Tax-break forum Friday in Elmont

Small business owners and sole practitioners can take advantage of some new tax breaks -- if they know how use them.

Representatives from the Internal Revenue Service and the NYS Small Business Development Center will be filling people in Friday at a forum held by Rep. Carolyn McCarthy (D-Mineola) in Elmont.

Congress adopted 16 changes last year that can help businesses and the self-employed reduce their 2010 tax bill and future taxes. Some of the benefits are easy to digest, like a tax break and tax credit for most employers who hired qualified workers during the last 10 months of 2010.

Others get into the nitty-gritty of the tax code, covering complicated areas like capital gains exemptions, small business tax credits and health insurance deductions for the self-employed.

Certain changes relate to the 2010 tax year only, so employers and freelancers need to learn about them now if they want to take full advantage. Other breaks won't kick in until 2013.

The forum starts at 8:15 a.m. in the Elmont Memorial Public Library, at 700 Hempstead Tpke. McCarthy's office encouraged attendees to RSVP by calling her district office at 516-739-3008.