Glossary of Tax Terms
# A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
Head of Household
HIPAA
Hobby Loss
Holding Period
Home Equity Debt
Home Office
Hope Scholarship Tax Credit
Household Employee
If you are not married and you maintain a household for an individual who qualifies under IRS guidelines, you may be able to choose this filing status. If you file as Head of Household instead of filing as Single, you will have a higher standard deduction and usually lower tax rates.
Loss from a hobby or other activity you do not pursue for profit. You cannot claim expenses from a hobby that exceed the amount of your income that you report. If you fail to show a profit for three out of five years, the IRS may presume your business is a hobby and disallow losses from it unless you show evidence to the contrary.
The length of time you hold an asset. Your holding period determines the maximum tax rate you will pay on a gain from the sale of a capital asset.
Debt secured by your home or second home that does not include your original acquisition debt. You can deduct as an itemized deduction the interest on home equity debt if the debt total is $100,000 or less.
A part of your home or other structure on your property for which you qualify to take a deduction for its business use.
A new tax credit of up to $1,500, based on qualified educational expenses for the first two tax years of post-secondary education.
Someone you employ to care for your children, clean your house, cook, or provide other personal services. If you have a household employee, you may be obligated to pay and withhold social security and Medicare taxes (FICA). If the household employee is not employed by an agency, you may also be required to pay federal unemployment taxes (FUTA).
