1040 Times Tax Services

The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development(OECD) is a group of countries that includes most advanced, industrialized nations across the world. Of the 34 countries in the group, the United States of America ranks first with the highest corporate tax structure.The US Corporate Tax rates are the highest in the developed world at 39.1% ( average of the other 33 members of the OECD is 24.8%) and are a major deterrent to foreign investment.

Health Insurance coverage could be provided by your employer, by the government( Medicare, Medicaid,CHIP),purchased privately or purchased from the exchange . State specific health insurance exchanges were implemented under the Affordable Care Act (ACA),which are online price comparison websites where individuals can purchase health insurance.As a rule of thumb if you were allowed to keep your health insurance for the year 2014, bought medical insurance on or off the market place,got covered through a public program or got coverage through work in 2014, you typically have Minimum Essential Coverage(MEC) and should probably not be subject to any penalty on your individual tax return for the year 2014.

Open enrollment in the exchange started on Nov 15 2014 and ends on February 15 2015 for obtaining health insurance for the year 2015. Please look into this option if you presently do not have any health insurance coverage and want to avoid paying any penalty in your tax return for the year 2015.

In accordance with the provisions of the Affordable Care Act(ACA) , effective January 1 2014 , all US residents are required to maintain health insurance which meets Minimum Essential Coverage(MEC) and have access to affordable health insurance options.The IRS has been given the responsibility of enforcing compliance with the provisions of the ACA and this will affect every individual income tax return that will be prepared for tax year 2014.

Certain payments made for educational or medical expenses are qualified and are not considered gifts at all for federal gift tax purposes. This means that you can gift your child $14000 ( annual exclusion amount for the year 2014) in addition to paying his/her college tuition in the same year without incurring any federal gift tax liability. The payment will not be subject to gift tax as long it is made directly to the institution providing the education and it is made for tuition only.

Similarly, you can pay medical expenses for your mother and not incur any gift tax liability as long as the payment is made directly to the medical facility providing the care or to the company providing her medical insurance . If payment is made directly to the individual in any one of the cases, it will be treated as a gift and will be considered a taxable gift to the extent that its value exceeds the annual exclusion amount .

SPOUSAL GIFTS AND THEIR TAXATION

A different set of rules are applied when an individual is giving a gift to their spouse. When doing so, two issues need to be addressed:

1. Is the spouse a US citizen?

2. Does the gift represent a future or present interest?

If you spouse is a US citizen, the law of unlimited marital deduction comes into play allowing you to gift any amount to her/him without incurring a federal gift tax as long as it represents a present interest. The concept of present versus future interest is fairly simple and states that the property is question should be entirely given to your spouse for their immediate right to use, without any strings attached. A gift made to a trust for the benefit of your spouse will therefore not qualify for the unlimited marital deduction since it represents a future interest to your spouse. Therefore, such a gift regardless of the fact that your spouse is a US citizen, is taxable and must be reported to the IRS.

If your spouse in not a citizen of the United States, the current annual gift exclusion amount on gifts made of present interest is $145,000 for the year 2014.To explain, a gift given to your spouse who is not a US citizen in the year 2014 will not be subject to federal gift tax if the value does not exceed $145,000 and it a gift of present interest.

A very popular question asked by clients is relating to gift tax exclusion amounts. Beginning in 1997,the annual gift exclusion amount was indexed for inflation. It increased from $12,000 in 2008 to $13,000 in 2009 and increased for the first time in several years to $14000 in 2013 and will remain at $14000 for the year 2014.
In plain terms, you can gift up to $ 14000 per person , per year in 2014 without incurring any federal gift tax and without using any of your lifetime exemption gift amount. Married couples can combine their annual gift exclusion amount and gift up to $ 28000 per person per year but "split gifts" must be reported to the IRS in the year that they are made. For more information on Gift Taxes and Lifetime Gift Tax Exemption, please contact our office.

When moneys are transferred to an IRA, you are working with a financial professional who overlooks your account and assists the IRA owner(you) with asset allocation, distribution planning and retirement income strategies. This service is not provided in most employer sponsored plans.

Premature withdrawals (before the age of 591/2) from an IRA as well as a 401(k) are subject to a 10% penalty in addition to the federal and state taxes. However, there are some exceptions to the 10% penalty which are fewer in withdrawals from a 401(K) as compared to those from an IRA. Please note that federal and state taxes are always paid on both withdrawals and are paid regardless of age but the emphasis here in on the 10% penalty. This reason alone stands as a big incentive to transfer all your assets from a former employer's retirement plan into your own individual IRA.

For further details on establishing an IRA for yourself and getting the best rate of return on your assets, please contact our office.

Distributions from an IRA are simpler and involve less paperwork. When moneys are left in a employer sponsored retirement plan- 401(k) , the participants in the plan are subject to IRS regulations and it is also time consuming to withdraw money as there is more paperwork involved.
Additionally the distribution options in a former employer's retirement plan may be restrictive. Some 401(k) plans only offer one lump-sum distribution which could prevent you from taking advantage of the convenience and possible tax benefits of partial distribution.IRA's allow greater flexibility by providing additional distribution options.
Assets in a 401(k) are restricted to the investments provided by the plan whereas in an IRA the investment options are greater and the assets could be diversified.

When you change jobs, you might want to give your 401(k) with your former employer a little thought. There are 3 options available, leave the assets in your former employer's retirement account, switch them over to your current employer's retirement account and the third and smartest move of all, roll over the funds to an individual retirement account(IRA). The next few posts on 1040 Times tax Services page will give you reasons why the third option is the way to go!

This year, 1040 Times Tax Services has added a major line of services to better serve its individual and business clients. The company is now affiliated with a reputable insurance company and is offering financial planning services to its present and future clients. Our financial products include life. disability and long term care insurance, setting up defined contribution and defined benefit plans for businesses, rollovers of 401(k)'s into IRA's, College savings plans and annuities.
At 1040 Times Tax Services we firmly believe that tax planning is not complete without giving due consideration to retirement income and taking the right decisions NOW to ensure that your retirement goals are met in the future. For more information, please contact the office via phone (347-423-7557) or email([email protected])

Tax season for the year 2014 for individuals filing their 2013 income tax returns begins this year on Jan 31, 2014.According to the IRS, the 16 day Federal Government closure in October caused a delay in update of their systems. There is no incentive for taxpayers to paper file their return before the opening date as IRS has made it very clear that it will not process any returns before Jan 31 2014. Furthermore,IRS encourages tax payers to e file their returns as it is the fastest way to receive refunds.