Many businesses have received federal relief grants and loans since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Here’s how each one is handled when it comes to federal taxation.

Child care expenses in 2021 could give many parents a much bigger refund in 2022. Tax season officially starts Jan. 24, and big changes to the child and dependent care credit in 2021 mean that parents and caregivers could see a large increase in their tax refunds this year. The child and dependent care credit lets taxpayers directly reduce their taxes by the amount spent on expenses related to child or dependent care. The credit applies to day care, babysitters or care-related transportation.

Capital gains are the profits from the sale of an asset — shares of stock, a piece of land, a business — and generally are considered taxable income. How much these gains are taxed depends a lot on how long you held the asset before selling.

The Internal Revenue Service announced today that the 2022 tax filing season will open on Monday, January 24th, 2022. That’s when the IRS will start accepting federal income tax returns for the 2021 tax year whether you file electronically or on paper. It’s the third coronavirus pandemic tax filing season, and again, that’s expected to cause complexities in filing.

What you need to file your taxes varies depending on your situation. For example, if you’re a self-employed college student, you may need 1099 and 1098-T forms to file your taxes. However, if you weren’t in college and only received a W-2, you could skip those tax documents.

In January 2022, the IRS will send you Letter 6419 to provide the total amount of advance Child Tax Credit payments that were disbursed to you during 2021. Please keep this letter regarding your advance Child Tax Credit payments with your tax records. You may need to refer to this letter when you file your 2021 tax return during the 2022 tax filing season.

As part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act signed into law on December 27, 2020, the deductibility of meals is changing. Food and beverages will be 100% deductible if purchased from a restaurant in 2021 and 2022.

If you made business purchases on your credit card, you might be able to deduct credit card interest on your Form 1040 federal tax return.

The IRS considers qualified business purchases as ones that are “ordinary and necessary” for the operation of the business. These can include your cell phone, internet, meals, salaries and wages, rent, utilities and interest.

Governor Ned Lamont today announced that he is directing the Connecticut Department of Revenue Services to retroactively enhance the 2020 Connecticut Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) from 23% of the federal credit to 41.5%. The additional state tax refund will provide needed economic support to low-to-moderate income working individuals and families disproportionately burdened by COVID-19 and its negative economic impacts.