Tag Archives: Mahtomedi

Happy Holidays From Ramsay & Associates!

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As we enter the last week of the year, we’re busy working on year end tax projections and wrapping up other projects before the New Year dawns and brings with it the 2014 tax season.

We wanted to take a moment and thank all of our clients and the great communities of Mahtomedi and White Bear Lake for their support and patronage during 2013.  We’ve had a front row seat for the ups and downs of the economy over the last five or so years, and it’s great to see that things seem to be, at last, turning for the better.

There have been a bunch of changes around here over the last year; we spruced up the building, made a slight change to our name and a big change to our website, which is now found at ramsaycpa.com.  We have a couple new team members, and are poised to make 2014 even better than 2013, which was pretty great already.

From all of us at Ramsay & Associates, have a great holiday and a prosperous New 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.

Tips for Business Founders Who Can’t Delegate

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For those people who choose to strike out on their own and build a business from the ground up, the business can become a part of who they are and how they define themselves as a person.  This has the great advantage of brining their passion and all their energy to the business, but has the unfortunate tendency to result in them micro-managing everything that happens in an ordinary day.

For those with the vision to start and build their own business, allowing someone else to manage part, or all, of the daily operations can be exceptionally hard.  This article from Inc. Magazine has some great words of wisdom for those looking to lead their business, rather than manage it.

2014 IRS Amounts and Great Change to Flexible Spending Accounts

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The IRS released its list of updated 2014 deductions and limitations, which are adjusted annually for inflation.

  • Standard deductions
    • Married Filing Joint: $12,400
    • Single and Married Filing Separately: $6,200
    • Head of Household: $9,100
  • Personal exemption: $3,950
  • Maximum 401(K) deferral: $17,500 or $23,000 if over age 50 (same as 2013)
  • Maximum combined employer and employee contribution to a 401(K) plan: $52,000
  • The maximum wages subject to Social Security Taxes is $117,000.

In addition, the IRS relaxed it’s “use it or lose it” rules for Flexible Spending Accounts.  If employers make the change to their plan, employees will be able to carry over up to $500 to cover expenses in the next year.  This is a great change that can allow some flexibility for employees who won’t need to scramble to use their funds by year’s end.

Tax Breaks for School Expenses

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As summer begins to draw to a close, students of all ages are preparing to head back to school, and parents are shelling out money for everything from school supplies to tuition and fees.  This presents a great opportunity to summarize the various education-related tax benefits that are in place for these and other expenses.  Even though this benefit won’t be seen until tax time, it’s nice to know all this spending may result in some tax breaks.

Minnesota K-12 Expenses

Minnesota offers two different benefits for K-12 expenses; a subtraction (deduction) from income, and a credit against tax.

The subtraction allows for up to $1,625 of K-6 expenses and $2,500 of 7-12 expenses per child to be deducted from income before calculating Minnesota tax.  Some of the items allowed for the subtraction are listed below, though this is not a complete list.

  • Private school tuition
  • Fees for all-day Kindergarten
  • Music lessons
  • Tuition for summer camps which are primarily academic in focus, such as fine arts or language

For some, claiming a credit against tax would provide a greater benefit.  The credit is allowed for those with incomes between $37,500 and $43,500, depending on the number of children in the household.  In this case, the same expenses above that qualify for the subtraction qualify for the credit, with the exception of private school tuition.

As always, we’re here to help with areas like this, as we have been for nearly 40 years.