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Fall Newsletter 2015 from Pescatore-Cooper, PLC
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Tony Pescatore
Rachel Cooper

Are you Prepared?


The end of the year is approaching quickly.  This is the time of year when tax planning begins.  Please contact our office to schedule your appointment today to prepare for the close of 2015!  Tax season is just around the corner!
 

Have you Voted?

Please help us continue our ranking by voting for our firm in the Ranking Arizona poll.  It takes just a few minutes to vote!  The voting process has changed and you can now vote every hour, so please pass this along to your friends, family, and colleagues.
 
To cast your vote:
  1. Click on the Ranking Arizona image above
  2. Click Register/Login and input your email address and password
  3. Click Finance and Professional as the main category on the left side of the page.
  4. Select Accounting Firms as the sub category.
  5. Scroll to Pescatore Cooper, PC and click VOTE.
Thanks in advance for your vote and continued support!

 

Money Apps for Kids

Recent studies have shown that parents sometimes feel awkward talking to their children about money and finances.  Here are some smartphone apps that you might want to check out for help to teach your kids about money and finances.
  • Savings Spree
  • Piggy Bot (Various Piggy Bank type Apps)
  • Green$treets: Unleash the Loot!
  • Renegade Buggies
There are countless other apps available which may be free or cost a nominal amount.  Checkout your app store to see what might work well for you and your family.
 
OCTOBER
2014 Year End Tax Planning

10/15 - Individual tax returns with timely extension due

NOVEMBER
2014 Year End Tax Planning

DECEMBER
2014 Year End Tax Planning
 

Life Change Mandate Estate Plan Revisions

Not everyone realizes that estate plans should be updated and revised after significant life events.  Estate plans are living entities and need to be constantly updated.  Here are a few situations that may require a revision to your current estate plan.
  • Marriage, Remarriage or Divorce
  • Birth or Adoption of a Child
  • A Substantial Change in the Value of Assets
  • Moving to Another State
  • Death of a Beneficiary
  • Law Changes
  • Retirement
  • Illness or Disability
  • Career Change
  • Change in Number of Dependents
If you find that you may need to update or change your estate plan, we recommend contacting your estate attorney or if you need a referral to an estate attorney, we can assist with that as well.
 
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Tax Tips for Starting a Business


When you start a business, a key to your success is to know your tax obligations. You may not only need to know about income tax rules, but also about payroll tax rules. Here are five IRS tax tips that can help you get your business off to a good start.
  1. Business Structure.  An early choice you need to make is to decide on the type of structure for your business. The most common types are sole proprietor, partnership and corporation. The type of business you choose will determine which tax forms you will file.
  2. Business Taxes.  There are four general types of business taxes. They are income tax, self-employment tax, employment tax and excise tax. In most cases, the types of tax your business pays depends on the type of business structure you set up. You may need to make estimated tax payments. If you do, use IRS Direct Pay to pay them. It’s the fast, easy and secure way to pay from your checking or savings account.
  3. Employer Identification Number.  You may need to get an EIN for federal tax purposes. Search “do you need an EIN” on IRS.gov to find out if you need this number. If you do need one, you can apply for it online.
  4. Accounting Method.  An accounting method is a set of rules that you use to determine when to report income and expenses. You must use a consistent method. The two that are most common are the cash and accrual methods. Under the cash method, you normally report income and deduct expenses in the year that you receive or pay them. Under the accrual method, you generally report income and deduct expenses in the year that you earn or incur them. This is true even if you get the income or pay the expense in a later year.
  5. Employee Health Care.  The Small Business Health Care Tax Credit helps small businesses and tax-exempt organizations pay for health care coverage they offer their employees. A small employer is eligible for the credit if it has fewer than 25 employees who work full-time, or a combination of full-time and part-time. The maximum credit is 50 percent of premiums paid for small business employers and 35 percent of premiums paid for small tax-exempt employers, such as charities. The employer shared responsibility provisions of the Affordable Care Act affect employers employing at least a certain number of employees (generally 50 full-time employees or a combination of full-time and part-time employees). These employers’ are called applicable large employers. ALEs must either offer minimum essential coverage that is “affordable” and that provides “minimum value” to their full-time employees (and their dependents), or potentially make an employer shared responsibility payment to the IRS. The vast majority of employers will fall below the ALE threshold number of employees and, therefore, will not be subject to the employer shared responsibility provisions. Employers also have information reporting responsibilities regarding minimum essential coverage they offer or provide to their full time employees.  Employers must send reports to employees and to the IRS on new forms the IRS created for this purpose.
Get all the tax basics of starting a business on IRS.gov at the Small Business and Self-Employed Tax Center.
 

Tips on Travel While Giving Your Services to Charity


Do you plan to donate or have you donated your services to charity? Will you travel as part of the service? If so, some travel expenses could be included as charitable contributions when you file your tax return. Here are several tax tips that you should know if you travel while giving your services to charity.
  1. Qualified Charities.  In order to include your costs as charitable contributions, your volunteer work must be for a qualified charity.  Ask the group about its IRS status before you donate or use the Select Check tool on IRS.gov to check the group’s status.
  2. Out-of-Pocket Expenses.  You may be able to include some costs you pay as charitable contributions. This can include the cost of travel. The costs must be necessary while you are away from home giving your services for a qualified charity. All costs must be:
    1. Unreimbursed,
    2. Directly connected with the services,
    3. Expenses you had only because of the services you gave, and
    4. Not personal, living or family expenses.
  3. Genuine and Substantial Duty.  Your charity work has to be real and substantial throughout the trip. You can’t deduct expenses if you only have nominal duties or do not have any duties for significant parts of the trip.
  4. Value of Time or Service.  You can’t deduct the value of your services that you give to charity. This includes income lost while you work as an unpaid volunteer for a qualified charity.
  5. Deductible travel.  The types of expenses that you may be able to deduct include:
    1. Air, rail and bus transportation,
    2. Car expenses,
    3. Lodging costs,
    4. The cost of meals, and
    5. Taxi or other transportation costs between the airport or station and your hotel.
  6. Nondeductible Travel.  Some types of travel do not qualify for a tax deduction. For example, you can’t deduct your costs if a significant part of the trip involves recreation or a vacation.
If you have given your services during the year, please let us know so that we may capture any qualified expenses for your charitable contribution deduction.
Copyright © 2015 Pescatore-Cooper, PLC, All rights reserved.


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