September 2017 DiSabatino, CPA Newsletter

But it isn't as bad as it sounds. That's because Congress left in place two popular education credits that often offer a more valuable tax break:

So who is affected by the loss of the tuition and fees deduction? If you are paying for your student's graduate-level courses and are making too much to qualify for the Lifetime Learning Credit, the tuition and fees deduction was generally the only means you had to reduce your tax bill.

But there's still hope! In addition to the two alternative education credits, there are many other tax benefits that reduce the cost of education. There are breaks for employer-provided tuition assistance, deductions for student loan interest, tax-beneficial college savings options, and many other tax-planning alternatives. Please call if you'd like an overview of the alternatives available to you.

Having insurance for your home and vehicle is essential to ward off financial disaster should accidents occur. Unfortunately, insurance policies continue to become more expensive. One of the things you can do to lower your insurance cost is to consider increasing your coverage deductibles.

Higher deductible, lower insurance cost

Deductibles are the out-of-pocket cost you must pay before your insurance company steps in with their coverage. If you are willing to increase your deductibles, your insurance company will lower your monthly insurance premium.

By increasing car insurance deductibles from $500 to $2,000, the average American would save 16 percent a year, according to the online insurance broker InsuranceQuotes.com. The actual amount you would save on either car or home insurance depends on the state you live in, your demographic profile and claims history.

Do the math

Before you decide whether upping your deductibles is right for you, find out how much you would save. Suppose you would save $200 a year by increasing your car insurance collision and comprehensive deductibles to $2,000 from $500. After 7½ years, you would accumulate enough savings to make up the extra $1,500 out-of-pocket cost should you have an accident.

Now consider how likely you are to have an accident. About six in every 100 U.S. motorists file a collision claim every year and 3 in 100 file a comprehensive claim, according to the Insurance Information Institute. If those claims were spread out evenly, that means every motorist would go 16½ years before filing a collision claim and more than 33 years before filing a comprehensive claim.

Of course, claims are not spread out evenly and no one person's experience is "average." Your actual risk will depend greatly on how safe a driver you are, how many miles you drive a year, and where you drive. You have to make a similar estimate of your likelihood of filing a claim on your homeowners insurance.

Avoid the rate-hike game

Insurance companies are renowned for raising your premium after you file a claim. A higher deductible reduces this risk as fewer claims need to be filed.

A word of caution

Remember that increasing your deductibles can create a financial hardship. In our example, you'll now have to have $2,000 on hand to cover the cost of an insurance claim. Before you change your policy you need to be prepared by having enough cash in a savings account to cover your higher deductible.

At some point you may be on the receiving end of a debt collection phone call. It could happen any time you are behind on paying your bills, or if there is an error in billing. In the U.S. there are strict rules in place that forbid any kind of harassment. If you know your rights, you can deal with debt collection with minimum hassle. Here are some suggestions.

If a debt collection agency is not following these rules, report them. Start with your state's attorney general office, and consider filing a complaint with the U.S. Federal Trade Commission and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau as well.

Is a worker an independent contractor or an employee? This seemingly simple question is often the contentious subject of IRS audits. As an employer, getting this wrong could cost you plenty in the way of Social Security, Medicare, and other employment-related taxes. Here is what you need to know.

The basics

As the worker. If you are a contractor and not considered an employee you must:

As the employer. You must ensure your employee versus independent contractor determination is correct. Getting this wrong in the eyes of the IRS can lead to:

Things to consider

When the IRS recharacterizes an independent contractor as an employee they look at the business relationship between the employer and the worker. The IRS focuses on the degree of control exercised by the employer over the work done and they assess the worker's independence. Here are some guidelines: