Beyond the Fiscal Cliff — Tax Seminar in Jonesboro, GA

We are pleased to announce a seminar entitled “Beyond the Fiscal Cliff” presented by Ben Loggins, CPA, open to the public regarding the new tax laws that were recently passed by Congress.

This seminar will be held on Thursday, January 10, 2013 from 8:00 to 10:00am at Arts Clayton in Jonesboro.  Refreshments will be served. Arts Clayton is located at 136 S. Main St. in Jonesboro.

There will be a nominal $10 per person charge to reserve your spot with all net proceeds donated to Arts Clayton.

Please contact Pam at our office at 770-478-7424 to reserve your spot.

Seminar Topics include:

• The new Healthcare regulations on Medicare surtax
• How to avoid the Individual Mandate Penalty
• Employer Mandate strategies
• A Discussion of the Affordable Care Act
• Extenders Bill
• 2013 Planning Strategies
• Ideas to implement to lower your total tax liability
• How to redirect your state tax dollars to help private schools in Georgia.

If you are unable to make this seminar, we’ll be presenting it again in Fayetteville on January 17th from 7:00 to 8:30pm.

2013 Standard Mileage Rates

The IRS recently announced adjustments for the 2013 standard mileage rates which are used to calculate deductable costs for using a car, van, pickup, or panel truck for business, charitable, medical, or moving purposes. The standard mileage rate is optional and the actual costs of using a vehicle can also be used. These new rates will be:

•  56.5 cents per mile for business miles driven (1 cent more than last year)
•  24 cents per mile driven for medical or moving purposes (1 cent more than last year)
•  14 cents per mile driven in service of charitable organizations

These rates are based on an annual study from the IRS and may not be used if Modified Accelerated Cost Recovery System (MACRS) depreciation or Section 179 deduction was used for the vehicle. Additionally, only up to four vehicles can simultaneously use the business standard mileage rate. Under this plan, the standard automobile cost for a car may not exceed $28,100 and the maximum standard cost for a truck or van may not exceed $29,900. These rate changes begin on January 1, 2013.

AMT Changes

What is AMT?

The Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) is a near flat tax rate imposed on individuals, corporations, estates, and trusts. Getting taxed under AMT usually requires fairly high income levels. The end result ensures that most high income earners have to pay some income tax. Although the AMT exemption amount is not adjusted to inflation, it is usually “patched” by congress at the end of each year with legislation.

Patching

The IRS is currently tentatively waiting for congress to pass the 2013 patch. A patch before year-end could be implemented with minimal delays to most taxpayers. A patch after year-end, according to IRS Commissioner Steven Miller, could have serious repercussions for tax payers. The IRS would have to instruct over 60 million taxpayers that they can’t file or process their tax return until system changes are done.

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Attention employers! Medicare withholding tax going up (maybe)….

Don’tcha just love the uncertainty in the title?  Here you are, trying to grow your business and you need to worry about a .9% payroll tax that may or may not happen just 6 months from now.

Use this article as a heads up — this may be coming down the road in 2013, and so you need to be aware of the additional 0.9% Medicare tax that is scheduled to go into effect in 2013.

(I love how they make it 0.9%  It reminds me of a car salesman trying to sell you a car for under $50K when the price tag is $49,999.) (more…)

Save Those 1099′s

It’s that time again!  Individuals and businesses throughout the United States have started receiving various tax-related documents.  This year it is very important to save all of these documents and forward them to your accountant.  Even if you are a corporation and don’t usually give the 1099s you receive to your accountant, you should do so this year.  Be on the lookout for a new form, Form 1099-K. (more…)