news & noteworthy
Alerts, Updates and Other
Tax and Accounting Tidbits for Business and Home
Presented electronically by Norman, Johnson & Co., PA Certified Public Accountants
Owners of vacation rental property may owe
accommodations tax –
Are you renting a vacation home that may be taxable? Give us a
call for a review of your situation regarding accommodations tax.
Saving Oil – The average passenger vehicle in the
Worthy Quote: “Football incorporates the two worst elements
of American society: violence punctuated by committee meetings.” – George
F. Will, journalist, political commentator
Getting high on taxes – So just what is a high
income for tax purposes? An adjusted gross income (AGI) level of $285,000
would put a taxpayer in the top 1% of all returns filed. Anyone with more than
$93,000 in AGI would rank in the top 10% of all returns filed.
New IRA reporting requirements – New for 2004 is the requirement that all IRA trustees
report year-end fair market values of IRA balances along with an indication of
whether annual required minimum
distributions payments are mandated for the year. One of the reasons for
this new reporting requirement is to catch seniors not drawing down their IRAs
as required. The penalty for not making the required withdrawal is a whopping
50% of the missed distribution! A good way to simplify reporting and compliance
with these laws is to consolidate IRAs when separate accounts are not necessary
for other reasons. If you would like to review your IRA accounts and reporting
of distributions requirements, give Jim a call.
Lost pension money? –
$75 million in unclaimed defined-benefit pension plan payouts is sitting in the
coffers of the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC). PBGC was created by
the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 to encourage the growth of
defined benefit pension plans, provide timely and uninterrupted payment of
pension benefits, and keep pension insurance premiums at a minimum. Defined
benefit pension plans promise to pay a specified monthly benefit at retirement,
commonly based on salary and years on the job.
To see if you or a relative has a “long-since-forgotten”
stretch of employment that qualified for a pension, go to www.pbgc.gov/search.
Watching the Calendar –
Labor Day is next Monday, the 6th; extended corporate tax returns
are due on the 15th of this month; and the presidential election is
just 63 days away.
Bare facts: Sweet
home
Welcome Angela –
We welcome our newest employee,
Goodbye Levonia –
Got a friend or associate that needs help
with accounting, taxes, or financial planning? We appreciate
your referrals. Invite your referral to call for a complimentary conference to
review their situation.
Norman, Johnson & Co., PA is a
Spartanburg, SC based CPA firm which was founded in 1990. The firm offers a wide range of audit,
accounting, tax, business consulting, and financial planning services for
individuals, businesses, governmental entities, and not-for-profit clients.
This newsletter is published
monthly on the first of each month and alerts and special topics as they are
deemed informative. Information contained in this newsletter is derived from
sources believed to be accurate. You
should discuss any legal, tax, or financial matters with the appropriate
professional before applying them to your specific situation.
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Contact us at jim@njcocpa.com or (864) 573-8623.
Visit our websites: Norman,
Johnson & Co. CPAs can be found at http://www.normanjohnsoncpa.com/.
Bryan Jeter’s Financial Services web-site can be found
at www.myhdvest.com/bryanjeter.
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