Gabriel, Burger & Else, CPA

10/02/2026

DEADLINE IS QUICKLY APPROACHING: If you filed an extension, October 15, 2026 is the deadline to file your individual federal and state income tax returns. Get in contact with our office as soon as possible so we can aid you in meeting this deadline.

09/21/2026

Housing Allowance Clients and Pension Housing Clients ONLY,

Receipts/Bills
Keep all of your bills and receipts in a tax folder…call it 2026 Housing Expenses.

1. Your tax preparer does not need to see these receipts (that’s what the spreadsheet is for).
2. Hold onto them in case the IRS asks for further documentation.

Housing Allowance Spreadsheet
We suggest you track all of your housing expenses in four categories. Please use the Excel spreadsheet attached if you’re comfortable doing so. The categories are Mortgage/Rent, Housing Items, Utilities, Phone/Internet.

Or as I like to say it, the few items NOT allowed for housing are:
• Automobiles
• Clothes
• Food/Grocery/Restaurant
• Health and Beauty
• Travel
• Entertainment

Enter checks, cash, and credit card transactions. Credit cards are considered same as cash for tax purposes, no matter when you actually pay off the card. Thus, a credit card swipe for furniture bought on December 31st counts in the current tax year, even though the bill won’t be paid until January.

Employed Church Workers - Housing %
As a reminder, you should be claiming at least 70% housing allowance with the school/church that hired you. Most schools/churches have a default of 50% (NOTE: Parsonage clients ignore housing % as this does not apply to you).

Retired Church Workers – Housing and QCD
As a reminder, a housing percentage is not applicable to you. As a further reminder, if you are age 73 or older and hold any Traditional IRA funds you should be doing ALL of your charitable giving through the Traditional IRA FIRST AND FOREMOST until you have met your giving goals for the year or the IRA balance is $0. Do not write checks, but rather donate directly from the IRA. See your advisor for details.

Summary
• Change housing allowance to at least 70% (parsonage ignore)
• Track housing expenses
o Save housing receipts and bills in a tax folder (save for 7 years)
o Use spreadsheet to provide to your tax preparer (or similar document if you prefer your own method)
• Over 73 please make charitable donations from Traditional IRA
• Ask questions anytime

If you have follow-up questions, please let us know.

08/07/2026

Had a great day at TopGolf doing some team bonding.

08/03/2026

Valued Clients,

As some of you know we offer investments through our financial advisory platform. Many clients utilize this service and we thank you!

There are several options when it comes to financial advisors. What you may not know are the inherent advantages of having your financial advisor also be a tax professional.

The CPA Advantage
At GBE we think one thing that sets us apart from the rest is knowing how to structure your investments for tax efficiency. Most advisors are not allowed to provide tax advice. With dual expertise as CPAs and Investment Advisors …we embrace it!

Reducing your tax burden should be a key element in almost any investment strategy. Leaving more for you and less for the government.

Thank you for taking the time to learn more about our services.

06/12/2026

Valued GBE Clients,

Many parts of health and childcare are noted in the tax code. Let us examine a few topics that people tend to overlook.

Health Savings Accounts (HSA)
• 2026 Limits $4,400 self-only
• 2026 Limits $8,750 family
• 2026 Limits $1,000 catch up age 55 and older

Most employer-provided health insurance coverage is considered to be a high-deductible plan (check with your advisor first). This creates an option for the taxpayer to contribute to a savings account set aside for qualified medical expenses either for yourself or your family (commonly called an HSA). Based on current tax laws, HSA contributions are one of the few ways working individuals/families may receive tax deductions for medical costs.

Make Your HSA at Work
Many people are aware that HSA contributions are a tax deduction. Not everyone is aware they can save an additional 7.65% by making those contributions through payroll at work (Note: Church Workers an additional 15.3%!!!). Payroll contributions are pre-tax -- meaning they are not subject to federal income tax, state income tax, or F**A tax (F**A rate is currently 7.65% for employee share).

While contributions directly to HSA (Ex: writing a check into your HSA account) saves federal and state income tax, it does not save the additional F**A tax offered through payroll contributions.

Dependent Care Flex Spending Account (FSA)
We often hear the question: My employer offers Daycare FSA, is it worth it for us? Tax-wise, the answer is often yes. Since the FSA is funded by pre-tax dollars, it reduces your federal and state income tax as well as the 7.65% F**A tax.

The Dependent Care FSA has a cap of $7,500 in contributions per year, per household (Ex: you and spouse cannot exceed $7.5k combined even if both employers offer FSA). Conversely, the Child Dependent Care Tax Credit allows an income-based credit up to $3,000 of expenses for one child and $6,000 for two or more.

Each tax situation is different, but generally speaking the FSA option makes sense for:
 One child, anticipated childcare costs of $7,500 or more for the year
 Two or more children, parent(s) earn $151,000 or more, anticipated childcare costs of $7,500 or more for the year

Drawbacks of the FSA include the use-it-or-lose-it account design, tracking receipts, waiting for reimbursements, and the fact that not all employers offer this option.

Summary
Arm yourself with these potential tax saving ideas. And as always consult your GBE advisor as needed!

06/02/2026

https://gbecpa.com/tax-tips-my-childs-summer-job/

We often hear the question – how should my child fill out their W-4? And then we often hear the assumption – just take “0” and the max, right? This is likely incorrect. Exempt Status GENERALLY, when a child you claim as a dependent makes less than $16,100 in a year they are eligible for […...

04/24/2026

GBE’s Paige Melohn was named 2026 Concordia Nebraska Outstanding Student in Business. Let’s Goooo!