* 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
No comments:
Post a Comment