Everyone's heard about the Bush tax cuts expiring for 2011, but people have been asking about this coming April, what to expect.  Pretty much, expect your taxes to be the same as last year.  The only major issue still out there is the exemption for the Alternative Minimum tax.  Congress has managed to patch it every year (because a lot of Congressmen have to pay it.)   I'll let you know when something passes, but I wouldn't lose any sleep over it for now.

 

Good question.  There's a website that shows what will happen to your taxes if the Bush tax cuts expire completely, what happens with the Democratic proposal (extend the tax cuts for all but the top 2% highest earners), and what happens with the Republican proposal (extend all of the tax cuts).  You just input the information from your 2009 tax return and it shows you how your taxes will look. 

    It comes as no surpise that we all get dinged pretty badly if Congress does nothing, even if your income is really low your tax rates will go up.  What did surprise me was how high your income had to go before noticing any real difference between the Republican and Democratic proposals.   For a married couple with wages of $300,000 and using  a standard deduction--the tax difference between the two parties tax plans was only $608.  At $400,000--the difference goes up over $3,500.  That's still much lower than some of the things I was reading on the internet.  Test the site yourself and see what will happen to you.   

My Tax Burden 

 

Currently 130,000 non-profit groups are at risk of losing their non-profit status if they don't submit  paperwork to the IRS by October 15th.    We're talking about school PTOs, parent booster clubs, veterans groups and civic organizations.  If you belong to a non-profit group, please read this link:

If your group is on the list and you don't act, your group will  be paying taxes on its fundraisers and donations.

Whether you're an individual artist or representing an arts organization, you'll want to check out the low cost classes offered by the St. Louis Volunteer Lawyers and Accountants for the Arts such as:  Accidental Arts Administrator or Career Planning for Artists.  They start soon so if you might be interested check them out right away.

According to the news, the Senate is supposed to decide on small business legislation this week.  We've heard that before.  I know I sound like a broken record, but do not make business decisions based upon campaign rhetoric, make decisions based upon what's good for your business.  We'll see what happens.

 

If you make estimated tax payments, your third payment is due on September 15th.

If you filed a corporate extension, your tax return is due September 15th as well.  Partnerships and sole proprietor extensions are due October 15th.