From the February 3rd, 2014 edition of Investment News:
Federal Tax Savings are Bolstering HSAs
Questions or Comments?
You can add comments on the blog, call 919-847-2981, or visit our web site. We look forward to hearing from you.
Mark Vitek, CPA/PFS, CFP®
…until next week.
From Investor’s Business Daily –
A Common Investor Mistake: Buying As A Stock Falling
Questions or Comments?
You can add comments on the blog, call 919-847-2981, or visit our web site. We look forward to hearing from you.
Mark Vitek, CPA/PFS, CFP®
…until next week.
We are excited to announce the launch of our new website –
At our new website, our clients will have new resources and benefits, including:
1. A new safe and secure client portal where our clients can complimentarily access their stored company or individual tax returns and client tax organizers, anytime or from anywhere.
2. The ability to exchange information with us electronically through safe and secure file exchange (i.e., Quickbooks files, scanned tax documents, pdf files, etc).
3. In our Client Center, business clients can have your Quickbooks securely online so that you or we can go into your company’s books to help you or your staff at anytime.
4. In our Client Center, we can connect with you and your computer through our Remote Support feature and take control of your computer to help solve problems you may be having.
5. In our Resource Center, you can utilize lots of financial calculators/tools for financial planning for you, your children, or grandchildren to help keep and/or develop a solid financial future.
If you are a current client of our firm, you will be receiving information on how to log in to your account via an email today.
If you know of a company or person we can help, referrals are always appreciated.
In our 32nd tax season, we want to thank all of our great clients and friends of the firm for their business and support and hope you enjoy these new resources and benefits as a client of our firm.
Questions or Comments?
You can add comments on the blog, call 919-847-2981, or visit our web site. We look forward to hearing from you.
Mark Vitek, CPA/PFS, CFP®
…until next week.
Here is an article on investing from USA Today—
Can I invest in more than one stock if I have $500?
Questions or Comments?
You can add comments on the blog, call 919-847-2981, or visit our web site. We look forward to hearing from you.
Mark Vitek, CPA/PFS, CFP®
…until next week.
The 2014 standard mileage rates used to calculate the deductible costs of operating an automobile for business, charitable, medical or moving purposes are:
-56 cents per mile for business purposes
-23.5 cents per mile for medical or moving purposes
-14 cents per mile driven in service of charitable organizations
The rate for business, medical and moving expense rates decrease one-half cent from the 2013 rates. The charitable mileage rate is set by statute.
The IRS determines the mileage rates based on an annual study of the costs of operating an automobile, including fuel prices, repair and maintenance costs, registration, etc.
Taxpayers always have the option of calculating the actual costs of using their vehicles rather than using the standard mileage rates.
However, you cannot use the standard mileage rates for business if you made the election to take a deprecation deduction in the year you placed the vehicle in service.
Regardless of which method you choose to deduct vehicle expenses, the IRS requires that you keep contemporaneous records to substantiate your deductions, like a mileage log. A properly maintained mileage log will contain such details as date and time, name and location of the destination and the purpose of the trip.
Stay safe while driving in 2014—and keep track of those miles!
Questions or Comments?
You can add comments on the blog, call 919-847-2981, or visit our web site. We look forward to hearing from you.
Mark Vitek, CPA/PFS, CFP®
…until next week.
The IRS recently updated Publication 509 (http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p509.pdf) which lists all the filing due dates for 2014.
This publication contains three calendars: a General Tax Calendar, Employer’s Tax Calendar, and an Excise Tax Calendar.
You may want to take a look at this publication and update your calendar with all the due dates that pertain to you.
Don’t be late in 2014!
Questions or Comments?
You can add comments on the blog, call 919-847-2981, or visit our web site. We look forward to hearing from you.
Mark Vitek, CPA/PFS, CFP®
…until next week.
We thank all of our clients and referral sources for their business this past year.
Hope everyone had a Merry Christmas/Happy Holiday and has a Happy New Year!
Questions or Comments?
You can add comments on the blog, call 919-847-2981, or visit our web site. We look forward to hearing from you.
Mark Vitek, CPA/PFS, CFP®
…until next week.
From the December 18th Raleigh News & Observer, another item changing at the end of 2013 for North Carolina taxes…
Tax deduction for 529 plan expires soon
Questions or Comments?
You can add comments on the blog, call 919-847-2981, or visit our web site. We look forward to hearing from you.
Mark Vitek, CPA/PFS, CFP®
…until next week.
From today’s Raleigh News & Observer, here are some highlights of upcoming changes to NC taxes…
Questions or Comments?
You can add comments on the blog, call 919-847-2981, or visit our web site. We look forward to hearing from you.
Mark Vitek, CPA/PFS, CFP®
…until next week.
Form NC-4 (Withholding Allowances)
Lately, we have been fielding a lot of questions from clients concerning the completion of Form NC-4 for 2014.
The NC-4 is used by an employee to tell the payroll department how many allowances should be used to determine the amount of NC income tax that is to be withheld from an employee’s paycheck. Note that this form is for state withholding only – it does not impact the amount of your federal withholding.
With the new tax law dropping the 2014 individual tax rate to a flat 5.8% rate and many deductions being eliminated, employers have been are asking employees to complete new NC-4 forms for 2014.
In the past, the number of allowances was based on the number of dependents on your tax return.
For 2014, the number of allowances claimed is based on the amount of your NC itemized deductions, not the number of dependents. (Additionally, there is a new form (NC-4 EZ) that can be filed instead of the NC-4.)
If your employer has asked you to complete a new NC-4 for 2014, most employees can utilize the schedules on the face of Form NC-4 EZ to determine the number of allowances to claim.
If you have itemized deductions in the past and expect to do so in the future, you can use the schedules in the NC-4 instructions to calculate the number of allowances to claim and we are telling our clients to use the same number of allowances as they have used in the past to be conservative.
Remember, this form is only used to determine the amount of the NC withholding on your regular paychecks. If you claim to few allowances, you will get an NC refund when you file your 2014 return. But if you claim too many allowances, you will owe additional tax when you file your 2014 return!
Questions or Comments?
You can add comments on the blog, call 919-847-2981, or visit our web site. We look forward to hearing from you.
Mark Vitek, CPA/PFS, CFP®
…until next week.
taxandmoneyblog.com 