Microsoft may be Spying on You

To check if this happening to you, go to Windows 10 settings and select privacy and then select Speech, Inking, & Typing. If it says "Stop getting to know me," the software is recording your every keystroke and word spoken when you are at your computer. Click this option to disable the recording. The option should then say "Get to know me" and all the recorded data files will be cleared.

Home Office

If you are a partner or a sole proprietor, you can use the simplified method of taking up to 300 square feet of office space at $5 a square foot for a business deduction of $1,500 a year. The home office has to be used regularly and exclusively for business activities. Using the simplified method still allows you to deduct your mortgage interest and real estate taxes on your home if you itemize on schedule A. If you are an employee of a corporation, then there is a different road to go. The employer should reimburse the employee for a % of the indirect costs of the principal residence used for the business. For example if 15% of the home is used for the business, then 15% of the home utilities, repairs/maintenance, security, and insurance should be paid to the employee as a nontaxable working condition fringe at least once a year. The employer could deduct the business expense and the employee would not have to report the income. Note that depreciation cannot be part of the employee reimbursement. The IRS says that lawn care and landscaping are not qualified home office expenses but some court cases have held otherwise.

Estate Planning

The current amount an individual can leave to heirs without any estate or gift tax is $5,490,000. This amount is indexed for inflation and can change every year. As a couple you can leave twice as much if you file an estate tax return for the first spouse to die and elect to make any unused exemption portable to the surviving spouse. Also, the executor may want to file an estate return even for a gross estate under the exemption amount if the assets include appreciating real estate.

Georgia Refunds on 2016 Tax Returns

To check on the status of your GA refunds go to the Georgia Dept of Revenue web site and look for Where's my refund. You need to key in the primary social security # and the amount of the refund. The site will tell you if your return is being processed. It is now taking up to 90 business days from filing to get Georgia refunds.