Tax Extenders Passed for 2015

President Obama signed the Tax Increase Prevention Act of 2014 on December 19, 2014. This provision extends certain tax breaks that were set to expire at the end of this year.  Please note that the following tax breaks were extended through December 31, 2014:

•  The tax deduction of expenses of elementary and secondary school teachers
• The tax exclusion of imputed income from the discharge of indebtedness for a principal residence
• The equalization of the tax exclusion for employer-provided commuter transit and parking benefits
• The deduction of mortgage insurance premiums
• Tax tax deduction of qualified tuition and related expenses, and 
• The tax exemption of distributions from individual retirement account for charitable purposes

Set Up Your Financial Safety Net

It is more important than ever to think about your financial future.  So many things can happen and change in a matter of a day.  Will your employer merge with another company?  Will your employer file Bankruptcy and your job security compromised?  What if the transmission on your car goes out?

Unforeseen circumstances arise on occasion, so it is better to be prepared financially, just in case.  Establishing an emergency fund can help alleviate the stress and worries associated with financial emergencies.  The last thing you want to do is compromise your goals, such as saving for retirement or saving for that long planned vacation.

BUILD YOUR BACKUP
An emergency fund should typically cover 3 - 6 months worth of living expenses.  Think of your reserve as a percentage of your salary.  A Two-Income Household should typically save approximately 15% of total combined income.  A One-Income Household should save approximately 30% of income.

INVEST IN YOUR RESERVE
It is important to maintain liquidity in your accounts so you have immediate access to the funds.  The money should be held in stable accounts.  First, consider your banking institution's savings programs.  Another option could be a High Yield Money Market account, which invests in short-term, high quality government and corporate debt instruments. Remember, your emergency fund is a short-term investment fund.

It is better to be safe, and have a financial security net for emergencies that arise from time to time.

As always, if you have any questions, please feel free to contact me.

Have a great summer!

Peace Officer Deductions

Good evening!  I have several clients that are peace officers, and have recently inquired about what they can write off or claim as deductions.  Itemized deductions are claimed on Form Schedule A of the Internal Revenue Service Individual Tax Return.  However, the miscellaneous deductions are subject to a 2% floor of Adjusted Gross Income.  In other words, if your AGI is $100,000, then $2,000 is what the IRS expects you to pay out of pocket for your work expenses.  Anything above the $2,000 counts towards your itemized deductions.

 Here is a list of what you can and cannot deduct on your taxes:

DEDUCTIBLE:
Union Dues
Other Association Dues (i.e. Fraternal Order of Police)
Uniforms and Upkeep, including alterations, repairs, gloves, hat, rain gear, jackets, etc
Uniform cleaning
Materials, supplies, books
Seminars related to the job
Guns and Equipment, including ammunition, baton, vest, cleaning equipment, ear protectors, goggles, polish, safety glasses, keepers, ID case, grips, GPS, maps, secondary gun, knives, holsters
Telephone Expense:  partial expense based on a percentage of usage between work and personal, pagers, fax transmissions
Out of Town Travel:  hotel, airfare, meals, parking, taxi, bus, car rental, laundry service while away, parking, tips, train
Laptop Computers, unless the employer provides you with a computer at work (most do).  If you are required to take some work home, then you may be able to depreciate a portion of the computer based on percentage used for work.
Mileage:  only to a temporary work location such as the range, another police agency, training site, or range.  The mileage is calculated from the main employer to the secondary place of employment, not your home.  This includes travel for military duty since it is a secondary place of employment.  Hauling tools or instruments, such as a K-9, is not necessarily deductible either.  Adequate records must be kept.

NON-DEDUCTIBLE:
Home telephone service - never!  Even if you have to have one for work.  Well, so does everyone else....
Haircuts
Watches
Clothes such as business suits and ties - NO!  You cannot deduct this because it is not a specific uniform.  It is something you can wear away from work.
Gym - unless it is prescribed by a doctor
Commuting Expenses
Meals:  NOT DEDUCTIBLE!  I have seen this many times where employees in law enforcement are advised they can take a meal deduction.  I have seen some outrageous deductions. Meals consumed during hours of duty are NOT deductible.  There is a court ruling in Minnesota (Christey 1981, DCMN 48 AFTR 2d-5796), which allowed  a deduction unreimbursed meal expenses for state troopers.  The IRS issued a non-acquiesce decision, in that it will not allow this deduction for any other cases/agencies.

If you have any questions, please feel free to email or call me anytime!

Now Accepting Visa and Mastercard!

Good evening!  I am now accepting Visa and Mastercard for payments.  This will make it easier and more convenient if you choose this payment method.

Have a great evening!

2014 IRS E-file Officially Opens!

Good evening everyone! Finally, we have a success for the opening of the 2014 tax season!   The Internal Revenue Service and the Franchise Tax Board have already started accepting returns!  My first batch of tax returns have already been Acknowledged by the IRS and the FTB.

Your tax refunds should appear in your bank account (if you chose Direct Deposit) hopefully in the next 2 weeks, if not sooner.  The IRS no longer issues Direct Deposit schedules, but the timeframe is approximately 2 weeks, as in previous years.  You will not be notified of your deposit, so please check your bank accounts weekly.

This is an exciting year already, so I look forward to working with everyone again!

If you have not yet made an appointment, please call, email or text me soon, as I get booked up quickly in the next few weeks.

Have a wonderful week!

Sincerely,

TINA

Need Healthcare? We found an option for you!

With the Affordable Care Act (ACA) mandate now coming into effect as of January 1, 2014, most US citizens and legal residents are required to carry minimum essential coverage.

We have found an excellent way for you to shop the health insurance markets:

For individuals who are not already covered, or who are not exempted, meeting the individual mandate means shopping for insurance. To make the task easier, the federal government and many states created Health Insurance Marketplaces (also known as Exchanges) – websites that allow comparison of available plans based on price, benefits and services, and quality. By pooling customers, reducing transaction costs, and increasing transparency, Health Insurance Marketplaces create more efficient and competitive markets for individuals and small employers. They will allow individuals to benefit from the pooling of risk, market leverage, and economies of scale that large businesses currently receive.

The Marketplaces offer four levels of insurance plans: bronze, silver, gold and platinum.The levels are based on the percentage of covered costs that a plan would pay. Insurers don’t have to offer plans in all four levels.

• Bronze – The insurance plan would pay 60% of covered health care costs. The enrollee, on average, would be responsible for paying 40% of the costs.
  • Unless the individual qualifies for the catastrophic plan, this is the minimal insurance that meets the individual mandate.
  • The cost of bronze-level insurance is used to determine whether insurance is affordable: the cost must not be greater than 8% of family income to be considered affordable.
• Silver – Insurance would pay 70% of covered health care costs, enrollee would be responsible for 30%.
  • This is also known as the Benchmark Plan that is used in determining an enrollee’s eligibility for insurance subsidies.
• Gold – Insurance would pay 80% of covered health care costs, enrollee would be responsible for 20%.
• Platinum – Insurance would pay 90% of covered health care costs, enrollee would be responsible for 10%.

In addition to these four plan levels, catastrophic plans will offer essential health benefits, but with high deductibles. Only young adults under 30 and individuals exempted from the individual mandate because they cannot find affordable insurance are allowed to purchase catastrophic plans and be considered covered under the individual mandate. (Of course, other non-qualified individuals could purchase catastrophic plans on the private market, but such coverage alone would not meet the requirements of the individual mandate, so the customer would be subject to the penalty.)

READY TO GET STARTED?

Click the links below and to get started and shop for the best health insurance coverage for you and your family.

If you are under 65 years of age:

http://drakehealth.com/site/svc/egateway?sid=185381

If you are over the age of 65:

http://drakehealth.com/site/svc/egateway?sid=185381&AGE=65

If you are interested in calculating the cost of health insurance or calculating penalties for not having health insurance, please contact me and we will look at the Drake Health Calculators for the most accurate cost estimates.  Call me at (209) 329-1255.

End of Year Tax Law Changes - 2013/14

Happy New Year!

There have been some last minute changes for the 2013 and 2014 tax years.  Many of these changes were made in December 2013.

Here is a summary of some of the latest tax law changes for this new year:

• Income tax rate increase for high earners beginning 2013
  • Rates remain at 10%, 15%, 25%, 28%, 33% and 35%
  • 39.6% rate applies to income above: $450,000 married filing joint, qualifying widow; $425,000 head of household; $400,000 single; $225,000 married filing separate (indexed for inflation after tax year 2013)
• Individual provisions extended for tax years 2012 and 2013
  • Deduction for school teacher expenses
  • Tuition and fees deduction
  • State and local general sales tax deduction
  • Mortgage insurance premiums treated as residence interest
  • Exclusion for discharge of principal residence debt (tax year 2013 only)
  • Tax-free distributions from IRAs for charitable purposes
• Higher threshold for deducting medical expenses
  • Floor raised from 7.5% of AGI to 10%
  • AGI floor for individuals age 65 and older will remain unchanged at 7.5% through 2016

• 2013 Standard Mileage Rates
  • Business: 56.5 cents/mile
  • Medical and moving: 24 cents/mile
  • Charitable: 14 cents/mile

• DOMA:  Many tax breaks are now available to legally married same-sex couples: right to file a joint return; ability to get tax-free employer health coverage; ability for either spouse to utilize the marital deduction & exclusion for estate and gift tax purposes; and many other provisions, such as alimony deduction and innocent spouse relief.  (The term “marriage” doesn’t include registered domestic partners and civil unions, even for opposite sex couples.)

Remember to make an appointment soon!  As a reminder, the tax season has been delayed by the Internal Revenue Service, and e-filing will begin on January 31st for individuals.

Have a wonderful evening!