Happy New Year! We extend our best wishes to you for a healthy, happy, and prosperous New Year.
Tax season is here! The IRS has already begun accepting electronically filed tax returns for corporations and partnerships. On Tuesday, January 19th they will begin accepting electronic filing of individual income tax returns. When calling for pricing, make sure you provide a complete listing of the schedules we prepared for you to get an accurate comparison. This listing is available on our invoice.
The tax extenders bill passed legislation in December resulting in $650 billion in tax savings. More than 50 tax extenders were approved, 22 of which were made permanent. Permanency of a tax law is a good thing! It takes the guesswork out of year end tax planning, as these extenders are always left to December for renewal. Some of the more common extenders that may apply to your situation include:
- the Earned Income Tax Credit,
- the Child Tax Credit (CTC),
- the American Opportunity Tax Credit,
- the deduction for classroom expenses used by teachers
- the deduction for state and local sales taxes,
- credit for solar electric property and qualified solar water heating property extended to 2021.
Low Income: California has passed a bill to provide an earned income tax credit for low income individuals with children.
Five tax incentives for charitable giving are in the bill, including a provision that allows individuals that are at least 70.5 years old to exclude distributions to charities from their Individual Retirement Accounts. This will be helpful for you if you do not itemize deductions. Contact us for more details.
A number of business tax breaks are extended without an expiration date, including the research and development tax credit, the increased maximum amount that businesses can immediately expense for property described in section 179 of the tax code, which is increased to $500,000. This deduction is good on new and used equipment, as well as off-the-shelf software. This limit is only good for 2015, and the equipment must be financed/purchased and put into service by the end of the day, 12/31/2015.
The due date for filing returns is moved to April 18 this year. If you cannot meet the deadline, contact us to file an extension for you. REMEMBER: an extension is only an extension of time to file, not time to pay. If you anticipate owing taxes, you must pay them with the extension form by April 18.
If you have questions about any tax issues, please give us a call.
