January Newsletter

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  • Our annual tax informational letter and organizers will be mailed out just after the New Year. You should receive yours no later than mid-January. If you do not receive it, please contact our office.
  • Our office will resume our busy season hours starting January 16th. We will be open 8:30-5:00 Monday through Friday and 9:00-2:00 on Saturdays. Please visit our website, or our Facebook or Twitter for schedule changes.
  • For those of you who issue 1099-Misc to individuals and partnerships that provided you business services during the year, please be aware that there are new filing deadlines for when the 1099 and 1096 must reach the IRS. That date is now January 31 each year. The IRS has promised stiff enforcement of this deadline and has warned of penalties for late filing or failing to file the information return.
  • Be sure to check out our informational video for more information on this and other new items.

We wish you a safe and Happy New Year and best wishes for a prosperous 2017!
DAFS BRING AN INVESTMENT ANGLE TO CHARITABLE GIVING

A DAF is a tax-advantaged investment account administered by a not-for-profit “sponsoring organization.” Anyone planning to make significant charitable donations in the coming year should consider one. This article explains the attributes of these accounts and discusses their valuable tax benefits.

 

SLIGHT ADJUSTMENTS: COLA AMOUNTS FOR 2017 RETIREMENT PLANS

The IRS recently issued cost-of-living adjustments for 2017. This brief article gives a few examples of what has and hasn’t changed regarding the dollar limits for many different types of retirement plans.

 

NEED TO SELL REAL PROPERTY? TRY AN INSTALLMENT SALE

Owners of real property, whether businesses or individuals, may not always be able to dispose of it as quickly as they’d like. One avenue for perhaps finding a buyer a little sooner is an installment sale. This article discusses the benefits, risks and methodology of these transactions.

 

REVIEWING YOUR COMPANY’S INVENTORY OPTIONS FOR BEST RESULTS

An improperly or inadequately managed inventory system can drag down a company’s revenues. For this reason, it is a good idea to regularly review inventory accounting and management to ensure best results. This article describes the two primary inventory accounting methods for both tax accounting and financial accounting.

 

TAX CALENDAR

This article provides a list of important tax deadlines for the first quarter of 2017.

 

Copyright © 2017

What to Do Before the Tax Year Ends Dec. 31

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Charitable contributions on your tax return:

  • Donations charged to a credit card before the end of 2016 count for the 2016 tax year, even if the bill isn’t paid until 2017. Checks to a charity count for 2016 as long as they are mailed by the last day of the year.  All charitable donations are deductible in the year they are made.

If you are over age 70 ½ this needs to be done for your tax return:

  • Generally required to receive payments from their individual retirement accounts and workplace retirement plans by the end of 2016, though a special rule allows those who reached 70 ½ in 2016 to wait until April 1, 2017 to receive them. Most workplace retirement account contributions should be made by the end of the year, but taxpayers can make 2016 IRA contributions until April 18, 2017. For 2016, the limit for a 401(k) is $18,000. For traditional and Roth IRAs, the limit is $6,500 if age 50 or older and up to $15,500 for a Simple IRA for age 50 or older.

If you have moved in 2016, before you file your tax return you should do the following:

  • Contact US Postal Service, employers and the IRS. To notify the IRS, mail IRS Form 8822, Change of Address, to the address listed on the form’s instructions. For taxpayers who purchase health insurance through the Health Insurance Marketplace, they should also notify the Marketplace when they move out of the area covered by their current Marketplace plan.

If your name changed due to marriage or divorce take care of the following to avoid issues on your tax return:

  • Notify the Social Security Administration (SSA) so the new name will match IRS and SSA records. Also notify the SSA if a dependent’s name changed.  A mismatch between the name shown on your tax return and the SSA records can cause problems in the processing of your return and may even delay your refund.
Retain copies of your tax returns:
  • Beginning in 2017, taxpayers using a software product for the first time may need their Adjusted Gross Income amount from a prior tax return to verify their identity.

IRS provides 2017 Standard mile rate

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The Internal Revenue Service today issued the 2017 optional standard mileage rates for business, medical and charitable purposes All new rates are effective January 1, 2017. The rates specific to the use are as follows:

  • 53.5 cents per mile for business miles driven, down from 54 cents for 2016
  • 17 cents per mile driven for medical or moving purposes, down from 19 cents for 2016
  • 14 cents per mile driven in service of charitable organizations

Taxpayers are allowed to calculate the actual costs of using their vehicle but must allocate personal miles against business miles in those calculations.

A taxpayer may not use the busipexels-photo-203724ness standard mileage rate for a vehicle after using any depreciation method under the Modified Accelerated Cost Recovery System (MACRS) or after claiming a Section 179 deduction for that vehicle.

Other information regarding the rules for deducting vehicle expenses can be found at Rev. Proc. 2010-51. Notice 2016-79, posted today on IRS.gov, contains the standard mileage rates.

If you have questions about how this may affect your specific tax situation do not hesitate to contact Raffensperger, Martin & Finkenbiner, LLC at (717) 337-1414.

RMF Holiday Celebration!

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From the staff at Raffensperger, Martin & Finkenbiner LLC

Please join us for our annual Holiday Celebration!

Friday, December 16

11:00am – 3:00pm

34 West Middle Street, Gettysburg, PA

RSVP to Sue Spangler (337-1414 or sue@rmfcpallc.com)

 

 

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