Charles Perkins's (cperkcpa) Blog

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Services for Real Estate Pros - Charles G. Perkins, CPA

ARCHIVED BLOG POSTS

2009 

The Wall Street Journal recently published an article.  The subject of the article is how the taxman is using social networking sites.  Most of us pay our taxes, but some do everything they can to avoid paying the taxes.  Social networks are becoming one more way for the IRS and other tax agencie...
08/30/2009
Many businesses and individuals are feeling the squeeze from lower consumer spending. Unemployment has been high and may stay at high levels for some time.  State governments are feeling the pressure of declining revenues.  As a result they are getting aggressive with sales and use tax and lookin...
08/28/2009
In 2005, the government created a credit to encourage the purchase and continued use of hybrid vehicles.  The credit currently is set to expire in 2010, but may be extended.  Here is a list of 2009 model cars that qualify for the credit.  The credit can be used in the year of purchase and in foll...
08/27/2009
When tracking your mileage what types of documentation or records should you keep?  To answer this question it’s important to consider what legitimate business expenses are.Deductible Business Expenses•    are expenses that serve a business purpose.•    are expenses that are ordinary, necessary a...
08/26/2009
Having grown up on a farm, I became very familiar with cow pies.  Juicy wet ones and the hard Frisbees that one could use to stoke a fire.  Manure makes such great fertilizer helping our gardens grow.  Many cultures use this manure in unexpected ways.The cow pies of life can be very messy, frustr...
08/25/2009
  We had cash for clunkers, now we are going to have cash for energy-efficient appliances.  As part of the economic stimulus plan, each state will be provided subsidies to create rebate programs with a October 15th deadline to apply.  Currently 25 states have prepared rebate programs that will st...
08/24/2009
I have friends flying in from Shanghai and found a neat website for tracking flights. Do you have friends flying in, if so you should check this website out: http://flightaware.com There is a great website that can tell you what the status of the flight is as well as the expected arrival time. Yo...
08/23/2009
What do you enjoy when you are not working?  I love to draw and paint.  My favorite medium is water color, but I enjoy working with color pencils as well.When I draw and paint it is usually a landscape scene or other element of nature.  Here is a painting that I turned into a card.  As a CPA, I t...
08/22/2009
Foreign Investment in US Real EstateForeign investors see the United States as a stable and secure place to invest in real estate (Zimmerman, 2008). Foreigners easily can purchase real property in the United States unlike some countries that make it difficult for foreigners to own real estate (Gu...
08/22/2009
Rental Property   Real estate used as rental property can produce significant tax breaks.  Generally speaking this is because rental property produces a tax loss.    How and when these losses can be taken will vary between landlords.  A landlord that is not actively involved with their rentals wi...
08/20/2009
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Charles Perkins

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