The average internet bill in 2023 hit $75. Wondering if you need to pay that much? Here’s how to find out.
Here's who can claim home office tax deductions (Sorry, remote workers)
The number of people who work remotely increased as the pandemic took hold, and while some have returned to the office, others are still working at home. People have started businesses from home or new careers as they were laid off or resigned from their jobs.
Small business owners have to track many expenses, and among the highest are rental fees for office space. If you and your employees are working remotely, you can sublease that space or sell it if you’re an owner. Tap or click here for more tips on saving money for your small business.
You can deduct legitimate expenses from your taxes if you work from home. There are restrictions and rules, so the amount you can deduct will vary, or you may not be eligible at all. Read on to find out if you’re eligible.
Here’s the backstory
The instructions for IRS Form 8829 state that “you can deduct business expenses that apply to a part of your home only if that part is exclusively used on a regular
basis.” This includes conducting your business or trade in the space on your own or receiving clients, customers and patients there.
Two critical factors that contribute to your home office qualifying as your principal place of business are the importance of what you do there and the amount of time you spend there.
If you conduct administrative or managerial activities at another fixed location, it will lower your eligibility. For example, if you are spending most of your time at an office away from home doing billing, this could disqualify you. However, you can have an outside company do the billing from their location.
You can also deduct expenses related to the inventory you store in your home. If you sell electronics online and ship them from your home, that counts as inventory.
If you run a daycare center out of your home regularly, you may be able to deduct the business expenses. Do you have any children under the age of six? Tap or click here to see if you qualify for the child tax credit.
You don’t need to own the home where you conduct your business. There is space on the form to put down the amount you pay in rent.
No deduction for W-2
Here’s some bad news for most regular employees working remotely. CNBC recently reported on an exception for certain workers, as stated by the IRS in a September 2020 reminder: “Employees who receive a paycheck or a W-2 exclusively from an employer are not eligible for the deduction, even if they are currently working from home.”
Half of Americans don't know their internet data caps - How to check yours
We’re a year into the pandemic and one thing we learned is how important internet service can be for our livelihoods. We’re used to working from home and attending school remotely. We get our essentials online.
For some people, having consistent broadband internet is beyond their means. A new federal initiative seeks to remedy this problem for those who qualify. Tap or click here to see if you qualify for a discount on your monthly internet bill.
Money-saving tip: Find out if you're paying too much for internet service
When you signed up for home internet service, you had to choose from several options. Each plan promises certain download and upload speeds, but how do you know which one is right for you?
Those speeds are a big factor in how much you’ll shell out for the internet each month. Faster capabilities mean higher costs and you’ll pay less for slower speeds. But speed is just one factor when it comes to your internet bill. There are others you might not know about. Tap or click here to change this one setting for faster internet speeds.
7 steps you can take now to lower your internet bill
Your social media feeds are no doubt clogged with hoaxes and misinformation that spread all too easily. Tap or click here for rumors going around Facebook, so you don’t get tricked into sharing them.
On the other hand, your bank account is feeling the strain from all those streaming services you’ve signed up for. Tap or click here for the money-saving advice the streaming services don’t want you to know.
How to save big bucks on your Internet plan
Are you paying more than you need on your Internet bill? Here’s how to get the price down, in one minute.
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Everybody loves a cool trick. No matter how well we know an app or program, there’s almost always some shortcut we never learned. The same goes for hardware: We may use gadgets every day without knowing their helpful quirks.
7 steps to lower your internet bill
COVID-19 has drastically slashed most Americans’ budgets, and we’re all starting to feel the squeeze. More than 700,000 jobs were lost in March alone, and some analysts believe we’ll hit a national unemployment rate of 20% by June.
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Check your bank account and you may see a $1,200 payout, or even more, pending from the federal government.
The IRS has already begun sending coronavirus “economic impact payments,” and the money is sorely needed as millions of Americans are out of work or not making enough cash to pay their bills. Tap or click to see how you can get help with your internet bill if you can’t pay right now.