Please join us October 15th from 10am - 4pm, for our 2nd Shred to Save event. This year's shred event will be to benefit the Boys & Girls Clubs of the East Valley.    

Contributions to the Boys & Girls Clubs of the East Valley qualify for the Arizona Working Poor Tax Credit. In order for your donation to qualify as a tax credit, you must itemize your deductions on your Arizona state income tax return and have a tax liability of at least the amount of your donation.

Donations made on the day of the event, must be made by check and payable to the Boys & Girls Clubs of the East Valley. For those clients filing as single, head of household, or married filing separate, a maximum credit of up to $200 will be applied to your individual tax return, and for clients filing as married filing joint may claim a maximum credit of up to $400.  

On-site shredding will be provided by Sonoran Document Solutions, LLC. Securely shred old tax documents, and other confidential papers. Please remove paper from 3-ring binders, and remove binder clips, or other heavy metal items. Paperclips and staples are allowed.

For those clients unable to attend, but who would still like to donate to the Boys & Girls Clubs of the East Valley, please mail a check or donate online by December 31, 2011.

Mail:              Boys & Girls Clubs of the East Valley

1405 E. Guadalupe Rd, Suite 4

Tempe, AZ 85283

(Make checks payable to: The Boys & Girls Clubs of the East Valley)

Online:    www.clubzona.org

For further questions about the Boys & Girls Clubs of the East Valley please contact their office at (480) 820-3688.

If you regularly make donations to charity, or plan to make a charitable donation this year, you may be able to take a deduction on your tax return. The Internal Revenue Service has compiled nine tips that you should keep in mind when contributing to charity:

1. In order to be deductible, charitable contributions must be made to qualified organizations. An online version of IRS Publication 78, which provides a list of organizations eligible to receive tax-deductible charitable contributions, is available at www.irs.gov/charities under the "Search for Charities" tab.
2. Charitable contributions are deductible only if you itemize deductions using Form 1040, Schedule A.
3. Generally, you can deduct your cash contributions and the fair market value of most property you donate to a qualified organization. Special rules apply to several types of donated property, including clothing or household items, cars and boats.
4. If your contribution entitles you to receive merchandise, goods, or services in return - such as admission to a charity banquet or sporting event - you can deduct only the amount that exceeds the fair market value of the benefit received.
5. Keep good records of any contribution you make, regardless of the amount. For any cash contribution, you must maintain a record, such as a cancelled check, bank or credit card statement, payroll deduction record or a written statement from the charity containing the date and amount of the contribution as well as the name of the organization.
6. Only contributions actually made during the tax year are deductible. For example, if you pledge $500 in September but only pay the charity $200 by Dec. 31, your deduction for the current year is $200.
7. Include credit card charges and payments by check in the year you give them to the charity, even though you may not pay the credit card bill or have your bank account debited until the next year.
8. If your contribution is $250 or more, you must have a written acknowledgment from the organization. The acknowledgment must include the cash amount, and state whether the organization provided any goods or services in exchange for the gift. If you donate property, the acknowledgment must include a description of the items and a good faith estimate of its value. For items valued at $500 or more you must complete Form 8283, Noncash Charitable Contributions, and attach it to your tax return. If you claim a deduction for a contribution of noncash property worth more than $5,000, generally an appraisal must be obtained, and Section B of Form 8283 must be completed and filed with your return.
9. Approximately 275,000 organizations automatically lost their tax-exempt status recently because they did not file required annual reports for three consecutive years, as required by law. Donations made prior to an organization's automatic revocation remain tax-deductible. Going forward, however, organizations that are on the auto-revocation list that do not receive reinstatement are no longer eligible to receive tax-deductible contributions.

If you are interested in making a charitable donation this year, we would like to help you ensure its deductibility. Please call our office at your earliest convenience if you would like to discuss this or any other tax issue. 

The Internal Revenue Service has some important information to share with individuals who have sold or are about to sell their home. If you have a gain from the sale of your main home, you may qualify to exclude all or part of that gain from your income. Here are ten tips from the IRS to keep in mind when selling your home.

• In general, you are eligible to exclude the gain from income if you have owned and used your home as your main home for two years out of the five years prior to the date of its sale.
• If you have a gain from the sale of your main home, you may be able to exclude up to $250,000 of the gain from your income ($500,000 on a joint return in most cases).
• You are not eligible for the exclusion if you excluded the gain from the sale of another home during the two-year period prior to the sale of your home.
• If you can exclude all of the gain, you do not need to report the sale on your tax return.
• If you have a gain that cannot be excluded, it is taxable. You must report it on Form 1040, Schedule D, Capital Gains and Losses.
• You cannot deduct a loss from the sale of your main home.
• Worksheets are included in Publication 523, Selling Your Home, to help you figure the adjusted basis of the home you sold, the gain (or loss) on the sale, and the gain that you can exclude.
• If you have more than one home, you can exclude a gain only from the sale of your main home. You must pay tax on the gain from selling any other home. If you have two homes and live in both of them, your main home is ordinarily the one you live in most of the time.
• If you received the first-time homebuyer credit and within 36 months of the date of purchase, the property is no longer used as your principal residence, you are required to repay the credit. Repayment of the full credit is due with the income tax return for the year the home ceased to be your principal residence, using Form 5405, First-Time Homebuyer Credit and Repayment of the Credit. The full amount of the credit is reflected as additional tax on that year's tax return.
• When you move, be sure to update your address with the IRS and the U.S. Postal Service to ensure you receive refunds or correspondence from the IRS. Use Form 8822, Change of Address, to notify the IRS of your address change.

If you would like more information about selling your home, please contact our office.

The Gilbert High School Marching Band has been chosen to represent the State of Arizona at next year's National Independence Day Parade. 

Nominated for the honor by Gov. Jan Brewer, the band, along with the Raymond S. Kellis High School will represent Arizona's 100th year of statehood. 

Students must raise between $1,300 and $1,800 per person for the five day trip.  Instrument transportation alone is expected to cost $20,000.

Contributions of up to $400 ($200 single or head of household) will receive a dollar-for-dollar reduction of state income tax. 

Contributions must be received by December 31 to qualify. 

To contribute, click here to download the form and be sure to designate the funds to Gilbert High School Marching Band.