- Prepared for the New Surtax?
- As part of Obama Care, we have a new tax beginning in 2013. The official name of this tax is the “Unearned Income Medicare Contribution Tax,” and even though the name implies it is a contribution, don't get the idea you deduct it as a charitable contribution. It is, in actuality, a surtax levied on the net investment income of higher-income taxpayers.
- Ready For a Take-Home Pay Cut?
- For two years, employees have enjoyed a 2% reduction in the FICA payroll tax. That will all come to an abrupt end beginning with their first payroll check in 2013 when the FICA rate returns to 6.2% (up from 4.2% in 2011 and 2012). Self-employed individuals will have a corresponding increase in their SE tax.
- Not Too Late to Make a Tax-Free IRA Distribution to Charity for 2012
- If you are 70.5 years of age or older and are considering making a donation to a charity, you should know that, as part of the last-minute tax changes, Congress retroactively extended the option of making the contribution from your IRA account for 2012 and for 2013 as well.
- IRS Delays Accepting 2012 Returns for Processing
- The procrastination in reaching a tax-bill compromise, by our elected officials in Washington, has created a ripple effect for the preparation of 2012 tax returns. Congress reached an agreement in the last days of December and the legislation was not actually signed by the president until January 2. This has left the IRS scrambling to modify tax forms and complete programming and testing of its processing systems, all of which must be completed before it can begin accepting tax returns and issuing refunds.
- President Signs American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012
- President Obama on January 2 signed the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012. The new law makes permanent Bush-era tax rates for individuals and couples with annual income of $400,000 and $450,000, respectively. The law also permanently indexes the alternative minimum tax for inflation, extends unemployment insurance benefits for one year and extends numerous business benefits. The law does not continue the 2012 reduction in employment tax rates from 6.2 percent to 4.2 percent.
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