Avi Keller Tax Accountant

Qualified Tuition Program (529 Plans) - Did You Know? A 529 plan is plan designed to encourage saving for future education expenses. Investing in a 529 plan may offer special tax benefits. Earnings in 529 plans are not subject to federal tax, and in most cases, state tax, so long as you use withdrawals for eligible higher-education expenses, such as tuition and room and board.... All fifty states and the District of Columbia sponsor at least one type of 529 plan. -- This tip brought to you by ARK Tax Group Avi Keller tax accountant Please visit http://arktaxgroup.com to learn about available services. Call (917) 225-5296 to discuss your unique needs. ARK Tax Group Avi Keller tax accountant 886 E New York Ave Brooklyn, NY 11203

Qualified Tuition Program (529 Plans) - Did You Know? A 529 plan is plan designed to encourage saving for future education expenses. Investing in a 529 plan may offer special tax benefits. Earnings in 529 plans are not subject to federal tax, and in most cases, state tax, so long as you use withdrawals for eligible higher-education expenses, such as tuition and room and board.... All fifty states and the District of Columbia sponsor at least one type of 529 plan.

Saver's Credit - Did You Know? If you contribute to an IRA, you may also qualify for the Saver’s Credit. It can reduce your taxes up to $2,000 if you file a joint return. The amount of the credit is 50%, 20% or 10% of your retirement plan or IRA contributions up to $2,000 ($4,000 if married filing jointly), depending on your adjusted gross income.... Schedule an appointment to discuss if you are eligible for this tax saving credit.

Saver's Credit - Did You Know? If you contribute to an IRA, you may also qualify for the Saver’s Credit. It can reduce your taxes up to $2,000 if you file a joint return. The amount of the credit is 50%, 20% or 10% of your retirement plan or IRA contributions up to $2,000 ($4,000 if married filing jointly), depending on your adjusted gross income.... Schedule an appointment to discuss if you are eligible for this tax saving credit. -- This tip brought to you by ARK Tax Group Avi Keller tax accountant Please visit http://arktaxgroup.com to learn about available services. Call (917) 225-5296 to discuss your unique needs. ARK Tax Group Avi Keller tax accountant 886 E New York Ave Brooklyn, NY 11203

A few important deadlines have changed for 2016 filings. Please be aware of the following new deadlines: - Form 1040 (Individuals): April 18, 2017 (Temporary, due to holiday in District of Columbia). - Form 1120 (C-corps): Was March 15, now April 15 (April 18 this year). - Form 1065 (Partnerships): Was April 15, now March 15.... - Form 1120S (S-corps): Unchanged, still March 15 this year. - FBAR Form Fincen 114: Was June 30, now April 15 (April 18 this year). See more

Retirement - Did you Know? It's Not Too Late to Make Retirement Account Contributions If you haven’t already funded your retirement account for 2016, you may still do so. You have until April 17, 2017 for contributions to a traditional IRA, deductible or not, and to a Roth IRA.... Your total contributions to all your traditional and Roth IRAs can’t be more than $5,500 ($6,500, if you’re age 50 or older) or your taxable compensation for the year, if your compensation was less than this dollar limit. Making a deductible contribution will help you lower your tax bill this year. This IRA contribution limit does not apply to rollover contributions and Qualified reservist payments.

Name Changes - Did You Know? A name change can affect your taxes. All the names on a tax return must match Social Security Administration (SSA) records. A name mismatch can delay your tax refund. Report Name Changes: Got married and now using a new spouse’s last name or hyphenate a name? Divorced and now back to using a former last name? In either case, you should notify the SSA of a name change. That way the new name on IRS records will match the SSA records.... Make Dependent’s Name Change. Notify the SSA if a dependent had a name change. For example, if you adopted a child and the child’s last name changed. If the child does not have a Social Security number, you may use an Adoption Taxpayer Identification Number on your tax return. An ATIN is a temporary number. Apply for an ATIN by filing Form W-7A (Application for Taxpayer Identification Number for Pending U.S. Adoptions) with the IRS. Get a New SS Card. File Form SS-5, Application for a Social Security Card. The form is on SSA.gov or by calling 800-772-1213. Your new card will reflect the name change.

Can I deduct my health insurance? You may deduct your health insurance if you're paying for private insurance through an insurance agent, if you're on Medicare (Parts B, C, and D are the most common), or if you're buying your insurance on the healthcare.gov exchange. You may also deduct it if it is provided as part of your retirement plan. In all of these examples you are paying for your health insurance with after-tax dollars. On the other hand, if your insurance is obtained through your employer, whether you pay for it or your employer pays for some or all of it, these premiums are paid for with pre-tax dollars. This reduces the amount reported in Box 1 on your W-2, so you have already gotten the tax benefit and can’t take it again.

Do taxes have to be paid on gifts? Taxes on gifts, when they are applicable, are paid by the giver. The current lifetime limit for gifts, or for an estate to pass on, without paying gift and estate tax is $5.45 million (2016). Gifts up to $14,000 per person per year don’t have to be reported and don’t reduce the estate tax exempted amount. Gifts over $14,000 must be reported by the giver on Form 709 and any amount over the $14,000 annual limit reduces the $5.45 million that can be excluded from gift and estate taxes when they die.

Can a loan be taken from an IRA? Loans are not permitted from IRAs or from IRA-based plans such as SEPs, SARSEPs and SIMPLE IRA plans. Loans are only possible from qualified plans that satisfy the requirements of 401(a), from annuity plans that satisfy the requirements of 403(a) or 403(b), and from governmental plans.

Did you know you may be able to claim a parent as a dependent? Your parent may qualify as your dependent if you are paying half of their support, they earn less than $4050 in gross taxable income, and they are a US citizen or resident, or resident of Mexico or Canada. They must not be filing a joint return with someone else except to claim a refund of withheld taxes. Your share of their support includes fair rental value of the space you are providing if they live with you. A common circumstance where this may happen is if a parent moves in with you after their spouse dies and they are only collecting social security.

Divorced Parents: Who Claims Child Dependents? First claim to a dependent child goes to the custodial parent. By IRS regulations, that means whichever parent the child lived with for a longer period of time during the taxable year. The IRS does not recognize divorce decrees. If the non-custodial parent wants to claim the dependent exemption they are required to get the custodial parent to sign Form 8332 releasing the exemption to them. The dependency exemption and the Child Tax Credit go together. The custodial parent may still claim the Earned Income Credit, Dependent Care Credit, and Head of Household filing status with the child as a non-dependent member of the household, even if they release the exemption to the non-custodial parent.

Avoid Becoming a Scam Victim Did you receive a threatening call or notice from the "IRS"? Please remember, IRS employees will NOT: - Call demanding immediate payment. The IRS will not call a taxpayer if they owe tax without first sending a bill in the mail.... - Demand payment without allowing the taxpayer to question or appeal the amount owed. - Require the taxpayer pay their taxes a certain way. For example, demand taxpayers use a prepaid debit card. - Ask for credit or debit card numbers over the phone. - Threaten to contact local police or similar agencies to arrest the taxpayer for non-payment of taxes. - Threaten legal action such as a lawsuit. See more

When Am I Getting My Refund? (If Applicable) If you are claiming the Earned Income Tax Credit or Additional Child Tax Credit, both of which are refundable credits, your refund won’t be released by the IRS until February 15. A refundable credit is one which gives you cash back even if you didn’t pay any tax into the system during the year. Though the IRS will begin releasing these funds on February 15, you shouldn’t count on actually receiving the money for another 1-2 weeks beyond that. You can also check the status of your refund at https://www.irs.gov/refunds