by NFS | Jan 30, 2013 | Archives
WRENTHAM, MA – Tax Season is HERE!! Some people hire a tax professional and some people choose to do it themselves – either way – NFS has an option for you!!
No matter where in the world you are, NFS can help you to prepare your US Federal and State Income Tax Returns. In person, by mail or email, we are here to help! With pricing less than most national chains, we can prepare your taxes and maximize your refund or minimize your balance due if you are one of those folks who has to pay.
All new clients receive a $30 DISCOUNT and existing clients should inquire about other discounts that may be available to them. NFS also offers free Income Tax Organizers for you to save time & money!
For those deciding to do it themselves, we offer an option to prepare your own returns directly from our
Do It Yourself Online Tax Prep Website with FREE (1040EZ) & Affordable options & in most cases less than the “Boxed Software” or other popular online tax prep websites!!
If you have any questions or want to set up an appointment, feel free to drop me an email
jeff@nfsnet.com or give me a call toll free at 800-560-4NFS x 14.
by NFS | Jan 28, 2013 | Archives
WASHINGTON – As preparations continue for the Jan. 30 opening of the 2013 filing season for most taxpayers, the Internal Revenue Service announced today that processing of tax returns claiming education credits will begin by the middle of February.
Taxpayers using Form 8863, Education Credits, can begin filing their tax returns after the IRS updates its processing systems. Form 8863 is used to claim two higher education credits — the American Opportunity Tax Credit and the Lifetime Learning Credit.
The IRS emphasized that the delayed start will have no impact on taxpayers claiming other education-related tax benefits, such as the tuition and fees deduction and the student loan interest deduction. People otherwise able to file and claiming these benefits can start filing Jan. 30.
As it does every year, the IRS reviews and tests its systems in advance of the opening of the tax season to protect taxpayers from processing errors and refund delays. The IRS discovered during testing that programming modifications are needed to accurately process Forms 8863. Filers who are otherwise able to file but use the Form 8863 will be able to file by mid-February. No action needs to be taken by the taxpayer or their tax professional. Typically through the mid-February period, about 3 million tax returns include Form 8863, less than a quarter of those filed during the year.
The IRS remains on track to open the tax season on Jan. 30 for most taxpayers. The Jan. 30 opening includes people claiming the student loan interest deduction on the Form 1040 series or the higher education tuition or fees on Form 8917, Tuition and Fees Deduction. Forms that will be able to be filed later are listed on IRS.gov.
Updated information will be posted on IRS.gov.
by NFS | Jan 25, 2013 | Archives
Free Income Tax Preparation Giveaway
Stadium Fitness Foxboro MA – Open House & Grand Opening
Saturday, January 26th, 2012
8:00am to 2:00pm
NFS is giving away FIVE (5) FREE INCOME TAX PREPARATION Certificates!!! Other Door Prizes, Free Food, Free Drinks, Free Workouts, Kids Activities, Jumpy House, Face Painting & MORE!!! Come Join in the FUN!!
by NFS | Jan 16, 2013 | Archives
The 2013 Polls are open and NFS needs your vote!! Visit wickedlocalfavorites.com and vote for your Wicked Favorites today!
Remember, you have to cast a vote in at least 10 categories for your votes to be valid. You can find the “Insurance Agency” slot under “Local Services” and we would appreciate your vote for NFS – Northeast Financial Strategies Inc. in Wrentham.
THANKS for your continued support.
by NFS | Jan 16, 2013 | Archives
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Internal Revenue Service plans to introduce a simplified way for small business owners and home-based employees to claim the home office tax deduction.
Small business owners and employees who work from home and who maintain a qualifying home office will be able to deduct up to $1,500 per year. The new option allows qualified taxpayers to deduct annually $5 per square foot of home office space on up to 300 square feet, for as much as $1,500 in deductions. To take advantage of the new option, taxpayers will complete a much simpler version of the current 43-line form.
The new simplified option will be available starting with the 2013 return that most taxpayers file early in 2014.
The IRS anticipates taxpayers will be able to save more than 1.6 million hours per year in tax preparation time from this simpler calculation method. The effort was described by Deputy Treasury Secretary Neal S. Wolin and SBA Administrator Karen Mills as part of the ongoing efforts by the Obama administration to reduce paperwork burdens.
“The announcement builds on the President’s commitment to streamline and simplify the tax code for small businesses and to reduce the burden for tax compliance,” they wrote. “It is part of broader efforts to make interacting with the federal government easier and more efficient for businesses of all sizes.”
The new option for the home office deduction will be available starting with the tax year 2013 return, according to Mills and Wolin, which most taxpayers file early in 2014. In addition, the IRS is accepting comments for improving upon this new option.
Current restrictions on claiming the home office deduction, such as the requirement that a home office be used regularly and exclusively for business and the limit on the amount of the deduction tied to income derived from the particular business, will still apply under the new option.
The new option provides eligible taxpayers an easier path to claiming the home office deduction. Instead of filling out the 43-line Form 8829, which often entails complex calculations of allocated expenses, depreciation and carryovers of unused deductions, taxpayers can claim the optional deduction through a significantly simplified form.
“This is a common-sense rule to provide taxpayers an easier way to calculate and claim the home office deduction,” said Acting IRS Commissioner Steven T. Miller in a statement. “The IRS continues to look for similar ways to combat complexity and encourages people to look at this option as they consider tax planning in 2013.”
While homeowners using the new option cannot depreciate the portion of their home used in a trade or business, they can claim allowable mortgage interest, real estate taxes and casualty losses on the home as itemized deductions on Schedule A. These deductions do not need to be allocated between personal and business use, as is required under the traditional method.
Business expenses unrelated to the home, such as advertising, supplies and wages paid to employees, are still fully deductible, the IRS noted.
Further details on the new option can be found in Revenue Procedure 2013-13, posted Tuesday on IRS.gov. Revenue Procedure 2013-13 is effective for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2013, and the IRS welcomes public comment on this new option to improve it for tax year 2014 and later years.
– BY MICHAEL COHN Accounting Today
by NFS | Jan 15, 2013 | Archives
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Internal Revenue Service has released the annual inflation adjustments for 2013, including the tax rate schedules and other tax changes from the recently enacted fiscal cliff legislation with its new tax rate of 39.6 percent and permanently patched Alternative Minimum Tax.
Revenue Procedure 2013-15 provides the 2013 cost-of-living adjustments for inflation for certain items, including the tax tables. It also includes items whose values were specified in the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 (ATRA), such as the beginning of the 39.6 percent income tax brackets; the beginning income levels for the limitation on certain itemized deductions, and the beginning income levels for the phaseout of the personal exemptions.
In addition Rev. Proc. 2013-5 modifies Rev. Proc. 2011-52 to reflect an amendment to Section 132(f)(2) made by ATRA concerning qualified transportation fringe benefits. Specifically, for 2012, the monthly limitation regarding the aggregate fringe benefit exclusion amount for transit passes and transportation in a commuter highway vehicle is $240.
The tax items for 2013 of greatest interest to most taxpayers include the following changes.
- Beginning in tax year 2013 (generally for tax returns filed in 2014), a new tax rate of 39.6 percent has been added for individuals whose income exceeds $400,000 ($450,000 for married taxpayers filing a joint return). The other marginal rates—10, 15, 25, 28, 33 and 35 percent—remain the same as in prior years. The guidance contains the taxable income thresholds for each of the marginal rates.
- The standard deduction rises to $6,100 ($12,200 for married couples filing jointly), up from $5,950 ($11,900 for married couples filing jointly) for tax year 2012.
- The American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 added a limitation for itemized deductions claimed on 2013 returns of individuals with incomes of $250,000 or more ($300,000 for married couples filing jointly).
- The personal exemption rises to $3,900, up from the 2012 exemption of $3,800. However beginning in 2013, the exemption is subject to a phase-out that begins with adjusted gross incomes of $150,000 ($300,000 for married couples filing jointly). It phases out completely at $211,250 ($422,500 for married couples filing jointly.)
- The Alternative Minimum Tax exemption amount for tax year 2013 is $51,900 ($80,800, for married couples filing jointly), set by the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012, which indexes future amounts for inflation. The 2012 exemption amount was $50,600 ($78,750 for married couples filing jointly).
- The maximum Earned Income Credit amount is $6,044 for taxpayers filing jointly who have 3 or more qualifying children, up from a total of $5,891 for tax year 2012.
- Estates of decedents who die during 2013 have a basic exclusion amount of $5,250,000, up from a total of $5,120,000 for estates of decedents who died in 2012.
- For tax year 2013, the monthly limitation regarding the aggregate fringe benefit exclusion amount for transit passes and transportation in a commuter highway vehicle is $245, up from $240 for tax year 2012 (the legislation provided a retroactive increase from the $125 limit that had been in place).
Details on the inflation adjustments and others are contained in Revenue Procedure 2013-15, which will be published in Internal Revenue Bulletin 2013-5 on Jan.28, 2013. Other inflation-adjusted items were published in October 2012 in Revenue Procedure 2012-41.
– BY MICHAEL COHN Accounting Today
For those deciding to do it themselves, we offer an option to prepare your own returns directly from our Do It Yourself Online Tax Prep Website with FREE (1040EZ) & Affordable options & in most cases less than the “Boxed Software” or other popular online tax prep websites!!
