Tax Season Recap
Since the economic and financial downturn in 2008, we have seen many business clients go out of business, be purchased by other businesses, or individuals that have retired and left the tri-state area. This tax season, for the first time in six years, we saw an uptick in the amount of new clients that we welcomed to our firm. We thank both our new and existing clients for a successful tax season! You may be aware that many of our tax clients are also clients of our investment management practice, Lisch Investment Management. These individuals’ tax returns have become more complicated due to the securities transactions in their accounts. Clients have noticed that their 1099 forms and K-1 forms arrive in their mailboxes later each year. Consequently, too much information is sent to our office too close to the tax deadline. In order for us to finalize as many tax returns as possible before the due date, or to have a good handle on the approximate tax liability, we need to implement certain changes to our policies and procedures. This is the first time that we have done this in the past thirty years.
Extensions Filed for Returns Not Completed by March 31, 2015
As always, we will do our best to complete your 2014 income tax return by the statutory filing deadline of April 15, 2015. However, if your tax return appointment is scheduled for March 31, 2015 or later, or if all of your requested additional information has not been received by our office staff by March 31, 2015, you should expect that an extension will be filed on your behalf. You will be notified whether we recommend making a payment with your Federal and state extension forms.
We encourage any of our clients to come in to see us in February with the majority of their information. Not only do these early appointments help us spread out the work in these busy ten weeks, but we are fresher and more well rested.
In Office Tax Season Appointments
The last date for a 2014 tax return appointment in our office will be Tuesday, April 7, 2015.
Bookkeeping
In the past, we may have corrected one or two journal entries as a courtesy during the tax return preparation process for our business clients. During this past tax season we expended a significant amount of time reviewing, correcting, and adjusting the accounting records for our clients who did not maintain adequate books and records for their businesses. Effective immediately, bookkeeping services provided by our firm to correct any business’s Quicken, Quickbooks, or other software files will be billed at an hourly rate separate from the preparation of your tax return.
New York Limited Liability Company Filing Fee Payment Form – ‘Form IT-204-LL’
The preparation and filing of Form IT-204-LL for New York limited liability companies, limited liability partnerships, or regular partnerships will no longer be bundled into the tax return preparation fee. The fee for our firm to prepare and file this form on your Company’s behalf is $100 per form. This will affect the 2014 IT-204-LL forms due February 28, 2015.
One IRA Rollover Each Year
A recent Tax Court decision, Bobrow v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo 2014-21, held that a taxpayer can only make one IRA rollover per year, applied on an aggregate basis to all of their IRAs. Additionally, the one year period is defined as the previous 365 days before the rollover, rather than the current calendar year. Previously, the IRS Regulations proposed that the rollover limit was determined on an IRA-by-IRA basis. Taxpayer relief is provided, as the IRS will not enforce this Court decision before January 1, 2015.
One Out Of Every Four Americans Would Prefer To Do Anything Over Their Taxes
The Center for a Secure Retirement polled 1,000 Americans ages 50 and older with an annual household income between $25,000 and $75,000 on questions relating to federal taxes. 23% percent of these individuals stated that the activity that they dislike the most was doing their taxes; they dislike it more than getting a flu-shot and just barely prefer it to going through airport security. We strive at Lisch & Lisch to ensure the process is as stress-free as possible for our clients. As we like to say, We’re Here For You.
If you have questions about any of the topics discussed in this newsletter, please feel free to call us.