wayland 1
 

Quick Links



About Us

Wayland & Vukadinovich Website
Important Filing Dates

December 10

First installment of California property taxes are due

 

December 15

The 2010 W&V tax appointment calendar for tax return preparation season opens - call Gina for more information.

 

December 15

Tax organizers for 2010 tax season are available by request - contact Gina

 

December 31 

Last chance to make charitable contributions, pay medical expenses, or pay any other tax deductible items for 2010

 

January 15 

Final 2010 estimated tax payments are due

 

January 31 

Final day to issue Form 1099s to outside contractors

 

 

Join Our Mailing List
 The South Bay Tax Report  
November 30 2010
 

 

Happy Holidays!



What do next year's tax rates look like?

It's November 30th and brisk but clear here at the international headquarters of Wayland & Vukadinovich. As the year winds down, no one knows exactly what tax changes are coming in 2011. What we do know is that many tax cuts, credits, and deductions are scheduled to expire unless Congress and the President pass and sign proposed legislation that extends these tax cuts. Without knowing when (or if) Congress will act, you should make informed decisions based on what is known today rather than wait for the soon-to-come certainty. There are still things you can do to make an impact on your 2010 tax situation. Call us with questions.
 
Consider prepaying next April's property taxes, making those year-end charitable contributions, contributing to your Roth or IRA if you are eligible, buying business equipment if you own a business, and paying medical expenses if you have traditionally itemized and meet the income thresholds for medical deductions.

FAQs Regarding Your Social Security

We often receive questions about Social Security benefits. Those questions are best asked of the Social Security Administration, but the SSA recently released a few FAQs that we thought we would share with you:
 
Q - Are my benefits figured on my last five years of earnings?
 
A - No. retirement benefit calculations are based on your average earnings during a lifetime of work under the Social Security system. For most current and future retirees, we will average your 35 highest years of earnings. Years in which you have low earnings or no earnings may be counted to bring the total years of earnings up to 35.

Q - My wife and I both worked under Social Security. Her Social Security statement says she can get $850 per month; mine says I would get $1,450. Do we each get our own amount?
 
A - Since your wife's own benefit is more than 1/2 of your amount, you will each get your own benefit. If your wife's own benefit were less than half of yours (that is, less than $725 in this example), she would receive her amount plus enough on your record to bring it up to the $725 amount.
More FAQs in later newsletters
 
Homebuyer Tax Credit Fraud Runs Rampant

Before the Worker, Homeownership and Business Assistance Act of 2009 became law, no documentation was required to claim the homebuyer tax credit, which could be as much as $8,000 (the credit has now expired). Since it is a "refundable" credit, the credit could be collected in cash even when the taxpayer had no federal income tax liability. Not surprisingly, many fraudulent homebuyer credit claims have already been filed.
A recent Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (now that's some title!) report on IRS efforts to monitor credits claimed on 2008 returns is interesting (of course, it's November, we don't have much else to do this time of year!). The IRS discovered over 10,000 taxpayers had received credits for allegedly purchasing the same homes that other taxpayers had also claimed credits for. In one case, 67 different taxpayers claimed credits for the same home. Over $9 million in credits went to prisoners who were jailed when they allegedly made the qualifying home purchases. The IRS promises to investigate!
  
We'll Open our Appointment Books on December 15th
 
If you want to set your appointment for preparation of your 2010 tax return, contact Gina starting December 15th - this year, Gary, Mike, Susan and Sonia will be accepting appointments to prepare your tax returns.
Where did the year go???
We'll also have our organizers available by the 15th of December - as always, we ask that you contact Gina directly to obtain your organizer. We don't accept email requests for organizers for security reasons.


We Love IRS Statistics
 
For tax year 2008 - the IRS issued 99.9 million refunds, totaling $267.12 billion - the average refund was $2,674.

For tax year 2009 - the IRS issued 96.3 million refunds, totaling $277.98 billion. The average refund was $2,887.

 Franchise Tax Board will assess e-pay penalties in 2011

The penalty is equal to 1% of the amount paid.

Electronic payments to California are required once a person makes an estimated tax or extension payment over $20,000 or files an original tax return with a tax liability over $80,000.
Electronic payments may be made using Webpay at ftb.ca.gov.
 Starting January 1, 2011, the mandatory State e-pay penalty will be assessed when a person required to make payments electronically pays using any other method.

New IRS Regulations on Foreign Stock Investments

New IRS regulations impose reporting requirements on individuals who hold more than $50,000 in (1) any financial account maintained by a foeign financial institution or (2) any interest in a foreign entity that is not held in a custodial account of a financial institution.
Always let us know if you maintain any foreign bank accounts or foreign investments.

Have a wonderful holiday season and enjoy the new year!

Wayland 2Contact Us

 Visit our website:

   

 Gary Wayland - g[email protected]
Mike Vukadinovich - [email protected]
Susan Patterson - [email protected]
Sonia Tramel - [email protected]
Midge Leatherbury - [email protected]
Debbie Reasor - [email protected]
Gina Stevens - [email protected]
 

Certified Public Accountants
1097 Aviation Blvd
Hermosa Beach CA 90254
(310) 376-0455   (310) 379-4523 fax