Fun Facts About Our Taxes

We admit it - we're tax nerds, always looking for one more deduction, one more credit, one more way to save you taxes so only we here at
Wayland & Vukadinovich can refer to

"Fun Facts"

when we talk about taxes, but here are a few numbers that may be interesting.

Note that these numbers are based on the 2011 tax year.  

We filed 142.9 million 2011 tax returns.

We'll be honest, we didn't file all of them; that's the total number of individual returns filed for 2011.

Of those, 110.9 million of them had a refund

(and we WERE responsible for all of those....).

The total income tax collected by the IRS was $951 billion.

There were 282,311 returns with adjusted gross income of $1 million or more; 42,000 of those were located in California, and 295 of those were from Vermont -

and we suspect Ben and Jerry were two of the Vermonters.

Of the 142.9 million tax returns filed,

28 million had dividend income,

16 million had social security income,

55 million had interest income,

and 14 million had unemployment income.

Lastly, there are 4 million words in the tax code

(Gary and Mike claimed to have read 3.8 million of them), there have been 4,680 changes to the Internal Revenue Code since 2001 (but we haven't checked today...)

and, the printed EXPLANATIONS of the Code stand more than 1 foot high. 

It's Almost Father's Day

We actually don't know who these people are, but we thought it was a good picture to include for a discussion of Father's Day.

Our friends at Edward Jones recently suggested some ways you fathers can give back to your family.

Review your life insurance - It is essential that you maintain adequate life insurance to cover your family's future financial needs. There's no one "formula" for determining the right amount of coverage, so it's important you find a financial pro to help you determine what's right.

Save early and often for college - it's NEVER too soon to start saving for the costs of higher education.

(Well, that's not exactly true - you probably should wait until you actually have a child).

You may want to consider contributions to a 529 College Savings plan.

Explore a custodial account - You may want to consider a custodial account - such as a Uniform Gift to Minors Act ("UGMA").

These accounts allow you to set aside funds for the benefit of a child.

Review your beneficiary designations - You may want to change or add beneficiaries to your Individual Retirement Account, 401(k), life insurance, annuities and other accounts.

Review your estate plan - Estate plans are ever-changing as your life situation is ever-changing. Make sure your estate plan reflects your current thinking and your current financial position.

Don't Forget The New 3.8% Tax

Remember, a 3.8% tax on net investment income takes effect for most joint filers with ADJUSTED GROSS INCOME above $250,000.

The tax applies to gross income from long-and short-term gains, dividends, taxable interest, rents, and royalties.

The tax DOES NOT apply to municipal bond interest, pension income, IRA and Roth distributions, social security income, life insurance proceeds, and income from a qualified real-estate activity.

...And the 0.9% Medicare Surtax

A 0.9% Medicare surtax will apply to most joint filers wages and self-employment income above $250,000 ($200,000 for singles) 

Last Chance for Foreign Bank Accounts

For those of you with Euros in France, Yen in Japan, Rubles in Russia, or Rupiah in Bali, don't forget that you may need to file the famously descriptive

Form TD F 9-22.1

with the United States Treasury no later that June 30th.

U.S. persons who have a financial interest or signature authority over a foreign account which had at least $10,000 at any time during the year must file this form. Let us know if you need assistance or if you want to reduce the size of the account by sending some Rupiahs our direction.  

Clearly, you can tell that we recently learned how to add more pictures to this email blast!

Just one final note -

We've redesigned our website; it's still a work in progress but it's up and running.

Visit it at

Wayland & Vukadinovich