TWO YEARS OF CERTAINTY

Brian Wynne, CPA

CERTAINTY.

Last night, the House passed (by a vote of 277-148) the Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010.  The President will sign the bill soon, finally giving the American taxpayer some certainty with respect to income and estate/gift taxes, at least for the next two years.

At its most sweeping, the bill extends the current tax rates, which were set to expire at the end of this year, for two more years, to 12/31/2012.  […]

EFT REQUIRED FOR MOST BUSINESS TAX PAYMENTS

Glenn Bailey, CPA

EFT Now Required For Most Business Tax Payments
Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) is now required for most business related tax payments made after December 31, 2010.

Payments should be made thru the EFTPS system (www.EFTPS,gov)

Taxpayers that were formerly not required to use EFT and used Federal Tax Deposit (FTD) coupons now must make eligible payments via EFT.

This includes the following taxes:
Corporate income and estimated taxes;
Excise taxes reported on Form 720, Quarterly Federal Excise Tax Return.
Unrelated business income taxes of […]

IRS ANNOUNCES STANDARD MILEAGE RATES AND PENSION CONTRIBUTION COLA’S FOR 2011

Glenn Bailey, CPA

IRS announces standard mileage rates for 2011 for use of an automobile
These are the maximum amounts that can be claimed as a tax deduction or used to reimburse employee use of personal vehicles. Proper records are required to substantiate deductible use.
                   Business use: 51 cents per mile
Moving: 19 cents per mile
Medical care: 19 cents per mile
Charity:  14 cents per mile
 The depreciation component of business use is 22 cents per mile.

IRS announces no cost of living adjustments for most pension contribution amounts

The most […]

TAX PLANNING TIPS TO THINK ABOUT BEFORE THE END OF 2010

Glenn Bailey, CPA

After looking back over all the legislative changes in the past couple years I compiled a list of a few things that are worth thinking about before the end of 2010:

In 2011 Flexible Spending Accounts no longer allow for reimbursement of over the counter (non-prescription) drugs, so if you have money left in yours you can stock up on these items prior to year end.

The Energy credit for purchasing and installing energy saving materials, including insulation, certain […]

NEW DEPRECIATION OPTIONS FOR LANDLORDS AND BUSINESS OWNERS

Glenn Bailey,  CPA

Recent legislative changes offer new opportunities for tax deductions on new capital assets purchased and placed into service during 2010 or 2011. If you are considering investing in new assets for your business or have improvements to make to your business real estate, you should consider these benefits in determining whether to make your purchases now or later.

The Small Business Jobs Act of 2010 has raised the cap on the value of assets that can be expensed […]

FILING A CORRECT TAX RETURN – ARE YOU ON YOUR OWN?

Brian Wynne, CPA

In January of this year, two articles appeared in The Washington Post within 2 days of each other that shine a light on the present status of tax collection in this country and help depict a not-so-certain future.

The first, appearing on the front page on January 5, 2010, discusses plans by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to regulate people who are paid to prepare tax returns, “stepping into a virtually unregulated business on which millions of American […]