The South Bay Tax Report
August 2015
It's August, it's summertime, and you'd think your tax accountants would be down at the beach and catching a few waves.
Okay, we're accountants - we probably don't CATCH waves, we probably just WATCH people catch waves. You can't spend your time surfing if you've recently been selected as the
South Bay Favorite Tax Preparer
by "The Daily Breeze."
You need to spend August reading, taking classes, and "sharpening the saw" so that we make sure we do everything possible to reduce your tax liability.
Of course, those of you who don't wish to hear about our saw sharpening can simply wander down to the bottom of the page and "Unsubscribe."
We'll take you off the list.
As usual, we've canvassed the staff and noted a few Frequently Asked Questions
that might be interesting for you.
Enjoy the newsletter and the balance of your summer.
I was REALLY busy at April 15th
I didn't get a chance to have the
South Bay's Favorite Tax Preparer complete
my tax return.
When is the extended due date?
The IRS - and the great State of California - allows you a six month extension to file your 2014 tax return.
You have until October 15th to file.
That, of course, means we'll need your tax information no later than September 25tht to guarantee that we finish preparation of your return AND that your return can be returned to you on a timely basis.
Remember - tax preparation is a dynamic science, requiring hours of intense preparation and attention to each return. (Wow, that sounds impressive).
A former US President once asked
"Do you want it right or do you want it Tuesday?"
We want to do it right!
I won the lottery!
I've decided to hire a cleaning person, a cook, a gardener, a babysitter, and other household workers and I will pay each of them at least $1,900 in 2015.
No problem, right?
First, congratulations!
Second, we here at Wayland & Vukadinovich can be your new good friends!
Third, hiring any household worker and paying him/her more than $1,900 means you will be required to withhold and remit Social Security and Medicare taxes, you will be required to file periodic payroll tax returns with the IRS and California's oh-so-friendly Employment Development Department, and you will be required to make matching contributions to Social Security and Medicare on behalf of your household employees.
Don't ignore this issue!
Let us know if you need assistance.
Remember, we're your new good friends.
Where's my 2014 tax refund?
That's an easy question if we assume you have actually already filed, or you don't mean that you've lost in the check in the cushions of your sofa.
You can simply visit either the IRS website at:
or the Franchise Tax Board website at:
and provide them with information about who you are and what refund you expected, and those technology savvy IRS and FTB representatives will provide you with information about your refund.
These days, delays in refund processing can mean identity theft so get on this sooner than later!
Can I get an electronic copy of my tax return?
We're always here to help.
Simply call Gina, our office manager and vice president of electronic file operations (we LOVE titles here), and she'll explore a variety of security questions with you to make sure you ARE you before she sends along an electronic copy.
Please note that we are not allowed to forward your return to a third party without an original signed authorization but we're happy to send one to you which you can forward.
What are 5 surprising facts about IRAs?
Okay, we admit it -
NOBODY called us to ask us to list five surprising facts about IRAs, but we saw much of this information in a recent article in MONEY magazine, and we wanted to pass it along.
First, the average IRA balance tops $100,000. Individuals held an average of $119,800 in their IRAs in 2013.
Over 25 million individuals currently maintain IRA accounts.
Second, the average IRA contribution increased from about $3,300 in 2010 to $4,145 in 2013, and 43% of investors who saved in an IRA contributed the maximum possible in 2013.
Third, most contributions originate with 401(k)s. Much of the money held in IRAs was first saved in workplace retirement plans and rolled over to IRAs.
Fourth, tax free Roth IRAs are more popular than traditional IRAs. More contributions were made to Roth IRAs than traditional IRAs in 2013.
Lastly, it APPEARS that your IRA has largely recovered from the recession. The average IRA balance declined from about $91,900 in 2010 to $87,700 in 2011, but then climbed back to $119,800 in 2013.
What's Congress doing these days?
Well, other than passing a resolution declaring
National Artichoke Week, not much.....
But we generally like it when they AREN'T in session as they can't cause any trouble.
However, they have passed a few things relating to taxes that we wanted to pass along.
Starting in 2017 (for the 2016 year), your mortgage lender will have to provide more information to the IRS about your mortgage including your loan origination date, the amount of outstanding principal at the beginning of the year, AND the address of the property.
Starting in 2017 for the 2016 tax year, partnership returns will be due March 15th rather than April 15th.
Many of you eagerly await your K-1 form.
Under current law, your partnership doesn't have to send you the K-1 until April 15th. The IRS is here to help you by moving up the due date 30 days to March 15th.
Of course, that means we here at
Wayland & Vukadinovich LLP
will have more sleepless nights from February 15th to March 15th than in years past but - hey - who needs sleep when you can practice tax preparation!!!!
Those of you with those pesky foreign bank accounts know that you are required to file your "FBAR" filing by June 30th each year with NO extension of time allowed.
Well, the IRS heard your complaint - actually, we don't think they paid any attention to your moaning, they just simply decided it made more sense to make those FBAR filings due April 15th, BUT you can ask for an extension until October 15th.
They haven't actually indicated HOW you will ask for an extension but we're sure they will get around to telling us what we're supposed to do sometime soon.
I've got copies of my tax returns going back to 1952.
I've got every receipt, bill, and check I've written since 1960. I've only got three bedrooms and the tax returns and receipts have taken over two of those bedrooms.
Do I really need to keep all of this?
Dear Hoarder -
Have you thought about going on a reality show?
You SHOULD keep your tax returns forever, but you really don't need to keep the supporting documents much longer than four years as the IRS statute of limitations is three years, the California statute is four years. You'll want to keep information about any home improvements you make until 4 years after you sell your home.
You'll also want to keep information about what investments you bought until four years after you sell the investment, but clean out that attic, that bedroom, that HOUSE!
Is there anything new at Wayland & Vukadinovich?
Well, you know us....
We're accountants, we always have cool new stuff like new coffee pots, new tax software, etc.
Okay, we understand - what's cool new stuff to accountants isn't actually cool new stuff to the rest of the world, but what can we say!
It's who we are!!!!
This month, we have a new postage machine
(Yes! A postage machine makes the list here!!!)
You will receive an email notification whenever a package has been shipped by our office to you. This is yet another way that we are doing our best to stay up-to-date with new technology!
There's a new voice answering our phone
when you call us.
Be sure you welcome Madison Rudd when you call to ask those interesting questions that make our newsletter. Madison has great customer service experience, and we're thrilled to add her to the
Wayland & Vukadinoivich LLP team!
Please don't tell her that we're accountants.
We're trying to convince her we're secret agents who happen to prepare a few tax returns to make sure our cover stays in place.
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