Finance & Enjoyment Blog
January 12, 2012Home Ownership Ain’t What It Used To Be
Category: Your Financial House
I was in my mid-twenties when my parents paid off the mortgage on their house. This was a momentous event in their lives, and I didn’t realize the full impact until years later. They built the home and paid for it with a 20-year mortgage. The value of the house as well as their salaried had increased several times during the 20 years they were paying down the mortgage. The income tax savings from deductions for interest and taxes were significant, and more than made up for the difference between what they would have paid for rent and the mon …
Read The Rest of This PostJanuary 04, 2012The 2% Payroll Tax Cut And You
Category: Your Financial House, Rules and Regulations
Much talk has been made lately of the 2% payroll tax cut that has been the holdup in Congress over the past month. At face value, the common employee would assume this will result in a straight 2% increase in their take-home pay, but there are many other factors involved that also affect this amount. Additionally, this does not extend to the employer, so that rate remains at 6.2%. First of all, this cut has been in effect since 2011 so what Congress was actually fighting over was whether or not to return to the rate to pre-2011 rates. This payroll tax is solely tied to …
Read The Rest of This PostDecember 16, 2011Reducing Your Tax Bill Before The End Of 2011
Category: Your Financial House
Reducing Your Tax Bill Before The End Of 2011 Despite only a few weeks left in 2011, there are still several things you can do to reduce your 2011 tax due. • The first thing you can do is maximize your 401(k)’s contributions from your paycheck. These deductions reduce taxable income as well as provide a great base for retirement. The max an individual can contribute for 2011 is $16,500 for people under fifty, and $22,000 for fifty and older. • Another thing you can do is claim any energy efficient appliances and home improvements made during the year …
Read The Rest of This PostJune 01, 2011Colorado Accounting: Depreciation Changes Likely
Category: Your Financial House, Rules and Regulations
Depreciation Changes Likely for Colorado Accounting - It is likely that this year will be the last year in which businesses can claim special depreciation on new asset purchases equal to 100% of the assets cost, if they are purchased new. This can add to significant tax savings in the 2011 tax year. With these tax savings unlikely to be extended into the future, businesses may wish to consider purchasing any new assets in the current year before this tax advantage is gone. Another depreciation change that may be coming is an increase in the tax lives for assets put in service in the fut …
Read The Rest of This PostMarch 01, 2011Health Care Medical Deductions
Category: Your Financial House, Rules and Regulations
The Latest in Health Care Tax Deductions - Due to the health care act of 2010, in the near future it will become increasingly difficult to deduct health care expenses if you itemized on your tax return. With the current rate of medical expenses being deductible by the amount which exceeds 7.5% of your adjusted gross income, this rate will increase in 2013 to the amount that exceeds 10% of AGI and then in 2017 it will increase to 10% for individuals 65 and older. There are many expenses which the IRS deems qualifying medical expenses when itemizing, these include items such as health insuranc …
Read The Rest of This PostFebruary 26, 2011Adoption Tax Credit Changes
Category: Your Financial House, Rules and Regulations
Changes to the Adoption Tax Credit - There have been several changes to the adoption tax credit this year. Many of these changes are new to this year due to the passage of the health care reform bill. Several new opportunities for tax savings in both 2010 and 2011 have been created, yet all these savings expire after 2011 unless Congress takes further action to extend them. This addition to the adoption credit allows for a maximum tax credit of up to $13,360 per eligible child, to cover processing fees and other costs directly attributable to the adoption process, with the credit extend …
Read The Rest of This PostFebruary 18, 2011Important Information on Residential Energy Tax Credits
Category: Your Financial House, Rules and Regulations
Energy Tax Credit - What You Should Know! As you are beginning to prepare your taxes there are a couple of federal tax credits that you may want to consider this year as they may save your money. One of which you should look at for money savings is the residential energy tax credit. This tax credit can be up to $1,500 or 30% of the purchase price of items such as central air conditioning, energy efficient windows and doors. If you have purchased any of these items during the year of 2010 be sure to take this into consideration while preparing your tax information. One unfort …
Read The Rest of This PostJanuary 26, 2011Tax Planning Basics
Category: Successful Practice Management, Your Financial House, Rules and Regulations
What You Should Know About Tax Planning - For the most part, significant tax issues may be avoided by careful planning and attention to your financial situation. The goal of any tax payer should be to pay the least amount of tax, but this philosophy may lead to errors or even create more of a tax liability than what was originally saved. Tax returns filed by medical practices can be complicated, and leaving it up to Turbotax or H&R Block can have disastrous results. Usually the cost associated with hiring a CPA is made up several times over by the dollars saved on the tax …
Read The Rest of This PostJanuary 24, 2011Why Hire a CPA to do Your Tax Return?
Category: Successful Practice Management, Your Financial House
Why Hire a CPA for Tax Returns - As the beginning of the tax season is upon us, we have become immersed in advertising from the likes of H & R Block, TurboTax, and Jackson Hewitt, informing us that they will do everything in their power to get you your money back at a very low cost. While these services may be slightly cheaper than your local CPA firm, you may not be getting the best value for the dollars you spend. It is important to realize that there are many additional benefits you receive from a CPA firm these other sources do not offer. There are at least five distinct advantages …
Read The Rest of This PostJanuary 01, 20112011 Tax Due Dates
Category: Your Financial House, Rules and Regulations
Due Dates for the 2011 Tax Season: January 15, 2011 Individuals Pay fourth installment of estimated income tax for 2010, accompanied by Form 1040-ES and for CO Form 104-ES. Corporations and S-corporations (years ending October 31, 2010) File U.S. Corporation Income Tax Return, Form 1120, or U.S. Income Tax Return for an S Corporation, Form 1120S, or an application for extension of time to file, and pay the balance of the income tax, if any. Colorado corporations are due the same day as federal. A worksheet, Form 1120-W, is availab …
Read The Rest of This PostSeptember 30, 2010Changes to Provider Payments from Medicare
Category: Your Financial House
Changes to Provider Payments from Medicare Starting in 2011, provider payments from Medicare for clinics will be affected as a result of the Health Care Reform Act of 2010. The purpose for these changes is to increase productivity while lowering costs. To take care of the productivity goal, there will be an annual update that includes an adjustment step. On the cost reduction side, a 1.75% reduction will occur from 2011-2015. In 2015, this reduction increases to 1.95. There will also be a provision calling for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to submit to Congress a report with …
Read The Rest of This PostAugust 27, 2010Lower Utilization Rates in Hospitals Will Be Rewarded
Category: Your Financial House
With the passing of the Health Care Reform Act of 2010, Medicare payments to both inpatient and outpatient facilities have been altered. The theoretical purpose for these changes is to control costs while improving quality of care, which the bill plans to achieve by providing larger payments to facilities that meet the new standards. Effective in 2011, hospitals in counties in the lowest quartile of per capita spending will receive increased Medicare payments. By 2012, a full productivity reduction is planned to take effect. There also will be an inpatient hospital Value-Based Purchas …
Read The Rest of This PostJuly 14, 2010Changes to Medicare Advantage
Category: Your Financial House
Starting in 1997, Medicare Advantage allowed for Medicare Beneficiaries to receive their benefits through private health insurance plans rather than the original Medicare plans. This works by Medicare paying the private health care company a set amount every month per member. These private plans are required to offer benefits that are at least as good as that of Medicare. A positive effect of this is that beneficiaries are able to tailor their plans for their individual needs, while a negative effect is that the private insurance companies often charge an additional amount each mo …
Read The Rest of This PostFebruary 27, 2010Benefit of Credit Cards, according to Denver CPA Firm
Category: Your Financial House
When we talk about credit cards, we automatically think about the high interest rate and all sorts of fees the credit card company charges us. But I recently learned that there are times we should use a credit card. The credit card benefit was an accidental lesson. It happened when my two year old Sony big screen TV was broken a month ago. I called the Costco tech support hot line and found out that the two year warranty had expired three days earlier. The Costco customer service representative noticed that I had charged the TV with American Express. He told me that American Express has an …
Read The Rest of This PostFebruary 25, 2010Helpful Hints to Expedite Your Individual Tax Preparation
Category: Your Financial House
With tax season upon us, these tips may be helpful to avoid follow up information requests and maybe even reduce your tax prep bill. 1. Read your organizer! It is a very useful tool. On the right side everything you reported in 2008 is listed. Use this guide to enter (or gather) the necessary information for your 2009 taxes. 2. Remember to include ownership tax information for your car. On the organizer, it’s listed just below real estate tax as “personal property tax.” Simply refer to your auto/boat/motorcycle/trailer registrations …
Read The Rest of This PostFebruary 17, 2010Roth IRA Conversions
Category: Your Financial House, Retirement and Exit Strategies
Roth IRA’s (named after Representative Roth who was chairman of the House Ways and Means committee at the time) have been in existence since 1998. They are only available to individuals with earned income and adjusted gross incomes below established levels. Roth IRA’s are advantageous because: Virtually all future income, growth and withdrawals are tax-free You are not required to take distributions after age 70 1/2, as you are with traditional IRA’s Taxpayers with adjusted gross incomes below $100,000 have been permitted to convert traditional IRA& …
Read The Rest of This PostDecember 23, 2009First Time Home Buying - My Home Buying Nightmare!
Category: Your Financial House
It was a dark and stormy night in Southeast Denver and my apartment lease was weeks from expiring. I had spent the last few weeks of April trying to find the perfect home to rent so I could have a yard for my basset hound to play. May 1st rolled around and I realized that maybe renting isn’t the best option for me. A friend asked me, “Why don’t you buy a house?” To which I immediately laughed. “Are you crazy?” But later that night I took a step back and I realized the idea wasn’t that crazy after all. If you take …
Read The Rest of This PostJuly 19, 2009First-time Homebuyer
Category: Your Financial House
For those of you considering taking the plunge into home ownership, there may be no better time to buy then right now. With the depressed housing market and foreclosures at an all time high, many individuals are looking to take part in the American dream and become first-time homebuyers. In order to help facilitate you, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) has enhanced the first-time homebuyer credit for those who are eligible to take it. Who can take the credit? An individual is considered a first-time homebuyer if he (or spouse, if married) had no presen …
Read The Rest of This PostJuly 16, 2009Internal Controls - Financial Health of Your Business
Category: Your Financial House
How’s the financial health of your business? You probably check the pulse of the business financial health by regularly watching the cash flow and even reading the monthly financial statements. But have you examined the internal financial structure of your business recently? To conduct a business self-assessment, answer “yes” or “no” to this list of questions: Do you know how transactions flow through your business? Do you know who in your organization is responsible for specific financial functions? (deposits, check writing …
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