May & June 2025 News & Notes

Hours and Appointments

• After Tax Season Hours:
  Monday through Thursday: 9:00am - 4:00pm
  Friday: 9:00am - 2:00pm

• Other hours available by appointment. Appointments available in person, by zoom or by phone.

Thank You for Your Referrals and Yelp Reviews!  

• The winner for last month’s raffle has been selected and their gift card has been sent in the mail.

• Please continue to leave your Yelp reviews for a chance to win the next raffle!
   

Other Services Available 

• Bookkeeping and business advisory services

• Preparation of other tax forms such as 1099s, Sales Taxes, Statement of Stock, Statement of Information and payroll taxes

• Investment management & retirement planning services through Balancing Life Financial Planning.  Visit www.balancinglifefp.com for more details!

Are Pet Expenses Deductible?

Dogs, cats, and other household pets are expensive. Owners spend an average of $1,270 to $2,800 to own a dog. Can you ever deduct these costs from your taxes?

The expenses for a family pet that provides you only with love and companionship are never deductible. They are purely personal expenses.

But it is possible to deduct the expenses for a dog, a cat, or another animal if it qualifies as a

• medical expense

• business expense, or

• charitable deduction.

The costs of buying, training, and maintaining a dog or another animal qualify as deductible medical expenses if you

• use the animal primarily for medical care, and

• would not have paid the expenses but for the disease or illness involved.

Medical deductions are allowed for service animals trained to aid their owners with a disability. Examples include guide dogs for people who are blind or have low vision, or dogs trained to carry items for people with physical disabilities.

You can deduct as a medical expense emotional support animals, such as dogs, cats, or other animals that help people suffering from mental or emotional disabilities. Emotional support animals are more challenging to deduct than service animals because they can seem little different from regular pets. The animal should be prescribed (or at least recommended) by a licensed healthcare provider as part of a mental health treatment plan.

You can deduct dogs and other animals as a business expense if they serve a legitimate business purpose. For example, you can deduct security-purpose business-location guard dogs. The guard dog should be trained and should be an appropriate breed for guarding purposes, such as a Rottweiler, German shepherd, or Doberman pinscher. Don’t try to deduct a small dog like a Chihuahua as a guard dog!

Cats have achieved business-deductible status when used for pest control at a business location.

If you foster dogs, cats, or other animals in your home, you may be able to take a charitable deduction for the reasonable expenses you pay out of your own pocket, such as pet food expenses and veterinary bills. You may not deduct the value of the time you spend fostering animals or the value of donating space in your home for this purpose.

To qualify for this deduction, you cannot foster animals on your own. You must do so on behalf of a Section 501(c)(3) charitable organization. You must also obtain a written acknowledgment from the charity if your expenses exceed $250.

Don’t Miss a Tax Payment!

Missing an estimated tax payment can result in non-deductible penalties. Make timely payments via IRS Direct Pay or EFTPS—secure and convenient methods to help you avoid the penalties.

• Due dates. For tax year 2024, payment deadlines are April 15, June 17, and September 16, 2024, and January 15, 2025. For tax year 2025, payments are due April 15, June 16, and September 15, 2025, and January 15, 2026.

• Avoid penalties. Pay at least 90 percent of your current year’s tax or 100 percent of last year’s tax—or 110 percent if prior-year adjusted gross income (AGI) exceeds $150,000.

• Exceptions. Uneven income earners can use the annualized income method to align payments with earnings.

• Catch-up payments. Catching up when you miss a payment stops the penalty from accruing further but does not achieve forgiveness for the previous penalty assessed.

2025-26 Calendar

Post Tax Season Information

1. Be sure to read your transmittal and take note of due dates and payment options.

2. If on extension, S-Corps and Partnerships are due 9/15. Information needs to be provided by August 25th.

3. If personal tax returns are on extension, the due date is 10/15. Information must be provided by September 25th.

4. Copies of tax returns (PDF or Paper) are provided at the time of completion. Additional copies of tax returns will incur fees.

5. Additional services will be billed throughout the year, rather than with the next year’s tax preparation.

6. Fees are due upon completion unless other arrangements are made. Late fees will be charged for unpaid invoices.