Pandemic Tax Tips

by Brendan Smith
Weirs Times Editor

Every once in a while, I like to use my column space to benefit the public good. To back away from some of the satire and to bring forth real information to help readers like you.
So, as I have done around this time over the years, I’d like to let you in on a few tax changes that you may not know about but could be eligible for.
2020 was an especially confusing year and the pandemic brought about some changes in the tax law that have not been widely reported on. There has also been a lot of misinformation circulated on the Internet that is just not true. (Yeah, I know, hard to believe.)
I hope this list helps to clear a few things up and at least help to save you some money that you will need to pay in taxes for other things.

THE MASK DEDUCTION – Many of us spent money over the past year on masks. Now you can take a $5 tax deduction on each mask that you bought in 2020. Just be sure that you have receipts for all of them and that you also have kept all of the used dirty, slimy masks in a container of some sort so that they can be counted by an IRS agent since all mask deductions will be thoroughly checked. (Also Please be sure to wear a mask during your mask audit which you will be able to deduct on your 2021 taxes.)

THE SOCIAL MEDIA CREDIT – Many of us who have been homebound due to the pandemic have spent a lot more time on social media then we should (even more time than before the pandemic when we already spent more time on it then we should). Now, you can turn all of those wasted hours spent yelling back and forth with others into a tax credit. Simply click the “I give the IRS permission to tap into my (Facebook, Twitter, etc) accounts and see how many mindless hours I spent trying to prove that I and I alone was right about everything and everyone else is an idiot” box in the upper right-hand corner of your tax form and the IRS will then notify you of your deduction. (I would recommend clicking the box since they are going to know what you do anyway)

THE TATTLETALE DEDUCTION – If you were smart during 2020, every time you berated someone in public for not wearing a mask, you filmed it with your phone. For each instance of tattling that has video proof, you are eligible for a $100 tax deduction. (There is some bad info going around out there that if you berate someone for not wearing a mask, even though they are more than six-feet away from you and outside, that you can’t deduct that. Well, I am happy to tell you that the deduction is good no matter how far someone is from you so hopefully you didn’t delete those videos of you yelling across the parking lot at unmasked offenders.)

FLATTEN THE CURVE DEDUCTION – This is not an actual deduction, though there is a rumor going around about it that has people falsely excited. Many people believe that you are allowed to deduct $50 for each day beyond the “fifteen days to flatten the curve” that we were promised, but this is not true. In fact, Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi have both commented publicly just before passing the $1.9 trillion stimulus package, that allowing for such a deduction would be fiscally irresponsible.

THE ZOOM DEDUCTION – With this deduction you can get a tax credit for up to $10,000 for time lost to your business which you tried to conduct by Zoom but couldn’t get anything accomplished since half the people from your office couldn’t get on due to a lousy Internet connection or were older than sixty and just couldn’t figure out how the darn thing worked. (It was originally going to be older than 55 but AARP lobbying changed that.)

THE COVID DEPENDENT TAX CREDIT – This lets you claim up to $2,000 for any person living in your home no matter their age, just as long as they were too scared of COVID to ever leave the house even if they are filing their own taxes. The IRS is going to scrutinize this one carefully so as to make sure the person you are claiming hasn’t also taken the “Tattletale Deduction” on their own return since it would mean they had stepped outside into fresh air at least once in 2020.

THE TOILET PAPER HOARDING PENALTY – This is an important addition to the 2020 returns that not many realize but more than a few will get burned. Hopefully, you have kept all your toilet paper purchase receipts to prove how many rolls you purchased. At the end of 2020 you were supposed to count how many rolls you bought then multiply by twenty-five the number in your household. Every roll left over that number will add eight dollars to your total tax owed. It may not seem like a lot, but some are going to owe big time. (If you have not kept receipts, etc, the IRS will just figure out a number and you know that won’t end up well.)

I realize I may have missed a few, but you can always go on to irs.gov and search for COVID deductions.
Good luck and Happy Filing!