IRS Lien/Levy Holiday Moratorium

December 2, 2012

I just leaned that the IRS will have a moratoriun on Leins and Levies from December 7 to year end.  Now that should not be an issue for my clients, but in case of others…..Merry Christmas!

IRS 2013 Auto Mileage Deductions

December 2, 2012

The IRS has increased the business mileage standard rate as well as the medical mileage and moving allowance for 2013. See below:

December 2012 IRS news release

Bakken Oil Field

September 2, 2012

I had a great visit out to Williston last week.

Met with several favorite clients.  A very healthy economy, but roads are over-taxed.

Our office is located a stone’s throw from the railroad station, near the large grain elevators.

Joe

 

Retirement Plan Limits 2012

June 22, 2012

 

 

Type of Qualified Retirement Plan	WAS – 2011	NOW – 2012
401(k) – elective deferrals	$16,500	$ 17,000
403(b) – elective deferrals	$16,500	$ 17,000
Governmental 457(b) – elective deferrals	$16,500	$ 17,000
Catch Up contribution limits for 401(k), 403(b) and 457(b)	$5,500	No change
SIMPLE – elective deferrals	$11,500	No change
SIMPLE – catch up contributions	$2,500	No change
Defined Benefit – max. annual annuity	$195,000	$200,000
Defined Contribution – max. annual addition	$49,000	$50,000
Max. Annual Compensation – Defined benefit, defined contribution and SEPs	$245,000	$250,000
Simplified Employee Pension (SEP) – minimum compensation	$550	No change
Tax Credit ESOP – 5 year limit	$985,000	$1,015,000
Tax Credit ESOP – 1 year extension	$195,000	$200,000

Websites for Budgets & Finance

June 22, 2012

Is there nothing you, or perhaps your graduating child, can do over the internet you don’t find to be faster, easier and more compelling than brick & mortar experiences? If you feel that way, you’ll be happy to know there are a variety of online resources for managing your finances these days.

If you’re a Rapacki + Co client, you already know about eWealth. We make your individual account aggregator and budget tools available to you as a free service. (If you don’t know what I’m talking about, give me a call at 952-945-5011.) 

If you’re not yet a client and ok paying a fee or being marketed to on your site, you may want to check out these other financial tools online:

• Mint.com

• Hellowallet.com

• Yodlee’s MoneyCenterat http://www.yodlee.com/ymc_home.shtml

• Credit Karma

• Debt Free (mobile app)

• Stickk.com

• LearnVest

Covenant Not to Compete – Wrinkle

June 22, 2012

 

Imagine you purchased a substantial chunk of stock in a company, and as a condition to the purchase,  you agreed not to compete with the business for 2 years. Then suppose you went to deduct the cost of the covenant from your net income. If you think you could deduct the purchase price of, say $200,000, over 2 years, you’d be wrong. As prescribed in Section 197(c) of the Tax code and confirmed in Recovery Group, Inc. 108 AFTR2d 2011-5437 in 2011, the deductions must be amortized over a 15 year period.  Big difference. Important wrinkle to keep in mind.

 Photo By: TinaSea

Easy Stress Management Tools

June 22, 2012

In our fast paced, hectic lives, it can be critical to your health and well being to manage your stress level. Here are some easy stress management tools you may find useful:

Take a moment every day to list and thank all the things that are right about you. Thank you, lungs, for breathing. Thank you, heart, for pumping blood throughout  my body. Thank you legs, for moving me from place to place. You get the idea.

1. Appreciate the wonder that is you. From cells invisible to the invisible eye, you came to life. You have and continue to grow into the person you are meant to be. No one else can be better at being “you” than you.

2. Try mindfulness. Do you find that you’ve eaten more than you wanted, focusing on things you can’t change, or over-indulging? Try practicing being mindful in the moment. When you eat something, sit down and enjoy it. Take time to focus on its flavors, texture and aroma. Notice how it feels as you chew or swallow it. It won’t take longer and you’ll appreciate it more. Or, take a walk outside and pay attention to the sounds you hear. Really pay attention. Hear the sound of your shoe hitting the street, the birds chirping, the trucks passing by. Really concentrate on each thing and enjoy the movement. Pay attention to what breathing does to your belly. Then your chest. Then to the temperature of your nose. Re-energize yourself.

3. Everyone makes mistakes. If you find yourself reliving or fretting over something in the past, how you could have done it better, or made a mistake, let it go. Let it go. Write what you did on a piece of paper and set it on fire. Put it in a balloon and let it blow away. Remind yourself:  it is only through mistakes that we learn and grow. If you never make mistakes, you aren’t trying or challenging yourself. Where would you be today if you sat back down and never got up again because you fell down on your first attempt to walk?

 

Profits Aren’t Everything, They’re the Only Thing.

June 22, 2012

In his book, “Profits Aren’t Everything, They’re the Only Thing,” George Cloutier doesn’t pull any punches. If you think business success is about how many employees you have or your contribution to society, he advises you go to work for someone else or open a non-profit. While he’s blunt in his delivery, he’s right about one thing – if you don’t have a profit, you won’t have a business for long. Someone will come along and do it fast, cheaper or better or people will simply stop buying what you offer. If you run your own business and aren’t already looking at your Profit & Loss statement and focusing on cash flow and expenses weekly, you’re doing your business a disservice. As Mr. Cloutier would say, “Snap out of your coma today. Open the books, look at where you are financially and face reality.”

The Power of Optimism

June 22, 2012

Did you know that we humans have a predilection to the negative? Of our 24 most common “emotion words” in English, only 6 are positive! We are wired to notice the bad more than the good. People who are shown pictures of events, spend more time looking at the bad events. When someone does something wrong, we remember it over all the things that person has done right before and after that. Thank goodness for optimism, affirmation and our ability to self direct. Next time something not-so-good happens, remind yourself to use your strength to focus on the good all around you. You have in the past and you will in the future move forward and create more positives in your life. Don’t let our language or conditioning get in the way.   

IRS Failure to File or Pay Penalties

June 3, 2012

IRS Tax Tip 2012-74, April 17, 2012 The number of electronic filing and payment options increases every year, which helps reduce your burden and also improves the timeliness and accuracy of tax returns. When it comes to filing your tax return, however, the law provides that the IRS can assess a penalty if you fail to file, fail to pay or both.Here are eight important points about the two different penalties you may face if you file or pay late. If you do not file by the deadline, you might face a failure-to-file penalty. If you do not pay by the due date, you could face a failure-to-pay penalty. The failure-to-file penalty is generally more than the failure-to-pay penalty. So if you cannot pay all the taxes you owe, you should still file your tax return on time and pay as much as you can, then explore other payment options. The IRS will work with you. The penalty for filing late is usually 5 percent of the unpaid taxes for each month or part of a month that a return is late. This penalty will not exceed 25 percent of your unpaid taxes. If you file your return more than 60 days after the due date or extended due date, the minimum penalty is the smaller of $135 or 100 percent of the unpaid tax. If you do not pay your taxes by the due date, you will generally have to pay a failure-to-pay penalty of ½ of 1 percent of your unpaid taxes for each month or part of a month after the due date that the taxes are not paid. This penalty can be as much as 25 percent of your unpaid taxes. If you request an extension of time to file by the tax deadline and you paid at least 90 percent of your actual tax liability by the original due date, you will not face a failure-to-pay penalty if the remaining balance is paid by the extended due date. If both the failure-to-file penalty and the failure-to-pay penalty apply in any month, the 5 percent failure-to-file penalty is reduced by the failure-to-pay penalty. However, if you file your return more than 60 days after the due date or extended due date, the minimum penalty is the smaller of $135 or 100 percent of the unpaid tax. You will not have to pay a failure-to-file or failure-to-pay penalty if you can show that you failed to file or pay on time because of reasonable cause and not because of willful neglect.

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