Saturday, December 29, 2007

WHAT’S THE BUZZ – TELL ME WHAT’S A HAPPENNIN’

* There has been a slight change (for the better) on the 2007 Form W-2. I explain the change in the post “Change to 2007 Form W-2" at my NJ TAX PRACTICE BLOG.
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* Kay Bell of DON’T MESS WITH TAXES reminds us that “Even if you're not feeling under the weather, now might be a good time to stock up on cold treatments and other over-the-counter (OTC) medications, especially if you have a flexible spending account (FSA).” in her post “Flexing Your Medical Account Muscle
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* The Tax Foundation has compiled “Our Wish List for Tax Policy in 2008” (“our” meaning “their”) over at the TAX POLICY BLOG. I agree with the list, especially #’s 1, 3 and 10, and would add THE WANDERING TAX PRO to #9. Unfortunately I also tend to agree with Joe Kristan of the ROTH AND COMPANY TAX UPDATE BLOG who predicts “Sadly, I think they'll go 0-10”.

* Check out the Tax Policy Center’s “First Annual Lump of Coal Awards” over at TAXVOX. The post presents the five biggest fiscal losers of 2007. Of course #1 is the AMT Patch.

* TAX GIRL Kelly Phillips Erb lists her “Top Taxgirl Headlines of 2007”. She mentions a few items I forgot to mention in my “
2007 – THE TAX YEAR IN REVIEW” posting – especially the fact that Richard Hatch, the fat naked idiot who won the first “Survivor” tv contest, was convicted of tax evasion despite an appeal and sent to prison.

* Did you know that the Internal Revenue Code still limits the tax deduction for gifts from businesses to clients, customers and patrons to $25.00 per person, per year, plus incidental costs like engraving, packaging, insurance and mailing? It has been $25.00 for as long as I have been preparing tax returns, and I started in February of 1972! Of course you can give a gift that costs $100.00, but you can only deduct $25.00! It is one of many items that have never been indexed for inflation.
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* Nice try, but can’t beat the “wash sale” rules by selling 100 shares of a stock at a loss and then purchasing 100 shares of the same stock in your IRA account within a 30-day period. According to IRS Revenue Ruling 2008-05 -
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"If an individual sells stock or securities for a loss and causes his or her IRA or Roth IRA to purchase substantially identical stock or securities within a specified period, the loss on the sale of the stock or securities is disallowed under section 1091, and the individual's basis in the IRA or Roth IRA is not increased by virtue of section 1091(d)."
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TTFN

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