QUALIFIED CHARITABLE DISTRIBUTIONS IN 2015 UNCERTAIN, BUT THERE IS AN OPTION!

Billy Thomas, CPA

Capitol Hill provided an excellent holiday gift in late-December 2014 with the Tax Extenders Package, otherwise known as The Tax Increase Prevention Act. One of the most talked about provisions of the Act was the extension of tax-free distributions from an Individual Retirement Account (IRA) for charitable purposes through December 31, 2014. This is called a Qualified Charitable Distribution (QCD) in tax terms.

A QCD is a very common tax savings strategy. Essentially, a taxpayer who is 70 […]

VIRGINIA ADOPTS A FIRST TIME HOME BUYER’S SAVINGS PROGRAM

Glenn Bailey, CPA

Beginning in 2014, Virginia has adopted a program (FHSP) that allows a taxpayer to designate an account as a first time homebuyer savings account and subtract the income from that account from their VA taxable income. (Section 58.1-322) The account can only be used to pay the down payment or closing costs for a single family home (includes condos and co-ops, but not a multi-family building or land) in VA for someone who has never owned a […]

IRS RELEASES NEW APPLICABLE FEDERAL RATES

Jobe Dupre’, CPA

Each month, the IRS provides various prescribed rates for federal income tax purposes. These rates, known as Applicable Federal Rates (AFRs), are regularly published as revenue rulings.

The AFRs for February 2015 are as follows:

Annual
Semi-Annual
Quarterly
Monthly

Short-Term: 1-3 years
0.48%
0.48%
0.48%
0.48%

Mid-Term: >3 & up to 9 years
1.70%
1.69%
1.69%
1.68%

Long-Term: >9 years
2.41%
2.40%
2.39%
2.39%

QUALIFIED EXCLUDABLE TRANSPORTATION BENEFITS

Thomas Parisi, CPA
Retroactive Guidance for 2014
The IRS has issued Notice 2015-2, which provides employers guidance on how to deal with the retroactive (Section 103 of the Tax Increase Prevention Act of 2014 enacted 12/19/14) increase in the maximum monthly exclusion afforded employees from $130 to $250 for 2014. The increased exclusion is applicable to employer-provided transit passes and commuter highway vehicle (vanpooling) transportation benefits and puts them on par with the exclusion for qualified parking for tax year 2014. […]

ONE YEAR TAX EXTENDERS PACKAGE PASSED IN THE SENATE

Sean Urbany, CPA

Just in time for year-end tax planning, the Senate passed the tax extenders bill by vote of 76 to 16 on Tuesday, December 16. As discussed in our previous post, this bill includes many previously expired tax provisions that will be extended through December 31, 2014. The bill will be sent to the President for his signature and is expected to be signed into law quickly.

IRS RELEASES NEW STANDARD MILEAGE RATES FOR 2015

Jobe Dupre’, CPA

The IRS has issued the 2015 standard mileage rates. The new rates go into effect beginning January 1, 2015 and are as follows:

57.5 cents per mile for business miles driven.
23 cents per mile driven for medical or moving purposes.
14 cents per mile driven for charitable purposes.