanks for your help.
And enjoy your show.
Thank you.
Thanks, buddy.
All right, we’re going to take our last break for the show.
And if you want to join the show, 615-37-99-86, we’ll be right back with the Doctor Friday show.
We are back here.
live in studio. So let’s go ahead hit Eric who came in through the break and that way we can hopefully give him a little help. Hey Eric, what can I do for you, sweetie? Hi, Dr. Friday. I enjoy your show. I have a travel expense question. I own some property in Arkansas and it’s timber property and I stay overnight, several days doing work there. And I’m wondering if I can just use the per diem on the meal allowance. Of course, I use the same per diem on mileage, but I would think my actual expenses on meals are much lower than the per diem. So I think I’m entitled to it. I just wanted to check with you. You would be entitled to per diem, assuming that the reason you’re going to that property is for generating income, right? You’re visiting it to make sure that either there’s timber available for cutting, where it’s growing. If you’re growing, I don’t, you know, I mean, And the biggest thing is making sure that the reason you’re going down there is for the property and to generate potential future earnings, then you have family down there and you just say you’re going to look at the land.
That’s all I’m saying.
I mean, you know, but answer to your question, the per diem would be allowed.
Yes, sir.
Yeah, I notice there are local areas that have a different rate than the metropolitan areas.
So I’m aware of that.
I normally use the per diem in my tax claims.
I mean, there’s nothing wrong with that because most of the time, any meal, it’s under $75 a period anyways.
I think it’s cleaner when you can use the per diem as long as you can prove the trip and you’ve got your hotel stay and everything.
So you’ve got documents that you actually went there.
So that’s not a problem.
Yeah, and I think you claim actual motel expenses rather than, than the per diem allowed correct yes no you’d want to use your actual hotel because you’re not you’re not going to take the per diem it could be actually lower than what you paid right okay well thank you very much appreciate your show thanks buddy appreciate it all right um we’ve got another caller coming on here his name is doug from nashville let’s see if doug’s available hey Doug, what’s happening?
I have a rather unfortunate one for you.
See if you’ve had one like this.
Family member, brother is involved in a husband, it’s still involved in a dating scam.
And so far he’s admitted to have been paid out $20,000 odd dollars and admits it to scam.
Number one, would that be tax-aductible, blah, blah, blah.
Also, he’s involved in another one, which, I mean, just off the charts how stupid it is.
And I’m working on that, but still, any suggestions.
I’m seeking for any suggestions.
Yeah. To be honest with you, Doug, no, unless it becomes a federal case where there is an actual lawsuit going on, sometimes that does lead to the ability to have fraud, you know, charges.
But the basic scams, unfortunately, the IRS looks at it and as gifting.
I guess of lack of a better term, is more like he’s just, he’s agreed to gift this money to some stranger.
And we all know that it’s sad because most likely, from my personal experience within friends and family, it’s because the person is a little lonely and therefore they find somebody that, you know, knows how to play on that.
And it’s not like one big check.
It’s just a lot of little payments made out in the situation.
But Doug, none of that is going to be a tax deduction for him.
And I’m hoping I had a case where the guy took money right out of his 401K and sent it overseas to a potential supposedly wife.
Obviously, he got hit with the taxes on that 401K withdrawal, and there was nothing we could do.
There’s no tax law saying that he couldn’t do it, but there’s also no deduction for it.
Yeah, it’s beyond stupid some of the things you see happening.
Yeah, they suck. I mean, I hate that.
say it, but they do take advantage for individuals that, um, mostly lonely or just, they think they’re dealing with a reptable person and, you know, they just play on it. So it is a shame. Um, and I know some banks have done some good things with trying to help, you know, protect against that kind of thing, but all in all, Doug, your best bet is to get, if possible on that, on that sibling, if he’s still doing it, and I don’t know if he’s been, you know, is maybe a second, uh, signature required for anything over, you know, $100 or something until he gets a handle on what, what’s really happening.
Because he may not see it even though it’s happening. The kicker is they will not, he will not admit that it’s occurring. And I really don’t want to be a scene that you’re on the account.
Yeah. And you don’t want to be a babysitter. I mean, that’s not what you want. I get it. But, you know, unfortunately, these people can drain the people dry. You know, I mean, and they don’t care. They have no mercy for what they’re doing to, to the other person. It might be.
opinion so yeah but from tax standpoint there is nothing that can be done I am so sorry all right no I appreciate it thank you thanks buddy yeah and and I will you can hang up on dog I will say that this is no different than the scams we have from people call and say the IRS is calling and they say you owe money that’s still out there guys and if for any reason even if you owe money first the IRS is not likely to pick up the phone and call you you very rarely. I won’t say it doesn’t happen because sure it does. But if for any reason, you just aren’t sure, I will tell you this, no revenue officer or revenue agent would ever call and say, you need to pay us now, give us your credit card, give us your banking information. Never, ever, ever going to happen. If there’s a payment required, they’re going to either have you certify a check directly to the local or the main office or whatever.
I always suggest using the IRS website to make those payments so you have confirmation.
Don’t just give that information out.
And if a revenue officer or collection agent calls and they’re wanting to confirm information and they’re like, confirm your social security number, confirm your address, confirm your date of birth, don’t do it.
I’m sorry.
Even if it’s a legitimate caller, don’t do it.
at least hang up, call the local 615, you know, I don’t need, 250 something number or, or if you have letters from the IRS, follow up, there’s phone numbers on there, there’s 800 numbers.
Call those numbers.
Do not call back, even the number.
I had it happen here in my office, said I missed jury duty, and they said that I owed a fine because I had missed jury duty, and it came up as the, the local sheriff’s office.
And I’m like, oh, gosh, did I somehow forget.
I didn’t see a sticker or whatever.
And this guy knew certain things that I had not, as far as I know, preempted.
But I hung up the phone and called the sheriff’s office back again because it just wasn’t making sense what he was saying as far as I was concerned.
And sure enough, that was a scam, but they could duplicate the phone number.
So even if the phone number of the person you’re talking to seems legit, if it says, you know, it says U.S. Treasury or whatever, still hang up.
It’s that simple.
Get the name, get the badge number, and then hang up and then call the local or call the 800 number for the IRS and then see if that person is true.
And then you can consider that because you’ve, you’ve instigated and you know you’re actually talking to this correct agent because they may never exist.
And any information you’re providing now is just crazy.
So, all right, guys, we’re down to about the last minute almost of the show.
So what an aide, thank you all for participating.
Next, we’re going to be getting ready for obviously making sure if you haven’t got your tax appointment at our office, you can go to DRFriday.com.
Click on the calendar or the scheduler and go ahead and make your appointment.
We do have Chris in the office this year, so we have a little more room to hopefully get some of you guys some expertise if you need it.
Also, you can also email Friday at DR Friday.com.
Monday morning, you can give us a call here in the office.
615-367-0819.
I do want to correct something.
I said tax season opened on the 29th, and it actually opens on the 27th for E-File.
January 27th for E-File is happening.
And if any of you, because I know we do have people that listen online or have family in the California wildfire areas, Um, just know that they’ve extended their taxes all the way out to October. Not that that’s at this moment. I’m sure no one over there is thinking about that, but sometimes it’s nice to just take the pressure off. Know that you’re not going to be held responsible, uh, for that. So if you do want to reach us again, the phone number is 615, 365, 367.0819. Looking for an appointment. Just go to DR Friday.com and click on the calendar or email Friday at That’s DR Friday.com.
That is how you reach us.
We’re going to be here again next Saturday.
Hope you enjoy this cold day.
Cop you later.