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Summer hours are in effect: Our offices close at NOON on Fridays from May 17th to July 12th
Our offices will be closed the week of Thanksgiving, from November 25th through November 29th, to support our team’s well-being and allow time with family.
We will resume our fall/winter business hours on Monday, December 2nd. Thank you for your understanding, and we wish you a wonderful holiday season.
Summer hours are in effect: Our offices close at NOON on Fridays from May 17th to July 12th
Our offices will be closed the week of Thanksgiving, from November 25th through November 29th, to support our team’s well-being and allow time with family.
We will resume our fall/winter business hours on Monday, December 2nd. Thank you for your understanding, and we wish you a wonderful holiday season.
The Colorado General Assembly has reinstated funding for the Senior Property Tax Exemption, also known as the Senior Homestead Exemption, for tax year 2017, payable in 2018.
Consequently, some senior citizens may qualify to have 50 percent of the first $200,000 of the actual value of their primary residence exempted from property taxation.
1) The qualifying senior must be at least 65 years old on January 1 of the year he or she applies;
2) The qualifying senior must be the property owner of record for at least 10 consecutive years prior to January 1; and
3) The qualifying senior must occupy the property as his or her primary residence and have done so for at least 10 consecutive years prior to January 1.
Applications for the Senior Property Tax Exemption are due no later than July 17.
Contact your financial adviser to see if you qualify.
Mortgage interest rates are still at low levels, but they likely will increase as the Fed continues to raise rates. If you have been thinking about helping your child — or grandchild — buy a home, consider acting soon. There also are some favorable tax factors that may help:
0% capital gains rate
If the child is in the 10% or 15% income tax bracket, instead of giving cash to help fund a down payment, consider giving long-term appreciated assets such as stock or mutual fund shares. The child can sell the assets without incurring any federal income taxes on the gain, and you can save the taxes you would owe if you sold the assets yourself. State taxes may still apply.
As long as the assets are worth $14,000 or less (when combined with any other 2017 gifts to the child), there will be no federal gift tax consequences — thanks to the annual gift tax exclusion. Married couples can give twice that amount tax-free if they split the gift. And if you don’t mind using up some of your lifetime exemption ($5.49 million for 2017), you can give even more.
Low federal interest rates
Another tax-friendly option is lending funds. Currently, Applicable Federal Rates — the rates that can be charged on intrafamily loans without causing unwanted tax consequences — are still quite low by historical standards. But these rates have begun to rise and are also expected to continue to increase this year. Accordingly, lending money to a loved one for a home purchase sooner rather than later might be a good idea.
If you choose the loan option, it’s important to put a loan agreement in writing and actually collect payment (including interest) on the loan. Otherwise the IRS could deem the loan to be a taxable gift. Keep in mind that you will have to report the interest as income and that the loan recipient may be required to report the loan as debt on the mortgage application. However if the interest rate is low, the tax impact should be minimal.
If you have questions about these or other tax-efficient ways to help your child or grandchild buy a home, please contact your tax advisor.
Many companies use payroll software or a payroll service to issue checks based on a set pay period. Occasionally, the need to write a manual check arises – like paying an employee a special bonus or as a gift for a job well done. These off-cycle manual checks may trigger time-sensitive tasks for your accountant or payroll provider; notifying them prior to, or immediately after, is recommended.
Your accountant or payroll person will be able to clarify:
Paying company taxes on time avoids potential penalties and late fees that range from 2% to 15%.
Deadlines vary based on the receiving agency and amount of taxes you report. For an example, see “Federal Payroll Tax Deadlines” below.
Since each company is different, your accountant or payroll person may have more questions. Accordingly, keeping them in the loop will permit you to confidently issue an occasional manual paycheck; knowing you are better positioned to avoid potential pitfalls. If you have questions about your company’s tax deadlines or have other financial needs, please contact us at your convenience.
Federal Payroll Tax Deadlines
There are two types of Federal deposits made to the IRS: monthly schedule deposits and semiweekly schedule deposits. The schedule appropriate for your company depends on how many taxes you report, therefore determining when you schedule your deposits. If you report taxes of $50,000.00 or less, your monthly deposit is due on or before the 15th of the following month. If the 15th of a calendar month falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday, the deposit is due by the next business day. If you report taxes of more than $50,000.00, you make semiweekly schedule deposits based on the following schedule:
Stay on top of filing and reporting deadlines with our tax calendar! Our tax calendar includes dates categorized by employers, individuals, partnerships, corporations and more to keep you on track.
Donors from households with net assets of $1 million or more — or those that bring home at least $200,000 annually — on average made donations totaling $25,509 in 2015 compared to an average of $2,124 from the general population, according to the 2016 U.S. Trust® Study of High Net Worth Philanthropy. And, on average, these high net worth households gave to eight different nonprofits. Also, wealthy donors who volunteered gave 56% more, on average, than those who didn’t volunteer. And 83% of wealthy donors plan to give as much or more in the next three years.
Large organizations such as United Way and the American Red Cross are turning to online appeals to reach Millennial donors who are “rewriting the rules of fundraising,” Adweek reports. One of the biggest challenges is engaging these donors through new fundraising channels. The not-for-profits are responding by ramping up efforts in crowdfunding, mobile and other digital modes of giving. United Way, for example, raised $570,000 for its “Restore Baltimore” campaign via crowdfunding.
According to this year’s Nonprofit Employment Practices Survey™ from Nonprofit HR and GuideStar, the ability to pay competitive wages ranks as the top staffing challenge faced by nonprofits for the fifth consecutive year. Since 2014, the second largest challenge has been finding qualified staff.
Organizations have the most trouble retaining employees in direct services (positions that work directly with clients), followed by fundraising development. And these are areas where the most job growth is expected in the coming year, suggesting the possibility of more staffing problems going forward. The survey report asserts that the increasing number of “entities that are blending purpose and profit” (for example, Ben & Jerry’s and Patagonia) means job seekers have more opportunities to engage in mission-driven work than ever before.
One of the most common inquiries clients have for their accountants is “What documents do I need to save, and for how long?” Retaining, organizing, and filing old records can become a burden, both at the business and individual levels. As we all strive to achieve a more “paperless” process, how do we determine what warrants taking up valuable office and storage space and what does not?
Records should be preserved only as long as they serve a useful purpose or until all legal requirements are met. To keep files manageable, it is a good idea to develop a schedule so that at the end of a specified retention period, certain records are destroyed.
At Stockman Kast Ryan + Co., we have developed records retention schedules we think you will find helpful. Although it doesn’t cover every possible record, it does cover the most common ones. As always, please feel free to ask us should you have specific questions or concerns.
Stay on top of filing and reporting deadlines with our tax calendar! Our tax calendar includes dates categorized by employers, individuals, partnerships, corporations and more to keep you on track.
Stay on top of filing and reporting deadlines with our tax calendar! Our tax calendar includes dates categorized by employers, individuals, partnerships, corporations and more to keep you on track.
WASHINGTON – The Internal Revenue Service, state tax agencies and the tax industry on Jan. 25 renewed their warning about an email scam that uses a corporate officer’s name to request employee Forms W-2 from company payroll or human resources departments.
This week, the IRS already has received new notifications that the email scam is making its way across the nation for a second time. The IRS urges company payroll officials to double check any executive-level or unusual requests for lists of Forms W-2 or Social Security number.
The W-2 scam first appeared last year. Cybercriminals tricked payroll and human resource officials into disclosing employee names, SSNs and income information. The thieves then attempted to file fraudulent tax returns for tax refunds.
This phishing variation is known as a “spoofing” e-mail. It will contain, for example, the actual name of the company chief executive officer. In this variation, the “CEO” sends an email to a company payroll office or human resource employee and requests a list of employees and information including SSNs.
The following are some of the details that may be contained in the emails:
Working together in the Security Summit, the IRS, states and tax industry have made progress in their fight against tax-related identity theft, but cybercriminals are using more sophisticated tactics to try to steal even more data that will allow them to impersonate taxpayers.The Security Summit supports a national taxpayer awareness campaign called “Taxes. Security. Together.” This campaign offers simple tips that can help make data more secure.
WASHINGTON – The Internal Revenue Service, state tax agencies and the tax industry today renewed their warning about an email scam that uses a corporate officer’s name to request employee Forms W-2 from company payroll or human resources departments.
This week, the IRS already has received new notifications that the email scam is making its way across the nation for a second time. The IRS urges company payroll officials to double check any executive-level or unusual requests for lists of Forms W-2 or Social Security number.
The W-2 scam first appeared last year. Cybercriminals tricked payroll and human resource officials into disclosing employee names, SSNs and income information. The thieves then attempted to file fraudulent tax returns for tax refunds.
This phishing variation is known as a “spoofing” e-mail. It will contain, for example, the actual name of the company chief executive officer. In this variation, the “CEO” sends an email to a company payroll office or human resource employee and requests a list of employees and information including SSNs.
The following are some of the details that may be contained in the emails:
Working together in the Security Summit, the IRS, states and tax industry have made progress in their fight against tax-related identity theft, but cybercriminals are using more sophisticated tactics to try to steal even more data that will allow them to impersonate taxpayers.The Security Summit supports a national taxpayer awareness campaign called “Taxes. Security. Together.” This campaign offers simple tips that can help make data more secure.