In addition to filing and paying your 1040 return, your first quarterly estimated payment will be due on April 15, 2019. If you are a Clergy Financial client and have not yet received your updated estimated payments for 2019, you should continue to pay the same estimated amount to federal/state as you have in the…
The most important thing to remember about extensions is that an extension to file does not extend the time to pay. IRS expects full payment by April 15th, whether or not you file an extension or not. If you have not made all of your estimated payments or anticipated a balance for 2018, you should…
The April 15th 1040 deadline is almost here. If your return is not yet filed, you should consider filing an extension. IRS allows taxpayers to file for an automatically approved 6-month extension to October 15th if they need more time to file their 1040 tax return. No reason for the extension request is necessary- as…
If you contribute to an HSA, you may be able to deduct those payments from your total taxable income in 2018. Unlike regular medical expenses (which you don’t get to claim if you take the standard deduction), HSA contributions are taken as an adjustment to your income. Even if you take the standard deduction, HSA…
The IRS recently announced that tax return filing and tax payment deadlines have been postponed for victims of flooding and severe storms in parts of Iowa. If you are a resident of Fremont, Harrison, Mills, Monona or Woodbury County in Iowa, the IRS has extended tax filing and payment deadlines. This includes the 1040 filing…
In most cases, the answer is no. While you may hear complaints about the “estate tax”, most Americans will never pay it. In 2019, the total assets of an estate have to be over $11,400,000 dollars before any estate tax is owed. Eleven Million Dollars! There is some confusion because there is an “estate tax”…
You may not think of payments received from Honoraria, Weddings, Funerals and Pulpit Supply as business income, but that’s exactly how IRS treats them on your tax return. Just like any other business, if you have unreimbursed expenses while doing those activities, you can claim those expenses as deductions and reduce the tax you owe….
Federal Appeals Court Upholds Clergy Housing Allowance On Friday, March 15, 2019, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in favor of the clergy housing allowance. In a unanimous 3-0 decision, the judges ruled that the housing allowance is constitutional and cited two legal precedents in support of their ruling. This is a tremendous victory…
When you reach 70 ½ years old, you must start taking Required Minimum Distributions (or RMDs) from your IRA. This can’t be helped… but did you know that you could donate your RMD to charity instead of receiving the income? IRS allows for an otherwise taxable distribution from an IRA (other than an ongoing SEP…
Charitable donations through your Church or through other non-profit organizations can be a significant portion of your deductions on Schedule A. It’s important to make sure that you are documenting your donations the correct way, otherwise an IRS examination could disallow your deduction! For any donations, whether they are cash or non-cash items, you should…
