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What Did We Learn This Tax Season

Gary and Mike have bored the staff for years by saying that we're wonderfully insightful economic forecasters AFTER tax season. We're great about describing what happened last year; we're not so good about predicting what may be in your future.

We summarize some thoughts about this past year and the future below:

• It's clear to us that many of you found scanners under your Christmas tree this year. We noticed an explosion of scanned documents as we received 1099s, W-2s, receipts for all of your charities, copies of dog licenses, and airline tickets to your 25th class reunion in our inbox this year. Remember - we LOVE your scanner but prefer that your organize and summarize your tax information. YOU may  know why you think that wrench you bought at Home Depot and forwarded the scanned receipt to us is deductible - we DON'T, so summarize and scan!
• Many of you STILL have not properly planned your estate. Make sure you update (or prepare) your will or trust document. It's essential if you have minor children or major assets and it's not a bad idea for everyone else.
• When we were 21, a medical expense was the aspirin you took the day after you had a few too many beers after a hard day on the - beach - volleyball court. These days, many of us are incurring far more medical expenses, and we need to track them as medical expenses CAN BE tax deductible. You need to cast a wide net to make sure you capture all unreimbursed medical costs (as well as medical insurance premiums you may pay). 
• There are likely four or five of you who have not refinanced these last several years - so this is directed at you. Make sure you provide us with your closing escrow statement so we can determine if you have any deductible points, taxes, or fees.
• Changes are in the air for 2013 and many of us are not completely aware of how those changes might impact us. You might see a 3.8% tax on investment earnings, a 0.9% tax on wages and self-employment income, a reduction in your itemized deductions and an increase in your marginal tax rate. These changes won't impact EVERYONE, mostly high income taxpayers, and we'll take this space these next few months to explain the changes.
• Both the IRS and the California Franchise Tax Board have seen dramatic increases in identity theft. Should that happen to you, you'll only get limited assistance from both agencies - how surprising! - but you will need to take a variety of important - and fast  - steps to deal with the problem. We can provide more information should you find yourself in this situation.
• You may have received that $10,000 Swiss bank account from your Uncle Oscar, you may have opened that bank account in Costa Rica when you considered retiring there several years ago - it's not important how you got it, but if it's over $10,000 and you have signature authority over it, it must be disclosed to the US Treasury Department on a VERY complicated form no later than June 30th. The fines for not reporting these accounts are quite stiff. Let us know as we can help!
• Some of you may have contributed to your Roth this year even if you were not eligible to do so. Some of you did not take the Required Minimum Distribution from your IRA or pension plan - many of you might understand that the IRS did not seem to notice in prior years but, in a recently published notification, the IRS indicated that they are gearing up for a "major compliance effort" (that means they are looking for you) targeting individual retirement accounts. The agency "will begin a careful and data driven approach" for getting IRA owners to avoid making excess contributions or missing withdrawals after age 70 1/2. 

Thanks for taking the time to read this

We'll be in your email box again at the end of May.