Logo
Tax Tips Newsletter
Serving you since 1993
December 2013 - Vol 8, Issue 12
In This Issue
Sign Up
Quick Links
Greetings!
Suzette with Santa hat

Happy Holidays! I hope that you have a wonderful holiday season and a happy and prosperous new year. Suzette is our little holiday elf this year.

I want to take this opportunity to acknowledge my amazing staff. Over the years we have all become good friends which makes working together even more special.

Sandi is the glue that holds everything together. I really don't know what I would do without her. As of December 16 she will have worked with me for 17 years.

Mary-Ann is my administrative assistance and has been the person you talk to when you call the office. Her warm, cheerful personality makes everyone feel at home. In addition she is the person responsible for making this newsletter look as fabulous as it does.

Felix brings his expertise as a CPA for many years. He not only has a breadth of experience but is very good at explaining complex tax situtations in easy to understand terms.

Just a reminder that I will be sending out the 2013 tax organizers by e-mail., The organizer is not a fill-in PDF file. It is just a PDF copy of the paper organizer you have received in past years. You will need to print out the organizer, fill them in and return to us. If you would prefer to receive your organizer by mail, please let us know as soon as possible.

If you are a QuickBooks user you should know that Intuit will not be supporting QuickBooks versions prior to 2011. That also includes not being able to print 1099s for 2013 in versions prior to QuickBooks 2011. There have been many significant improvements to QuickBooks since the 2010 version so I encourage you to upgrade to a newer version. As a Certified ProAdvisor I am able to get my clients discounts on new versions. Please contact me if you are interested.

The office will be closed on December 24, 25, 31 and January 1. The best way to reach any of us will be by e-mail during the week of December 23 - December 30.

Many thanks for your referrals. I appreciate your confidence in my staff and me.

There are more than a dozen variations of the information return known as Form 1099. Most are specific to certain industries. But nearly every company, large or small, has to issue Form 1099-MISC. And you have to send a copy of 2013 forms to recipients by January 31, 2014.

You use Form 1099-MISC to report miscellaneous payments to nonemployees. This includes fees for services provided to your business by independent contractors, such as consultants, lawyers, cleaning people, and others. Generally, you don't report fees paid to corporations, but there are exceptions. (Payments to lawyers, for example, must be reported whether the lawyers are incorporated or not.)

December is the perfect time to start assembling what your company will need to meet the reporting requirements: a list of recipients, verification as to corporate/noncorporate status, and the recipient's taxpayer ID information. Getting a head start now will eliminate a last minute scramble in January.

How important is 1099 filing? The penalties for failing to file range from $30 to $100 per form, with total penalties going as high as $500,000 to $1.5 million depending on the size of your company.

For additional information about the 1099 filing requirements that apply to your business, contact my office.
Pig with money in background
If your employer offers a flexible spending account (FSA), you're permitted to set aside up to $2,500 of pre-tax dollars each year to pay for your out-of-pocket medical expenses. The drawback to such accounts has been the fact that in the past, you forfeited any unused amounts at year-end, and they reverted to your employer.

An easing a few years ago allowed employers to amend their FSAs to provide a 2½ month grace period that would let you use up prior-year unspent amounts during that period.

Now the IRS has relaxed the "use it or lose it" rule again. Plans can now be modified to allow participants to carry over up to $500 of unused amounts to the following year.

Health FSAs cannot offer both the 2½ month grace period and the $500 carryover option; they can have one option or the other (or neither).

Need more information? Give me a call.
Gingerbread Houses
Tax Tip of the Week: There's a lot of information out there about what we need to do about health insurance under the new health care law. Be informed and aware of what the individual penalty is before deciding about your insurance. Read this article for more info.

Business Tip of the Month: The start of a new year is a great time to reassess your business. Putting company costs under a microscope is a good place to begin. Check out this article for more ideas and how you can reduce your expenses.

Financial Tip of the Month : Should you pay off your home mortgage before retirement? Read this article and ask yourself these questions to determine if this would make financial sense for you.

Fraud Alert: Tis the season for giving for most of us, but for the fraudsters it's the time of taking!! They're very creative in finding ways to scam us! Beware of phony schemes, online rip-offs and theft. Read this artice for more info on how to protect yourself this holiday season.
Quickbooks logo
Let me know if I can help you with any Quickbooks problems.

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Linda-L-Heineman-CPA/266124360085715?ref=tn_tnmn

Photos © Bigstockphotos.com, istockphoto.com, Felix Orona>

Sincerely,
Linda Heineman
Linda L. Heineman, CPA

phone: 626-577-0979