Tag Archives: 2014

Summer Is Passing Quickly

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Winter this year seemed to hold on extra hard, then we had a month of torrential rain, and just as the weather is getting nice, it’s already time for the State Fair.

This also means that corporate, partnership, trust and estate tax returns that are on extension are due in a mere three weeks. If you’ve not gotten started putting that information together, now is the time to start.

As fall approaches, this is also a good time to consider tax planning for the year. With more than half the year passed, projections now can provide great insight both into how your taxes will look come next April, as well as reveal tax saving possibilities with time to get them implemented.

Lastly, if you have kids going off to college this fall, know that there can be some great tax breaks to dull the pain of college expenses. Keep your receipts for required books and fees, and those, along with a 1098-T that the college will send in January, will allow your CPA to get the most out of education tax savings.

About the author

Brady is the owner of Ramsay & Associates. He specializes in financial statement preparation and personal, fiduciary and corporate tax and accounting.

His professional experience includes seven years' experience for local and national CPA firms before joining Ramsay & Associates in 2006.

He has a Bachelor of Accounting degree from the University of Minnesota Duluth. He is a Certified Public Accountant, a member of the Minnesota Society of CPA's, an Eagle Scout, as well as an active volunteer in the community.

Great Miscalculations

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When you spend your days working with numbers, you become familiar with miscalculations. Something is coded as travel expense when it’s really a meal, someone transposed a 5 and an 8, and you’d swear that 7 really looked like a 1. All of these are things we need to get right in our business, the same way engineers need to be exact in their calculations and contractors measure twice and cut once.

Once in a while though, everyone makes a misstep in the process, most times it’s caught, rarely it’s not. This article, inspired by an order of trains by the French that are too wide for most of the platforms in the stations, describes a few of the more humerus ones, proving asking “does this make sense” is usually the right thing to do. It’s from the BBC, so please excuse the British English.

About the author

Brady is the owner of Ramsay & Associates. He specializes in financial statement preparation and personal, fiduciary and corporate tax and accounting.

His professional experience includes seven years' experience for local and national CPA firms before joining Ramsay & Associates in 2006.

He has a Bachelor of Accounting degree from the University of Minnesota Duluth. He is a Certified Public Accountant, a member of the Minnesota Society of CPA's, an Eagle Scout, as well as an active volunteer in the community.

Minnesota Property Tax Refund

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During the last few weeks of the legislative session, the legislature passed, and Governor Dayton signed, a bill that will provide additional property tax refunds for those that qualify.

For renters, the amount of the refund they will receive will increase by 6%, while homeowners will see a 3% increase.  There is no change in who is eligible for the refunds, just more money for those that already do.

For those who have already completed their property tax returns, nothing more needs to be done.  The Department of Revenue will recalculate the additional refund and send the correct amount along with a letter explaining the calculation. Property tax returns filed going forward will be correct from the outset.

The Department will also be sending letters to those taxpayers that appear to qualify for the refund but haven’t filed a 2011 or 2012 property tax return. We make a habit of checking to see which of our clients will qualify, but if you do get a notice from them, please let us know.

About the author

Brady is the owner of Ramsay & Associates. He specializes in financial statement preparation and personal, fiduciary and corporate tax and accounting.

His professional experience includes seven years' experience for local and national CPA firms before joining Ramsay & Associates in 2006.

He has a Bachelor of Accounting degree from the University of Minnesota Duluth. He is a Certified Public Accountant, a member of the Minnesota Society of CPA's, an Eagle Scout, as well as an active volunteer in the community.

Who Needs a 1099-MISC?

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With the end of January approaching, we’re busy preparing forms 1099 for our clients.  One of the questions we get most often is: “Who needs a 1099, and why?”

Form 1099-MISC is used to report a number of different payments, but for this posting, we’ll discuss the most common one, nonemployee compensation.

Nonemployee compensation is a technical term for payments to subcontractors.  If you pay $600 or more to a subcontractor for services to your business in a year, you may be required to issue them a Form 1099-MISC.  Only subcontractors that are incorporated are exempt from the reporting rules.  This means they need to be a legal corporation – an LLC is still required to receive a 1099.  Family members who provide $600 or more in services are also required to get a Form 1099.

Remember, these are for services provided to your business – you don’t need to worry about issuing a 1099 to people like your personal cleaning lady or your occasional babysitter, nor do you need to issue a 1099 for payments for products like office supplies or computer purchases.

You should always make sure you have a completed Form W9, Request for Taxpayer Identification Number and Certification, from your subcontractors before you make the first payment to them.  This form will give you all the information you need to determine if you are required to issue them a Form 1099, and the name, address, and tax ID number to use when doing so.

The forms are due in the mail by January 31st of each year.

About the author

Brady is the owner of Ramsay & Associates. He specializes in financial statement preparation and personal, fiduciary and corporate tax and accounting.

His professional experience includes seven years' experience for local and national CPA firms before joining Ramsay & Associates in 2006.

He has a Bachelor of Accounting degree from the University of Minnesota Duluth. He is a Certified Public Accountant, a member of the Minnesota Society of CPA's, an Eagle Scout, as well as an active volunteer in the community.

2014 IRS Standard Mileage Rates

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The IRS recently announced the standard mileage rates for 2014.SMR Image  The rates will actually decrease by .5 cents per mile for both business use and medical and moving mileage.

The new standard mileage rate for business for 2014 will be 56 cents per mile.  The 2014 rate for moving and medical mileage will be 23.5 cents per mile.

This is also a good opportunity to remind everyone of the importance of keeping a mileage log.  If your mileage deduction ever comes under audit, the IRS will expect to see a log of the miles driven and the purpose for the miles.  You can use a simple notepad in your car, or one of a variety of mobile apps to help you log all the miles you drive and make your log easier to complete.

About the author

Brady is the owner of Ramsay & Associates. He specializes in financial statement preparation and personal, fiduciary and corporate tax and accounting.

His professional experience includes seven years' experience for local and national CPA firms before joining Ramsay & Associates in 2006.

He has a Bachelor of Accounting degree from the University of Minnesota Duluth. He is a Certified Public Accountant, a member of the Minnesota Society of CPA's, an Eagle Scout, as well as an active volunteer in the community.