Welcome to the

"It's Almost Tax Season and

Where is My Refund"

Edition of the

South Bay Tax Report

Happy New Year to everyone and

we here at Wayland & Vukadinovich welcome the new year by spending far too many of our evenings reading the 1,028 pages of new tax rules that Congress passed on January 1, 2013, some of it retroactive to last year

(did you know that they have retroactovely extended credits for economic development in American Samoa!).

 We're not sure how they can pass 2012 tax rules in 2013 but we're not sure why we chose this particular profession either.

Since Congress was late (and that was a surprise, right?), the IRS has indicated that most simple returns cannot be filed until January 31st and that more complicated returns - which means anyone who

itemizes, has interest income, businesses or rental properties - likely cannot file until February 15th or later.

So - pull together your information, get what you can to us as soon as you can, and we will both wait for the magic word from the IRS that tax season has started!

Our Appointments....

We can help with preparation of your tax returns several ways

You can -

Email us your information;

Mail us your information;

Send us a completed organizer or

Come in for an appointment.

If you'd like an appointment, call us soon as appointment times quickly fill up.

Fees for appointments have increased. You will likely want to speak to your tax return preparer regarding whether your fee has increased. 

If you'd like one of our long-form organizers

(either the paper or electronic version),

call Gina in our office.

Gina, displaying the proper concern about privacy, will grill you to make sure you are who you say you are before she sends you the organizer.

If you've used a paper long-form organizer in the past, consider upgrading to an electronic version - they're easy to use and helpful for us.

Our regular, traditional 1-page organizers, the short-form version, went out in the mail at year-end.

A New Home Office Deduction Announced

Those great guys at the Internal Revenue Service have recently released a new "safe harbor" option for calculating home office business expenses, effective January 1, 2013.

Those of you who elect this method can deduct an amount determined by multiplying the allowable square footage of your home office by $5. The allowable square footage is the portion of the house used exclusively "in a qualified business use."

It is NOT the portion of your kitchen where you read your Wall Street Journal while you are in your pajamas and bunny slippers.

The maximum a taxpayer can deduct annually under the safe harbor is $1,500 so it's generally not for those of you with significantly greater home office expenses but it will work for many of you.

Resolutions for Retirement

The Wall Street Journal recently published some New Year resolutions for those of you thinking about retirement. Those resolutions are for all of us - not just those of us who may be a year or two from retirement. We thank the Journal and have summarized them below:

I will track my spending - it is, we believe, impossible to plan for retirement without knowing what you spend. Use Quicken, Mint.com, LearnVest, or other tools to make it easier.

I will automate my savings - there is a simple way to force yourself to save more - automate it! Have an amount taken from your checking account each month and moved to savings, or moved to your college savings account, or increase your automatic withdrawal from your paychecks for your 401k.

I will talk to my spouse - a recent survey indicated that 47 - 60% of spouses disagree on fundamental issues as to when they will retire;

note that my spouse disagrees with that statistic.

I will maximize my Social Security payout - be sure you research the various strategies which can help you maximize your Social Security payout. There are a variety of online resources which can assist in your research.

I will use the US Tax Code to my advantage - be sure you review with your incredible tax advisor - Wayland & Vukadinovich - how and when you withdraw your IRAs and retirement funds, whether you pay off home mortgage debt, tax ramifications of the sale of your home, and other significant tax planning items.

I will get off the fence regarding long-term

 care - the US Department of Health and Human Services estimates that about 70% of people over age 65 will eventually need some type of long-term-care. If you think you will need the care and want to cover it with insurance, the sooner you begin the coverage, the cheaper it is.

How Much do I Actually Pay in Tax

There is no more funnier group than the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, and to demonstrate how much fun they are, they have developed a new tool that provides you with information about the actual tax bite you might face - including Federal, State, property, sales, and local taxes.

It's free - how about that!

It's easy - that's even better!

And we have it!

See the link below: 

Tax Calculator