Selling your old belongings has never been easier. A person cleaning out a closet might sell clothes online. Someone upgrading a computer might sell the old one. A family moving to a new house may sell furniture through an online marketplace. Collectors routinely sell sneakers, watches, trading cards, toys, and other items they no longer [...]
Millions of Americans accumulate airline miles, hotel points, and other loyalty rewards every year. Some people earn them by purchasing airline tickets or staying at hotels. Others accumulate points through credit cards. Business travelers may earn thousands of dollars' worth of travel benefits while their employer pays the underlying expenses. Eventually, those points may be [...]
Most people understand that receiving money can create taxable income. Your employer pays you a salary. You earn money from a business. You receive interest from a bank. You sell property at a gain. But federal tax law contains a less intuitive rule: You may receive taxable income even when somebody gives the money directly [...]
A company car can be a wonderful employee benefit. The employer buys or leases the vehicle, pays the insurance, handles maintenance, and may even pay for the gasoline. But what happens when the employee takes that vehicle home? Or uses it to drive to the grocery store? Or takes the family somewhere on Saturday? The [...]
Suppose you perform $2,000 worth of freelance work and your client offers to pay you in Bitcoin instead of dollars. Maybe your employer pays part of a bonus in cryptocurrency. Maybe you design a website in exchange for Ethereum. Perhaps somebody simply says, “Instead of sending you $500, I'll send you $500 worth of crypto.” [...]
Winning a prize sounds like free money. You enter an online giveaway and win a new television. A radio station gives you a vacation. You win a car in a promotional contest. Your name is drawn for an expensive door prize. Then comes the less exciting question: Do you have to pay taxes on what [...]
Your employer gives you a $25 gift card for doing a good job. Or perhaps everyone receives a $50 gift card at Christmas. Maybe the company gives employees a $10 coffee-shop card as a small thank-you after a difficult week. Surely something that small does not count as taxable income. Unfortunately, federal tax law does [...]
Getting hurt at work can create an immediate financial problem. An injured employee may be unable to work, may face medical treatment and rehabilitation, and may begin receiving workers’ compensation benefits in place of an ordinary paycheck. That raises a practical tax question: Do you have to pay federal income tax on workers’ compensation benefits? [...]
Childcare can be one of the largest expenses facing a working family. Parents may pay thousands of dollars each year for daycare, preschool, babysitters, before- and after-school programs, or summer camps simply so they can go to work. The federal tax code provides some relief through the Child and Dependent Care Credit under Internal Revenue [...]
Plasma donation centers have become increasingly common across the United States, and compensation can make donating plasma attractive to people looking for some extra money. Centers may offer different payment amounts depending on how often a person donates, promotional incentives, or other factors. That raises a surprisingly complicated-sounding question: Do you have to pay taxes [...]
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