NEWS AND IDEAS   TAX NEWS AND OPPORTUNITIES: Health Care Reform - For coverage of how the new health care reform act will affect your business. Full Article... To see how the new law affects you individually: Full Article... Donations for Haiti - Charitable contributions you make through March 1, 2010 to help the victims of the earthquake in Haiti can be deducted on your 2009 returns. Full Article... Homebuyer's Credit - Late in 2009 the credit was expanded and will be useful to many people in 2010, including older taxpayers who are looking to downsize their homes. Full Article... IRA Opportunity - If you have a traditional IRA, you can now convert it to a Roth no matter how large your income, and pay the tax over two years. Full Article... Energy Incentives - Last year a host of energy-saving tax incentives were enacted or extended. Full Article... IDEAS YOU CAN USE: Keeping Tax Records- Have you made a New Year's resolution to unclutter your home or office? Before you shred those old records, read this article. Deducting Home Office Expenses- More of us than ever are working out of our homes. Here's a run-down of the rules for deducting home office expenses. Read more... The Home Office and Commuting Expenses- If you're principal place of business is in your home, you can deduct more of your business travel expense. Read more... Employee or Independent Contractor? The biggest area of audit I've seen in the past few years is the state Department of Labor examination of whether independent contractors are really employees. If you've incorrectly classified an employee as an independent contractor, you will be billed for back taxes and penalties. For guidelines on how to classify a worker, read this article.