Do you know how some high powered people or celebrities file their taxes?
If you say, filing jointly as married couple, then that is an educated guess.
However, for some they choose to file separately. Why? Let’s find out.
Hello, this is Noel Dalmacio, your ultimate CPA at lowermytaxnow.com.
Today, you will learn when to file or not to file separately.
Are you ready? Okay.
If you are married, you can elect to file separately at the end of the year.
What are the disadvantages of filing separately?
There’s a lot:
Unfavorable tax rates
You lose various credits
You lose education benefits
Greater chances that your social security will be taxable
IRA’s deductions and contributions phases out at $10,000 of your income
And lastly, your rental losses will be limited to $12,500
So with these disadvantages,
you might be thinking, why do people file separately?
Two reasons: Number one: you might pay less tax by filing separately.
For example, if your spouse has medical expenses or employee unreimbursed expenses,
you might pay less, since these deductions will be limited by the income of your spouse.
Number two: And this is a big one! No joint liability!
If you sign a joint return, you and your spouse is responsible for the payment of the tax.
If you file separately, then you are not responsible for reporting or paying taxes on items related to your spouse.
There you have it.
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Until then, this is Noel Dalmacio, your ultimate CPA at lowermytaxnow.com

Do you have people that you support? Do you know that if you meet certain tests, they may be claimed as your dependent. Hello, this is Noel Dalmacio, your ultimate CPA at lowermytaxnow.com.
Today, we will talk about how to maximize your dependency deductions.
Here are 3 things you need to know, number 1: Deductions and income limitation.
Each dependent will reduce your income by $4,000 on your 2015 tax return. However, you might lose part of that deduction if your income is more than $309K if you are married or more than $258K if you are single filer.
Number 2: Who can be considered a dependent? A dependent is someone you provided more than half of their support; more than 50%. And they are either a qualifying child or a qualifying relative. You need to take advantage of both classifications in order to claim the deduction.
A qualifying child is someone related to you, lived with you, under 19 or a full-time student under 24 or it can be any age if permanently disabled
A qualifying relative is a dependent that either lives with you all year or related to you and they must have income that is less than $4,000.
So you can claim any person not related to you as long as they live with you the entire year and made less than $4,000. While any person related to you like your parents or children does not necessarily be living with you, you just need to provide more than 50% of their support and their income needs to be less than $4,000.
Keep in mind that for your parents that receive social security benefits only, those benefits will be taxed as “0” and would not be considered as income. Make sure you take advantage of both classifications in order to claim the deduction.
Okay. We’re almost on the finish line, here’s number 3: Who can’t be claimed
We’ll, your spouse is never your dependent. In addition, you cannot claim a married person if that person files a joint return with a spouse. Also, a dependent must be a U.S. citizen, resident alien, a resident of Canada or Mexico for part of the year.
Wow! You made it!
For a somewhat simple topic, claiming the deduction for a dependent can be quite complex.
You will want to get it right though, because being able to claim someone as a dependent can lead to other tax benefits, including head of the household filing status, child tax credit, education credits, and the dependent care credit.
If you like to learn more, click the link lowermytaxnow.com and sign-in to receive my weekly video blog.

Until then, this is Noel Dalmacio, your ultimate CPA at lowermytaxnow.com

Guess what? It’s that time of the year again. Nope, I’m not talking about Christmas. I’m talking about one of your favorite things to do: filing your taxes.
Hello, this is Noel Dalmacio, your ultimate CPA at lowermytaxnow.com.
Today, you will learn three tips to start your tax filing season. Are you ready?
Number 1. Check whether your kids need to file a 2015 tax return. They’ll need to file if wages exceeded $6,300, net business income was over $400, and if interest or dividend exceeded $1,050. However, when income includes both wages and investment income, other thresholds apply.
Number 2. Consider whether you’ll contribute to a Roth or traditional IRA. Since you have until April 18 to make a 2015 contribution, you can schedule an amount to set aside from each paycheck for the next few months. The maximum contribution for 2015 is the lesser of your earned income or $5,500 ($6,500 when you’re age 50 or older). When funding the IRAs make sure you indicate that this is for the 2015 tax year.
Number 3. Do you need to file a gift tax return?
For 2015, you may need to file a return if you gave gifts totaling $14,000 to someone other than your spouse. Some gifts, such as direct payments of medical bills or tuition, are not subject to gift tax. They are due at the same time as your federal income tax return. There you have it. So just make sure you keep in mind these three tips once you start filing your taxes.
If you like to learn more, click the link lowermytaxnow.com and sign-in to receive my weekly blog.

Until then, this is Noel Dalmacio, your ultimate CPA at lowermytaxnow.com

Do you know the number one secret on how to become a millionaire?
Hello, this is Noel Dalmacio, your ultimate CPA at lowermytaxnow.com.
The number one secret on how to become a millionaire
is to practice “paying yourself first”.
That means, you pay yourself first by automatically funding a retirement account
and transferring money in your savings account.
That way, before you even have access to your accounts, you already took steps in securing your financial future.
This is a perfect segue to discuss retirement plans.So for 2016, you can contribute $18,000 to your 401(k), plus another $6,000, if your 50 years old or older.
Taking full advantage of allowable contributions and any employer matching is still a good idea. Since contributions you make to your retirement plan reduce your taxable income and also help you build your retirement portfolio.
If you like to learn more, click the link lowermytaxnow.com and sign-in to receive my weekly blog.

Until then, this is Noel Dalmacio, your ultimate CPA at lowermytaxnow.com

Hello, this is Noel Dalmacio, your ultimate CPA at lowermytaxnow.com
While you’re gathering information to prepare your 2015 tax return, set aside time for a financial review.
Here are steps to get started.
● Compile a year-end list of your assets and debts and compare the list to last year. Are you gaining or losing ground? What actions can you take to improve your financial situation in 2016? Should you start paying off your credit card debt or adding an extra principal payment on your mortgage payment?
● Review your insurance. Do you have disability insurance to replace take-home pay if you become incapacitated? What about life insurance – will the benefit provide enough cash to pay your family’s expenses in the event something happens to you or your spouse? Is your home protected with replacement value property insurance? What about insurance for automobile accidents or lawsuits?
● Update your will and estate plan. What changed during 2015? Did you marry? Divorce? Have a child? Move to a new state? Receive an inheritance? All of these events can affect your planning. This year, you can leave up to $5,450,000 to your heirs with no federal estate tax liability. But that doesn’t mean you can ignore estate planning, which includes expressing your wishes for who will make decisions for you in times of emergencies as well as who will receive your assets.
● Until then, this is Noel Dalmacio, your ultimate CPA at lowermytaxnow.com

Does your business need to file Form 1099?
Hello, this is Noel Dalmacio, your ultimate CPA at lowermytaxnow.com
Forms 1099 are due to recipients by February 1, 2016. You may be most familiar with Form 1099-MISC, which you use when your business makes payment over $600 for services to nonemployees. Reportable payments can include fees for services paid to independent contractors, such as consultants, lawyers, cleaning services, landlords and property managers. Generally, you don’t report fees paid to corporations, but there are exceptions (payments to lawyers, for example). Lastly, you are required to issue a 1099 to an LLC unless they are tax as a corporation.
If you like to learn more, click the link lowermytaxnow.com and subscribe to my weekly blog.

Until then, this is Noel Dalmacio, your ultimate CPA at lowermytaxnow.com

Hello, this is Noel Dalmacio, your ultimate CPA at lowermytaxnow.com
Guess what? New year…new rates!
The car mileage rates went down from the 2015 rates. Here are the rates that you can use to calculate your 2016 deductions and reimbursements.
For business, the rate is 54 cents per mile. That’s down from 57.5 cents in 2015. (What is the IRS thinking?)
For medical and moving, the rate went down from 23 cents to 19 cents per mile.
And lastly, for charitable service miles, it remains at 14 cents per mile.
If you like to learn more, click the link lowermytaxnow.com and subscribe to my weekly blog.

Until then, this is Noel Dalmacio, your ultimate CPA at lowermytaxnow.com

Do you usually feel charitable during the holidays? Before, you give your check to a charity organization though, you need to do a little bit of a homework.
Hi guys, this is Noel Dalmacio, your ultimate CPA at lowermytaxnow.com
Normally, many charities use your donations wisely. Unfortunately, others spend too much of your contribution on fundraising and administrative expenses. Some even misrepresent themselves and ask for your money for phony causes. In today’s world, investigating a charity before you make a donation is the smart way of doing it.
Here’s a checklist on how you can protect yourself:
● Number 1. You have to request a written documentation about the charity’s mission and how your contribution will be spent. You have to ask for proof that your donation is tax deductible. If a charity is reluctant to provide information, think twice about making a gift.
● Number 2. When you receive a phone solicitation, the caller must provide their name, charitable organization name, telephone number and address. If a caller refuses to give you this information, hang up. Report the call to local authorities to help protect others.
● Number 3. Do not provide your credit card number over the phone. Instead, consider mailing your contribution once you’ve confirmed that the charity is legitimate and that it represents a cause you’d like to support.
● Lastly, number 4. Just because an organization gives you a receipt for your records doesn’t mean the organization is tax-exempt or that your contribution is tax-deductible. To find out if an organization is exempt from federal income tax and how much of your contributions to it are tax deductible, visit the IRS website at irs.gov and type in “EO select check”. Once your there, type in the organization’s info.
Asking the right questions and obtaining information about a charity is the only way you can be sure your contribution will be used to benefit the causes and people you want to support.
If you like to learn more, click the link lowermytaxnow.com and subscribe to my weekly blog.

Until then, this is Noel Dalmacio, your ultimate CPA at lowermytaxnow.com

Financial gifts that you give to your loved ones can provide benefits for many years to come. So here are 4 options that you need to consider:

● First one, fund an IRA. You can give your kids or grandkids an early start on a comfortable retirement. How? For 2015, you can contribute the lower of $5,500 or the earned income of the child to an IRA. Please note, your kids or grandkids needs to have a W-2 or business income in order to fund an IRA.

● Second one, fund a 529 education account. Contributions to a Section 529 college savings plan grow tax-free and withdrawals are also tax-free if you use it to pay for qualified school expenses of your child or grandchild.

● Third, fund a Coverdell education savings account. You can contribute up to $2,000 annually to a Coverdell account. These IRA-like accounts grow tax-free, though the total amount of your gift may be limited, depending on your income. For individuals, the income limit is $110,000, for married couples, its $220,000. So before funding this, make sure you know the income limitations.

● And lastly, fund a custodial account. Do you want to encourage your kids or grandkids interest in saving and investing? If yes, then buy shares in a mutual fund and combine the gift with a book on investing. Your kids or grandkids can watch the investment grow over time and enjoy dividend payouts too. Best of both worlds! Modest amounts of investment income can be tax-free to children, although the kiddie tax may apply at higher levels.

If you like to learn more, click the link lowermytaxnow.com and subscribe to my weekly blog.

Until then, this is Noel Dalmacio, your ultimate CPA at lowermytaxnow.com

Hi guys, this is Noel Dalmacio, your ultimate CPA at lowermytaxnow.com
The stock market may not be the right place for all of your money at all times. Here are two situations when cash accounts can be a better solution.

#1. Usually, the stock market is not a good place to invest funds you will need during the next two to three years, such as when you need to pay ongoing living expenses in retirement. In that case, your cash is better invested in money market funds, bank CDs, or bonds with maturities matched to your needs. The plan is to eliminate the risk that you’ll be taking withdrawals when the stock market is depressed.

#2. Maintain your emergency fund – three to six months of current living expenses – has only one purpose: to provide the cash you might need for unforeseen events like job loss, illness, or major unexpected repairs. These are situations when you can’t afford to wait until the market recovers to get your funds.

However, cash savings has some drawbacks like losing your purchasing power during inflation. And historically, the stock market has provided better returns over long time periods. But those returns come at the price of volatility. If you need to withdraw your savings during a market downturn, you might NOT recover your investment. Wherever you choose to invest your other savings, consider keeping some of the funds you will need in the short-term in less volatile, old-fashioned cash investments.

If you like to learn more, click the link lowermytaxnow.com and subscribe to my weekly blog.

Until then, this is Noel Dalmacio, your ultimate CPA at lowermytaxnow.com