New exemption rules not expected until July 2016
In June 2015, the Department of Labor (DOL) announced proposed changes to overtime regulations that would significantly increase the minimum salary required to classify an employee as an exempt executive, administrative, or professional employee, and proposed indexing those wages to the Bureau of Labor and Statistics data on annual earnings in future years. Those proposed…
IRS audits of individuals are way down
Thanks to reduced funding to the IRS by Congress, the audit rate for individual tax returns has declined from 291,000 field audits in fiscal year 2014 to 267,000 in fiscal year 2015. The number of correspondence audits increased from 951,000 for fiscal year 2014 to 961,000 for fiscal year 2015. The revenue from examinations fell…
Donating a car to charity?
Remember that an appraisal is required for noncash contributions with a value exceeding $5,000. See Form 8283 and instructions as the IRS web site, www.irs.gov. (There is a Declaration of Appraiser on the form.) There is an exception to the rule for vehicles donated to a charity. If the charity sells the car, the taxpayer…
Seniors, remember to take your required minimum distributions.
Generally, when a participant in a retirement plan or an IRA reaches age 70 ?, minimum distributions are required to be made by December 31 each year. The distributions are also required to be made for inherited accounts. Roth accounts are excluded from this rule during the original owner’s lifetime.
Do you have unrealized capital losses?
Since the stock market has done so well, fewer individuals are holding stock that has declined in value. If you do, consider selling it before the end of the year. The capital losses can offset any capital gains that you have plus an additional $3,000 can be used to offset other taxable income. Remember the…
