Saturday, January 17, 2015

The Latest IRS Changes / Be aware of some important additions to your 1099 forms as they begin to arrive from your brokers.

Theresa W. Cary for Barron's writes: Starting this week, your mail box will begin reminding you that tax season is underway with the arrival of your first 1099s. The third phase of the IRS’ cost-basis reporting regulations kicked in during 2014 so your forms will contain added information if you traded options or fixed-rate Treasury, corporate, or municipal bonds. There are some online sources that can help.
Those of us who actively trade options will be most affected by the changes. Cost-basis reporting was required for all opening stock transactions that took place after Jan. 1, 2011, and for mutual funds and exchange-traded funds purchased after Jan. 1, 2012. The rules for tracking options transactions were trickier to concoct and implement, though, and the final implementation was delayed until Jan. 1, 2014. There will be another phase of cost basis reporting that kicks in beginning Jan. 1, 2016 for more complex fixed-income instruments, including variable rate bonds, convertible bonds, and foreign-issued bonds.
All of these regulations came out of the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008, which required brokers to report the adjusted cost basis for various securities as well as whether gains were short-term or long-term. Taxpayers report their gains and losses on Schedule D of the 1040, based on the 1099-B forms supplied by their brokers.
Those forms, however, can paint an inaccurate picture of your gains and losses.
One factor that makes cost basis reporting tricky is that you may have generated wash sales, which occur when a trader sells a stock at a loss and then buys it back within 30 days. Even if you make those transactions at two different brokers, you can’t write off the loss to claim a tax benefit unless 30 days separate the transactions. Otherwise, it’s considered a wash sale and doesn’t qualify. Let’s say you sell a stock at a loss in your Schwab account, then buy it again two weeks later in your E*Trade account. The computers keeping track of your Schwab trading activity have no way of knowing what happened in your E*Trade account, and cannot flag the resulting wash sale. (snip, the article continues @ Barron's, click here to continue reading...)
Posted on 4:04 PM | Categories:

An Introduction to Nimble / Nimble Crowned #1 CRM by Software Excellence Awards; Highest Rated CRM and Sales Intelligence by G2 Crowd (Click To View)

An Introduction to Nimble
Nimble, the Simply Smarter, Social CRM has been crowned #1 CRM for Small Business by Technology Advice, Highest Rated Software by Small, Mid-Size and Enterprise Business Users, Highest Rated CRM,Highest Rated Sales Intelligence, Best Software 2014 and Highest Rated Ease-of-Setup by G2 (News - Alert) Crowd, a leading source of business technology reviews.
This follows G2 Crowd's recent recognition as #1 CRM in Customer Satisfaction and High Performer with a 98 satisfaction score, the highest in the CRM grid. Nimble (News - Alert) was also recognized previously as #1 Sales Intelligence in Customer Satisfaction and overall High Performer.

The G2 Crowd Customer Relationship Management Grid and theSales Intelligence Grid are comprehensive reports on over 4,000 software vendors representing 5,000 products based on 30,000 customer reviews. Nimble has been ranked the #1 High Performer and #1 in Customer Satisfaction with 96% of users rating it 4 or 5 stars ahead of all other CRMs including Salesforce, Microsoft (News - Alert) CRM and Oracle CRM.

"The G2 Crowd rankings are a strong third-party validation of the high value Nimble provides its customers," said Jon Ferrara (News -Alert), CEO of Nimble. "Our vision of Customer Success powered by Simply, Smarter Social Relationship Intelligence is supported by the fact that Nimble is the only CRM vendor named in both the Sales Intelligence and Customer Relationship Management G2 Crowd categories."

Nimble Uniquely Blends Simple, Smart Social Selling CRM with Relationship Intelligence
"Though Nimble has been marketed mainly as a CRM tool, many users also state they utilize it for sales intelligence," said Tim Handorf, President G2 Crowd. "Nimble users praised its functionality to consolidate all of their contact related email communications and social conversations in one place. A few users also mentioned using Nimble for lead generation based on social interactions with their company."

Nimble has pioneered smart social customer relationship management by blending traditional CRM with Social Sales Relationship Intelligence to enable business professionals to effectively engage social customers. It can be used as a company's Smart Social CRM or add tremendous value to existing sales and marketing products with the Nimble Smart Contacts App.

Resources
Read more details on - Nimble Blog
See how Nimble works - Nimble Demo Video
About Nimble, Inc. - Nimble has re-imagined customer relationship management by pioneering the world's first Intelligent Relationship platform. It auto-magically pulls contact profiles, email conversations and social signals into one simple place so you can effectively engage them everywhere you work.
Nimble combines the power of traditional CRM, intelligent relationship management, and social media into a powerful web-based social selling solution. For more information, visit www.nimble.com. Nimble can also be found on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube.
About G2 Crowd, Inc. - G2 Crowd is business software reviews and ratings to drive better purchasing decisions. Technology buyers, investors, and analysts use the site to compare and select the best software based on peer reviews and synthesized social data. For more information, go to G2Crowd.com.
About TechnologyAdvice - TechnologyAdvice is a market leader in business technology recommendations. The company, which is based near Nashville, Tenn., provides free and unbiased research and analysis of IT products to simplify the purchase process and better connect businesses of all sizes with the technology solutions that best fit their specific needs. It was named to the top half of the Inc. 5000 list of America's Fastest-Growing Private Companies for 2014.
Posted on 3:55 PM | Categories:

TurboTax Triggers a Revolt / Increased Charges Rattle Some Customers. Here Are Issues to Weigh.

Laura Sanders for the Wall St. Journal writes: Intuit , the maker of the popular tax-preparation software TurboTax, has infuriated many longtime users by requiring them to buy more expensive software to do their 2014 tax returns.

Starting this year, people who prepare their taxes on a personal computer can’t use TurboTax Deluxe if they want to electronically file common tax forms, including Schedule C for a business, Schedule D for capital gains and losses or Schedule E for rental property. Instead, they must upgrade to the Premier or Home & Business versions—which cost up to $30 more than the $50 Deluxe version as of Friday.
Customers with simpler returns face a similar issue: They can no longer use TurboTax Basic if they want to itemize their deductions on Schedule A, such as mortgage interest or charitable donations, instead of claiming the standard deduction of $6,200 for a single filer or $12,400 for a married couple. Now, they will need to upgrade to TurboTax Deluxe, which costs up to $30 more than the $20 Basic.
People who use TurboTax to prepare their taxes online faced similar issues last year.
As news of the change spread last week, longtime users took to the Internet to express their outrage, flooding websites with angry reactions. On Amazon.com , for example, reviewers posted more than 1,200 negative comments, complaining of “bait-and-switch” and “price gouging.” (Journal readers sounded off incomments on a blog post about TurboTax.)
“The company seems intent on fleecing the customer by increasing the price with no product improvement,” says Don Rickelman, a retired entrepreneur in Naples, Fla. In the past, he says, he has used TurboTax Deluxe to report his investments, but now, like many other users, he is considering alternatives.
TurboTax spokeswoman Julie Miller says customers surprised by the change can call the company at 800-445-1875 and “we will work with them on a case-by-case basis.”
Several who have called said they were given instant free downloads of TurboTax Premier. SNIP - the article continues @ The Wall St. Journal - click here to continue reading...
Posted on 1:45 PM | Categories:

5 iPhone Apps to Simplify Tax Season in 2015

Craig Lloyd for Gottabemobile.com writes:As many users are getting their tax information around from 2014 and filing them before the big April date rolls around, 2015 starts a new tax year. Here are five iPhoneapps that will make taxes a lot easier for you in 2015 and beyond.
Taxes can be a bit stressful, especially if you do them yourself, but even if you have someone else do them for you, tax season can creep up without you being prepared, causing unnecessary stress as well. However, if you stay on top of things with a few iPhone apps, you’ll be able to simplify tax season and breeze through it like it was nothing.
While there are many apps that help you file your taxes when it comes time, these apps help you simplify the process and answer any questions that you might have. There are apps that include useful Help sections for finding out what different terms mean, and there are also apps that let you organize your expenses and keep track of receipts.
Whatever you’re looking for, here are five tax apps that will easily get you through 2015 and simplify your taxes.

My Block

My Block is an iPhone app made by H&R Block that’s meant to help you by getting you answers to questions you may have about your taxes. You can quickly estimate your tax refund with the Refund Estimator feature, and you can upload your tax documents and send them straight to your tax preparer.
my-block
Furthermore, you can check the status of your Federal refund and even access your prior year’s tax returns to compare if need be. The app also has a handy checklist feature that makes sure that you don’t miss any crucial step along the way, and there’s even a glossary of hundreds of tax terms that you can access quickly and easily.
If all else fails, you can use the app to find an H&R Block office near you and schedule an appointment with a tax professional, all right from the app.

TurboTax SnapTax

If you need a dead easy way to file your taxes, Intuit’s TurboTax iPhone app is an option that you should consider.
Screen Shot 2015-01-16 at 4.16.42 PM
The app is feature filled, but it’s best feature is what TurboTax is all about. It lets you file your taxes through the app quickly and easily, and it’ll even let you take a photo of your tax form and it’ll do the rest of the hard work for you. Simply snap a photo of your tax form, answer a few simple questions, review it and then send it through with your iPhone.
While TurboTax is a great little service to use and it can make filing your taxes easier, it’s really only meant for users who have a simple tax situation in the first place. If you’re a small business owner or self-employed, the tax situations there can be a bit more complicated. However, if you just have one job and one W2, TurboTax is perfect.

TaxCaster

If you’re getting ready to file your taxes and want a quick peek at what you can expect your tax return to be, TurboTax’s TaxCaster is an app that can do that for you.
taxcaster
What’s nice about the app is that it comes with a good-looking user interface, which is really easy to useand simple to navigate around.
Just enter some basic info about your taxes and get an instant estimate on what your tax return could be. You can also use the app to adjust your paycheck withholdings so you take home more money, and you can plan ahead so you pay less tax.
However, one thing to be aware of is that the app doesn’t file your taxes for you. It merely gives you an estimate on what your tax return could be after you filed your taxes.

Expensify

While you don’t necessarily need to prove your deductions every year, if you do end up getting audited, having a record of all your purchases and their receipts can make like a lot easier. Expensify is a handy app for just this.
expensify
Using Expensify, you can add receipts, track time or mileage, and create expense reports quickly and easily. The app even has a nifty camera function that you can use to take photos of receipts so that you can store them right in the app.
Even if you lose a receipt, Expensify lets you import your credit card transactions and automatically creates an IRS guaranteed eReceipt for all purchases under $75. Nifty!

IRS2Go

Believe it or not, the Internal Revenue Service has its own iPhone app called IRS2Go. It’s pretty basic, but the features it does have are fairly helpful.
IRS2Go
The app lets users check on the status of their tax refund, as well as sign up for helpful tax tips or get the most recent news and information with the IRS’s Twitter feed.
Posted on 1:42 PM | Categories:

Free File Launches Today; Helps Taxpayers with New Health Care Law

The Internal Revenue Service and the Free File Alliance today announced the launch of Free File, which makes brand-name tax software products and electronic filing available to most taxpayers for free. 
 
Free File software can help taxpayers with tax preparation, including the health care law that will affect almost everyone. People can use Free File software immediately but e-filed returns will not be transmitted to the IRS until Tuesday, January 20, when the filing season officially begins.
Free File is available only at IRS.gov/FreeFile, thanks to a partnership between the IRS and the Free File Alliance, a consortium of 14 leading tax software companies that make their branded products available for free. Since 2003, more than 43 million people have used Free File, saving $1.3 billion based on a conservative $30-fee estimate.

“You don’t have to be an expert on taxes or the new health care law. Free File software can help walk you through the rules and help you get it right,” said John A. Koskinen, IRS Commissioner. “For 12 years, this partnership between the IRS and the Free File Alliance has helped taxpayers save both money and time. The real winner in this partnership has been the nation’s taxpayers.”
Tim Hugo, executive director of the Free File Alliance, said, “We are proud to once again offer the industry’s most innovative and secure tax software at no cost to 70 percent of American taxpayers. Tax time can be stressful, but Free File makes step-by-step help accessible to everyone making $60,000 or less. IRS.gov/FreeFile is the one place where taxpayers can choose from a variety of industry-leading tax software options in order to prepare and e-file their federal tax returns at absolutely no cost.”

If you earned $60,000 or less last year, you are eligible to choose from among 14 software products. If you earned more, you are still eligible for Free File Fillable Forms, the electronic version of IRS paper forms. This more basic Free File option, which is best for people comfortable preparing their own tax return, will be available January 20.
More than 70 percent of all taxpayers – 100 million people - are eligible for the software products. Each of the 14 companies has its own special offers, generally based on age, income or state residency. Taxpayers can review each company offer or they can use a “Help Me” tool that will find the software for which they are eligible.
Free File offers easy-to-use products that ask questions and you supply the answers. The software will find the right forms, find the right tax credits and deductions and even do the math for you.
Some companies also offer free state tax return preparation as well.
Free File also can help taxpayers with the new health care requirements. Almost everyone will need to do something new when filing a tax return this year. For each month in 2014, you and everyone on your return must:
  • Report health care coverage, or
  • Claim an exemption from coverage or
  • Make a shared responsibility payment with your tax return.
Most people will simply have to check a box to report health care coverage for the entire year.
If you or anyone on your return purchased coverage from the Health Insurance Marketplace, you may be allowed to take the Premium Tax Credit. If you opted for any advance payments of the Premium Tax Credit to help with your monthly insurance premium payments, you must file a tax return, even if you were not required to file. You must reconcile your advance payments with the amount you were due. Learn more at IRS.gov/aca.

Free File will be available through October 2015. Taxpayers have the option to prepare their return at any time and schedule a tax payment as late as the April 15 deadline. Taxpayers who cannot meet the April 15 tax filing deadline can also use Free File to file a six-month extension.
Here are some common tax-related documents you will need to complete your tax return. Remember, you must also have documentation of any credit or deduction you are claiming as well.
  • A copy of last year's tax return;
  • Valid Social Security numbers for yourself, spouse and children;
  • All income statements, i.e. W-2 forms, from all employers;
  • Interest/dividend statements, i.e. 1099 forms;
  • Form 1099-G showing any state refunds;
  • Unemployment compensation amount, if any;
  • Form 1095-A if you purchased coverage from a Health Insurance Marketplace;
  • Proof of health care insurance coverage for you and everyone on your return.
Posted on 11:33 AM | Categories:

Demystifying Intuit's Overhaul of the ProAdvisor Program Web Seminar : FREE WEBINAR by The Intuitive Accountant

Greg DeHart for the Intuitive Accountant writes:

   snip - the article continues at the Intuitive Accountant, click here to continue reading.....
Posted on 11:22 AM | Categories:

Top 10 Bookkeeping Mistakes to Watch Out For


1. Using the Wrong Accounting Method
There are two main business accounting methods: cash and accrual. Cash accounting is the simpler method because it’s based on the actual flow of cash in and out of a business. The cash method is used primarily by sole proprietors and businesses with no inventory. On the flip side, accrual accounting records income and expenses as they occur, whether cash has actually changed hands or not. As they grow and become more complex, most small businesses should switch to accrual accounting, because this makes it easier to accurately match revenue to expenses. Otherwise, the business might look profitable during months with few expenses and unprofitable during months with large expenses, with no way of really knowing the difference.

2. Combining Personal and Business Finances
It’s critical that personal and business finances be kept separate at all times, regardless of a company’s size. That’s why one of the first things new business owners should do is open a business checking account and deposit all business income into this account.
The next step is to work with an accountant to devise an earnings management strategy dictating how cash is removed from the business to meet personal expenses and savings goals. Your earnings management strategy will be driven by such factors as how much of your profits need to be reinvested back into the company, the timing of payments for large business expenses, your cyclical or seasonal cash flow needs, and your long-term personal financial strategy.

3. Misclassifying Workers
In the eyes of the IRS, there are several different categories of workers: full-time, part-time, and temporary employees, as well as independent contractors, such as freelancers and consultants. Classifying your workers in the wrong categories can be extremely costly.
The employee categories are often used to determine who is eligible for employee benefits. Full-time employees are generally eligible for all benefits offered by an employer, while part-time employees may be eligible for a pro rata share of benefits. Temps and independent contractors generally receive no benefits, and independent contractors are not covered by minimum wage, overtime, payroll tax, workers’ compensation, or unemployment compensation laws

4. Not Performing Basic Account Reconciliation
Reconciling your business’s books with your business bank statement every month is one of your most fundamental accounting duties.
Account reconciliation is relatively simple: Just compare your books with your bank statement and make sure there are no discrepancies. If there are, contact your bank right away to get them resolved. Doing this on a monthly basis helps ensure that accounting errors are caught and corrected quickly before they result in major financial problems.

5. Being Too Nonchalant About Petty Cash
Many businesses keep an informal stash of “petty cash” that can be used by employees to cover small and incidental business expenses, such as postage stamps, snacks from vending machines, and office supplies. But just because the amounts are small doesn’t mean that petty cash shouldn’t be accounted for properly.
A simple accounting system for petty cash logs the amount of money initially put into the stash and requires workers to submit a petty cash slip each time they remove money. The slips should total the original amount of money put in when the petty cash stash is exhausted, and then a new stash can be started with a new petty cash deposit.

6. Not Knowing the Difference Between Profits and Cash Flow
A business can have positive cash flow in the short term but still be unprofitable; conversely, it can have negative short-term cash flow but still be profitable in the long term. The first scenario is common among small businesses because they often have to pay suppliers before they get paid by their customers. The second scenario is common among point-of-sale and cash-based businesses, such as retailers and restaurants, that pay their vendors on terms.
To have an accurate picture of your company’s true financial condition at all times, work with an accountant to produce regular financial statements. These consist of a balance sheet, income statement, and profit and loss statement, which should be produced at least quarterly.

7. Using the DIY Method of Bookkeeping
Many small business owners pride themselves on their ability to wear a many different business hats, including the accounting and bookkeeping hat. However, this is one area where small business owners are usually much better off hiring a specialist rather than trying to do it themselves.
Accounting and bookkeeping can get very technical and complex. The money spent to hire a trained bookkeeper or accountant, even on a part-time or contract basis, will usually come back to the owner many times over given the time savings and all the mistakes that will be avoided.

8. Not Saving Receipts for Small Purchases
The IRS requires that expenses for business travel, meals, and entertainment that are greater than or equal to $75 be substantiated with a receipt in order to be deductible. So many business owners don’t bother saving receipts for expenses less than $75.
Doing this can be a big mistake. While such receipts may not technically be required by the IRS, they are extremely helpful as backup documentation. When it’s time to sit down with your accountant and start working on your annual tax return, having a receipt for every deductible business expense, no matter how small, will help ensure that you don’t overlook any potential deductions.

9. Not Implementing Adequate Internal Controls
If proper checks and balances aren’t implemented in a business’s accounting system, bookkeepers may have opportunities to commit fraud and embezzlement. Losses from internal fraud can significantly cripple a small business, or even lead to bankruptcy.
The best way to guard against embezzlement by a bookkeeper is to implement solid internal financial controls. This includes segregating financial duties so that no one employee has unfettered control of every aspect of the business’s finances. If it isn’t practical for you to hire more than one bookkeeper, you should personally oversee the bookkeeping work and keep tabs on it yourself.

10. Relying Too Heavily on a Paperless Work Environment
To reduce expenses and be better stewards of the environment, many companies today are trying to go paperless. In the realm of bookkeeping and accounting, however, there’s simply no substitute for paper documentation and a paper trail, when needed.
There are many instances in which paper documentation of financial records will come in handy or be required. An IRS audit is one example — you don’t want to be unable to produce requested financial documentation because it was lost in your computer system, or your system is temporarily down. While being environmentally conscious is important, bookkeeping isn’t an area where you should skimp on the paper.
Posted on 11:15 AM | Categories:

3 Key Tax Deductions Renewed for Homeowners

CABO for Georgia Reverse Lady writes: If you are anticipating a rough year when it comes to filing taxes, don’t turn those forms into new year’s confetti just yet. Several key provisions for homeowners have been retroactively renewed for 2014 and they might provide you with some much-needed tax relief.

If you did any of these three things in 2014, you still have reason to celebrate (OK, maybe not really celebrate, but celebrate as much as anyone can while doing taxes).

Short sale
In the third quarter of 2014, 8.1 million homes in the United States were seriously underwater, according to the real estate research firm RealtyTrac. If you were a homeowner who decided to short-sell your home last year, it’s not all bad news: Congress once again extended the Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act.

The act made it so qualifying homeowners did not have to pay tax on debt forgiven by a lender. Without the act’s tax shield, that forgiven debt—up to $2 million—is seen as taxable income by the government. For homeowners owing hundreds of thousands of dollars on a loan, that could be a crippling amount of money owed to the IRS.

The act is retroactive, so when Congress finally renewed it in late December, it covered short sales in 2014. Short-selling a home in 2015 is a gamble—if Congress doesn’t renew the act, you’ll have to pay taxes on forgiven debt.

Private mortgage insurance
For people who couldn’t provide a 20% down payment, private mortgage insurance (PMI) is a familiar expense. But if you bought your house in 2007 or afterward, you were given a break if you earned less than a certain amount of money each year. Luckily, that provision is still around. The bill was set to expire in 2014, but two weeks before the end of the year, Congress extended the provision into 2015.

So if you bought a home (including vacation homes, but not rental properties) in 2014, or any other year since 2007, you can still deduct PMI from your taxes.
However, the PMI deduction begins phasing out when the adjusted gross income (AGI) of the head of household, married filing jointly, or single earner passes $100,000. For married filing separately, the phaseout begins at $50,000 AGI.
The deduction is phased out by 10% for every $1,000 earned over the threshold. If you pass $109,000 AGI (or $54,500 for married homeowners filing separately), the deduction phases out completely.

Energy upgrades
If you waited until 2014 to make energy-efficient upgrades, you may be in luck. You can claim up to $500, cumulatively, in tax credits for energy-efficient upgrades involving the following:
-Exterior windows
-Heating and cooling systems
-Insulation
-Exterior doors
-Biomass stoves
This tax break is cumulative for previous years. If you claimed $400 worth of equipment in 2013, you still have only $100 to work with.
The extension of these tax provisions will help some homebuyers for 2014, but there’s no guarantee that Congress will renew them for the 2015 tax year.

Posted on 8:34 AM | Categories: