Monday, December 23, 2013

WHAT’S THE BUZZ, TELL ME WHAT’S A HAPPENNIN’ - SPECIAL MONDAY EDITION


* Let’s start off with an FYI.  The 2013 Form 1040 is, line for line, the same as the 2012 Form 1040, except that Line 60 identifies the new IRS Forms 8959 and 8960, which are used to calculate the new “Obamacare” taxes for “wealthy” taxpayers.  The form is available to download at the IRS website, as is the 2013 Form 1040A, but the instruction booklets are not.

* If you want something to read over the holidays check out the December “issue” of THE LAKE REGION SOMETHING.  

* My post DON’T CALL ME was referenced in TAXPRO TODAY’s weekly BUZZ-like “In the Blogs”.  The titled theme of the week was “Flies in the Figgy Pudding”.

* William Perez has been running a good series on year-end tax moves at ABOUT.COM, most of which I also covered in my series at MAINSTREET.COM.  But here is a move that I did not cover – “Using a Donor-Advised Fund to Donate to Charity at Year End”.

Essentially, donor-advised funds function like a mutual fund. You can put money into a pooled fund, with the money permanently earmarked for charity. Once it goes into the fund the person can take a deduction for the amount of the contribution. Later on, once a person has selected their desired charity, they simply instruct the fund to send the money to the charitable organization. In the meantime, the funds can be invested for earnings, and those earnings can go to the charity as well.”

So you can make a contribution to the pooled fund now, and claim a 2013 tax deduction, and decide which charities will get the money at your leisure.

William also points out that –

Donor-advised funds can also keep the identity of the donor anonymous to the charity.”
 
* Not something I would ask for.  CPA Ben Rugg of RUGGNOTES tells us “All I Want for Christmas is a New Bulldozer”.

I doubt Ben is hoping to find a bulldozer under his tree on Wednesday.  He uses the bulldozer to explain the tax differences between of buying, and placing in service, expensive business equipment in 2013 and 2014.

* According to organization Executive Vice President John Ams, writing at the NSA BLOG, the organization is preparing for the worst case scenario - “Tax Preparer Legislation: NSA Meets with Lawmakers”.

John points out that, unfortunately -

The tax writers on Capitol Hill have taken notice and believe the IRS should have the authority to regulate the unregulated—let’s call them RTRPs—and have begun meeting with interested parties to craft a legislative solution.”

While the last thing I want is to have the idiots in Congress legislate tax preparer regulation, I do agree with what the NSA as said.  See my comment.

* Celebrate 12 days of Christmas by reading the 12 days of year-end tax tips from Joe Kristan at the ROTH AND COMPANY TAX UPDATE BLOG through 12/31.  The first is “2013 Winter Solstice Tax Tip: S Corporation Basis”.

* Speaking of the 12 Days of Christmas, have you been following TAXGIRL Kelly Phillips Erb’s “12 Days of Charitable Giving”.  She ended last week with “Feeding America”.

THE FINAL WORD-

Wonder what I will be doing on Christmas Eve?  What I do every year during the day on Christmas Eve – type W-2s.  I do the same thing during the day on New Year’s Eve.

I will drive in to NJ for a home cooked Christmas dinner with my sister and her two Burmese cats on Wednesday.

Best wishes for a “successful” Christmas holiday!  HO! HO! HO!

TTFN

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