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TAX TIPS AND FACTS
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ROGER A. KAHAN Certified Public Accountant and Advisor Serving the tax and financial needs of individuals and small to medium sized businesses 11 Jeanne Road, Randolph, MA 02368 TEL: (781) 963-RAK-1 (963-7251) E-mail: kahan@rak-1.com Copyright © 1998 Roger A. Kahan, CPA ALL RIGHTS RESERVED |
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You are the person to access this issue!
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| TAX PLANNING NOW | |
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No matter how much you earn during the year, what really counts is what you get to keep; your after-tax return. That is why tax planning should be
an all year-round effort. Effective planning today may not only reduce your 1998 tax liability, it can help you lessen the confusion at tax time
next year. The sooner you get started, the more flexibility you will have. You should use the information you gathered and the insights you have
acquired during the process of filing your 1997 income tax returns as a starting point for preparing a blueprint to improve your tax position for
1998. A little planning now WILL produce significant tax savings for you next year.
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| YEAR-END INCOME & DEDUCTION STRATEGIES | |
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The end of the year is fast approaching. However, there is still time to significantly alter your tax picture for 1998 and set a winning strategy
into motion for 1999. Because of the Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997 and the effective dates of the various provisions, the acceleration or deferral of
income and expenses take on added importance. Some changes, such as the various federal and state capital gains tax rates and the home sale
exclusion, are based upon holding periods that must be met to achieve favorable tax treatment. Other changes, such as the new child credit and the
"Roth IRA's" are now available and their use may be restricted due to the phaseouts based upon adjusted gross income levels. In the remaining
weeks, it is important that you familiarize yourself with some of the options that are available to shift income and expenses into 1998 or 1999,
depending upon how the 1997 tax act and the 1998 amendments affect you.
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| THANK YOU | |
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A friendly "Thank you!" for your patronage during the past year and for the confidence you have placed in us. We will always do everything
we can to assure complete satisfaction. We are looking forward to many more opportunities of serving you in the future.
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| MUTUAL FUNDS PURCHASES | |
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If you are thinking about going into a mutual fund or increasing your investment in a mutual fund during the month of December, please be careful.
December is the month when most mutual funds make their "capital gains" and other year-end distributions. The result is taxable income to you
while the price of the fund is adjusted to compensate for the distributions. Your net outlay is the tax on those distributions. Call the mutual fund and find out when they will be issuing year-end distributions, and make your investment just after.
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| MORE YEAR END TAX PLANNING | |
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Do you know where your capital gains will be for 1998? How about 1999? What is the current status of your IRA or self-employed Keogh? Have you established it before the December 31 deadline? Should you be moving money now? Have you looked into the new Roth IRA plans? Do you know their value? Have you looked into converting your IRAs into a Roth IRA plan? Take the time now to find out. It just might save you a lot of money when you file your income tax returns.
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Remember, "It's not what you make that counts, it's what you keep."
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| STUDENT LOAN INTEREST DEDUCTION | |
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Beginning January 1, 1998, taxpayers who have taken loans to pay the cost of attending an eligible educational institution for themselves, their
spouse, or their dependent generally may deduct interest they pay on these student loans. The maximum deduction each taxpayer is permitted to take
increases from $1,000 in 1998 to $2,500 in 2001 and thereafter. There are many restrictions and limitations. If you think you may qualify for this
deduction, be sure to seek professional advice.
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| ARE YOU THIS BUSINESS MANAGER? | |
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A man is flying in a hot air balloon and realizes he is lost. He reduces height and spots a man down below. He lowers the balloon further and
shouts, "Excuse me, can you tell me where I am?" The man below says, "Yes, you're in a hot air balloon, hovering 30 feet above this field." "You must work in Information Technology,"says the balloonist. "I do," replies the man. "How did you know?" "Well," says the balloonist, "everything you have told me is technically correct, but it's no use to anyone." The man below says, "You must work in business as a manager." "I do," replies the balloonist, "but how did you know?" "Well," says the man, "you don't know where you are or where you are going but you expect me to be able to help. You're in the same position you were before we met but now it's my fault." Thanks to my friend Mark Gulko, CPA
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| FEATURES WANTED | |
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We want to feature our clients in future editions of TAX TIPS AND FACTS.
If you would like to have a FREE spot to sell us on your company, its
products or services, simply send us a brief story about your company, an
overview of your company's products and future plans. We may edit the
information and include it in a future edition. Send the information to
Roger A. Kahan, CPA via mail, E-mail
or FAX it.
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| CHARITABLE DEDUCTIONS | |
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Some CPA's are warning clients to verify whether a charity is qualified as a tax-exempt organization as a 501(c)(3) entity. To make sure your
deduction is valid, we suggest you check an organization's status on the IRS's WEB site at www.irs.ustreas.gov.
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| Roger A. Kahan is a Certified Public Accountant and Advisor with an office in Randolph, serving the tax and financial needs of individuals and small to medium sized businesses almost anywhere in the United States. And with the advent of the Internet, professional consultation extends to several other countries. Roger is always seeking additional clients and professionals wishing to save money and better manage their own, a friend, a relative or a client's personal or business life. | |
| EXCEL's Simply 7 | |
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EXCEL Communications offers its lowest-priced residential calling plan - EXCEL's Simply 7 DALLAS - As a leading provider of long distance services, Excel Communications, Inc. (NYSE: ECI) today unveiled Excel's Simply 7SM - its lowest-priced, residential calling plan. Excel's Simply 7 is its newest, flat rate calling plan, with one of the lowest residential rates among top carriers. All state-to-state calls are seven cents a minute, 24 hours a day, seven days a week except for calls originating or terminating in Hawaii or calls terminating in Alaska and Puerto Rico/U.S. Virgin Islands. In-state calling rates vary according to state. There is a monthly service charge of $4.95. "We designed Excel's Simply 7 calling plan for heavy long distance Users who don't want restrictions that dictate the time or length of the call," said Ken Hilton, executive vice president of marketing at Excel. "Our goal is to continue developing a suite of calling plans that will meet each long distance consumer's needs." If you would like to learn more about saving money on your long-distance telephone or FAX calling, call Discount Buyer's Network at 781-963-5800.
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| BEST OF THE WEB | |
Recently, our web site was picked as the "Best of the Web" by the editors of Snap! Online. Snap! editors choose Best of the Web (BoW) from the thousands of
offerings in a given channel. "These are the sites that we tell our friends about and bookmark for return visits." BoW
is a designation given to sites that are:
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| WE NEED YOUR SUPPORT | |
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If you like our work, recommend us to a friend. If you are not happy with our work, please call me and let's talk about it. We will both appreciate it.
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| INTERNET ACCESS | |
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We are kahan@RAK-1.com (that is a "one" and not a small
"L") and an active user of the INTERNET. You can E-mail us from any service connected to the
NET. Our Internet provider is The Xensei Corporation of
Quincy. For more information about Xensei and a reasonably priced and easy to use
unlimited-time, local internet access, call me at (781) 963-RAK-1 or Xensei at
(617) 376-6342, e-mail info@xensei.com.
TAX TIPS AND FACTS will appear on our World Wide Web page, at http://www.rak-1.com making it available the WORLD. Last month, 1,159 Internet surfers from 23 countries accessed our web page and read TAX TIPS AND FACTS on-line. Several of the readers asked to be added to the list to receive TAX TIP OF THE WEEK.
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| FROM THE INTERNET | |
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R: I'm starting to outsource more html authoring to various folks. Some of them are actually legitimate businesses, so I have them invoice me
and I cut checks to their companies like any other vendor. Some of them are individuals who work at their own schedule, at their own places, and for
other clients -- not just us. Can I treat them all as subcontractors and 1099 them all? Thanks, DS DS: If it waddles like a duck, quacks like a duck and looks like a duck, it is a duck. Otherwise it is an employee. If the duck sets his/her own time to do work and his/her own schedule to work or not work for you, works for other businesses (you are not the only source of revenue for him/her) and sends you invoices like the big birds, he/she could be classified as self-employed. Any duck not incorporated should get a 1099 if it earns 600 or more clams. Be sure to get the full name, address and Social Security Number (or Federal ID Number) from all the ducks lined up as a subcontractor to you. (Attempt at humor by RAK)
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| TAX TIP OF THE WEEK | |
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I am now writing a TAX TIP OF THE WEEK that is distributed over the Internet to a growing list of people each week. Some items in the weekly version
will appear in the printed monthly version. If you would like to be included in the weekly electronic distribution, just send me your e-mail address
with your City and State (for statistical purposes) by e-mail, snail-mail, voice-phone or fax.
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| CERTIFIED? | |
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Your doctor is certified. Your lawyer is certified. Is your accountant certified? If your accountant isn't a Certified Public Accountant, think twice about where you are getting your advice. Who do you want handling your financial and business matters? If your accountant isn't a CPA, it's time to seek professional help.
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| WHY DO I NEED A CPA? | |
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CPAs do much more than prepare tax returns. A CPA can help you with all of your Personal Financial Planning
needs to help you achieve your goals.
Whether you're saving to buy a house, send your children to college or secure your retirement, you need a member of the Massachusetts Society of CPAs to assist you. Roger A. Kahan is an active member of the Massachusetts Society of CPAs.
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| Many accountants view their goal as minimizing their clients' taxes. NOT ME! I like to see my clients pay more taxes - because their earnings and profits are increasing dramatically. I can make a major difference in achieving those profits. Talk to me and find out more. | |
| ALL IN THE FAMILY | |
Family businesses should be wary when choosing business advisors (such as: CPA, Attorney, Broker, Insurance Consultant). Because family businesses
are such a diverse group, we suggest that the chosen experts should bring to the relationship the following characteristics:
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| FBI RECORDS ARE AVAILABLE | |
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Under the Freedom of Information Act, an individual may request his or her own personal FBI files by sending a letter with the name,
address, and date and place of birth to Federal Bureau of Investigation, Office of Information and Privacy, US Department of Justice,
Suite 570, Flag Building, Washington, DC 20530. Your signature must be notarized.
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TAX TIPS AND FACTS is published periodically by Roger A. Kahan, CPA.
Subscription is free to clients, prospective clients and friends of Roger
A. Kahan, CPA. If you know of someone interested in a subscription to TAX
TIPS AND FACTS allowing him or her to obtain valuable comments on
national, Massachusetts or local tax issues, call (781) 963-RAK-1.
The information contained in this publication has been obtained from sources I believe to be reliable at the time of writing, but I do not guarantee its accuracy or completeness. Neither the information nor any opinion expressed constitutes a solicitation by me of the purchase or sale of any securities or other investment. This material, or any portions thereof, may not reproduced without prior written permission of Roger A. Kahan, CPA. |
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