November, 2010

Dear Clients and Friends:

Thank you for signing up to my newsletter service. I launched this due to the quick changing tax laws that I wanted to share with all of you. There are many things coming in the near future that you should be aware of. Some of these changes you will like, but many you will not. In either case, my goal is to help provide you the tools that allow my staff and I to assist you in your tax planning.

Please take a moment to look at the below important news items available on our site:

• 2010 Year End Tax Planning

• Individual – New Health Care Law Changes

• Business – New Health Care Law Changes

Here are a few very new items:

1. 1099 Law change. Effective for payments after 12/31/10, all landlords of rental property must issue a form 1099-MISC to any supplier, vendor or contractor that charges you $600 or more in the 2011 calendar year. That means the landlord must issue form(s) W4 immediately (as soon as possible) or when services are rendered, to vendors so the correct information will available to you to issue 1099s to them. (Remember, this is NOT just subcontractors and it no longer matters if the vendor is a corporation or not).

2. 1099 Law change #2- Effective for payments after 12/31/10- Credit card processors will be issuing 1099Ks to all merchants that accept credit cards.

3. 1099 Law change #3- Effective for payments after 12/31/11 – Same as #1 above but valid for ALL companies, regardless of product, service or type of entity. If these laws remain, I will most likely offer an enhanced type of 1099 service for those that would like these forms prepared for them. We do these now for the regular 1099 issuers under existing law.

4. Bush tax cuts – Don’t know yet but as of now rates have been released for all taxpayers without these “cuts” for anyone. If Congress fails to act, effective 01/01/11 all taxpayers will see a significant tax increase.

5. AMT (Alternative Minimum Tax) – Officially don’t know yet but sources tell me to expect another “patch” to give some relief to middle-class taxpayers

Things are changing daily! I will try to keep everyone posted as much as possible. Remember that my website has a “newsletter archive” section to view any and all newsletters. Remember too that there is still time to come in and have me sit with you for tax planning if you feel that is necessary. I also continue to work IRS resolution cases, those clients that are a few years behind or under audit after having someone else prepare their tax return, and my firm continues to offer Bookkeeping services as well.

May everyone have a safe close to the (tax) year 2010!

Henry

HENRY C KULIK, JR. CERTIFIED PUBLIC ACCOUNTANT,LLC 114 Merriam Ave; Suite 201 Leominster, MA 01453 978-514-8829 www.henrykulik.com

Dear Individual Tax Client,

I’m writing to give you a brief overview of the key tax changes affecting individuals in the recently enacted health reform legislation. Please call our offices for details of how the new changes may affect your specific situation.

Individual mandate. The new law contains an “individual mandate”—a requirement that U.S. citizens and legal residents have qualifying health coverage or be subject to a tax penalty after 2013. Under the new law, those without qualifying health coverage will pay a tax penalty of the greater of: (a) $695 per year, up to a maximum of three times that amount ($2,085) per family, or (b) 2.5% of household income over the threshold amount of income required for income tax return filing. The penalty will be phased in according to the following schedule: $95 in 2014, $325 in 2015, and $695 in 2016 for the flat fee or 1.0% of taxable income in 2014, 2.0% of taxable income in 2015, and 2.5% of taxable income in 2016. Beginning after 2016, the penalty will be increased annually by a cost-of-living adjustment. Exemptions will be granted for financial hardship, religious objections, American Indians, those without coverage for less than three months, aliens not lawfully present in the U.S., incarcerated individuals, those for whom the lowest cost plan option exceeds 8% of household income, those with incomes below the tax filing threshold (in 2010 the threshold for taxpayers under age 65 is $9,350 for singles and $18,700 for couples), and those residing outside of the U.S.

Premium assistance tax credits for purchasing health insurance. The health care legislation provides tax credits to low and middle income individuals and families for the purchase of health insurance. Specifically, for tax years ending after 2013, the new law creates a refundable tax credit (the “premium assistance credit”) for eligible individuals and families who purchase health insurance through an Exchange. The premium assistance credit, which is refundable and payable in advance directly to the insurer, subsidizes the purchase of certain health insurance plans through an Exchange. Under the provision, an eligible individual enrolls in a plan offered through an Exchange and reports his or her income to the Exchange. Based on the information provided to the Exchange, the individual receives a premium assistance credit based on income and IRS pays the premium assistance credit amount directly to the insurance plan in which the individual is enrolled. The individual then pays to the plan in which he or she is enrolled the dollar difference between the premium assistance credit amount and the total premium charged for the plan. For employed individuals who purchase health insurance through an Exchange, the premium payments are made through payroll deductions.

The premium assistance credit will be available for individuals and families with incomes up to 400% of the federal poverty level ($43,320 for an individual or $88,200 for a family of four, using 2009 poverty level figures) that are not eligible for Medicaid, employer sponsored insurance, or other acceptable coverage. The credits will be available on a sliding scale basis.

Higher Medicare taxes on high-income taxpayers. High-income taxpayers will be subject to a tax increase on wages and a new levy on investments.
Higher Medicare payroll tax on wages. The Medicare payroll tax is the primary source of financing for Medicare’s hospital insurance trust fund, which pays hospital bills for beneficiaries, who are 65 and older or disabled. Under current law, wages are subject to a 2.9% Medicare payroll tax. Workers and employers pay 1.45% each. Self-employed people pay both halves of the tax (but are allowed to deduct half of this amount for income tax purposes). Unlike the payroll tax for Social Security, which applies to earnings up to an annual ceiling ($106,800 for 2010), the Medicare tax is levied on all of a worker’s wages without limit. Under the provisions of the new law, which take effect in 2013, most taxpayers will continue to pay the 1.45% Medicare hospital insurance tax, but single people earning more than $200,0000 and married couples earning more than $250,000 will be taxed at an additional 0.9% (2.35% in total) on the excess over those base amounts. Self-employed persons will pay 3.8% on earnings over the threshold.

Medicare payroll tax extended to investments. Under current law, the Medicare payroll tax only applies to wages. Beginning in 2013, a Medicare tax will, for the first time, be applied to investment income. A new 3.8% tax will be imposed on net investment income of single taxpayers with AGI above $200,000 and joint filers over $250,000. Net investment income is interest, dividends, royalties, rents, gross income from a trade or business involving passive activities, and net gain from disposition of property (other than property held in a trade or business). Net investment income is reduced by properly allocable deductions to such income. However, the new tax won’t apply to income in tax-deferred retirement accounts such as 401(k) plans. Also, the new tax will apply only to income in excess of the $200,000/$250,000 thresholds. So if a couple earns $200,000 in wages and $100,000 in capital gains, $50,000 will be subject to the new tax.

Floor on medical expenses deduction raised from 7.5% of adjusted gross income (AGI) to 10%. Under current law, taxpayers can take an itemized deduction for unreimbursed medical expenses for regular income tax purposes only to the extent that those expenses exceed 7.5% of the taxpayer’s AGI. The new law raises the floor beneath itemized medical expense deductions from 7.5% of AGI to 10%, effective for tax years beginning after Dec. 31, 2012. The AGI floor for individuals age 65 and older (and their spouses) will remain unchanged at 7.5% through 2016.
Limit reimbursement of over-the-counter medications from HSAs, FSAs, and MSAs. The new law excludes the costs for over-the-counter drugs not prescribed by a doctor from being reimbursed through a health reimbursement account (HRA) or health flexible savings accounts (FSAs) and from being reimbursed on a tax-free basis through a health savings account (HSA) or Archer Medical Savings Account (MSA), effective for tax years beginning after Dec. 31, 2010.

Increased penalties on nonqualified distributions from HSAs and Archer MSAs. The new law increases the tax on distributions from a health savings account or an Archer MSA that are not used for qualified medical expenses to 20% (from 10% for HSAs and from 15% for Archer MSAs) of the disbursed amount, effective for distributions made after Dec. 31, 2010.

Limit health flexible spending arrangements (FSAs) to $2,500. An FSA is one of a number of tax-advantaged financial accounts that can be set up through a cafeteria plan of an employer. An FSA allows an employee to set aside a portion of his or her earnings to pay for qualified expenses as established in the cafeteria plan, most commonly for medical expenses but often for dependent care or other expenses. Under current law, there is no limit on the amount of contributions to an FSA. Under the new law, however, allowable contributions to health FSAs will capped at $2,500 per year, effective for tax years beginning after Dec. 31, 2012. The dollar amount will be indexed for inflation after 2013.
Dependent coverage in employer health plans. Effective on Mar. 30, 2010, the new law extends the general exclusion for reimbursements for medical care expenses under an employer-provided accident or health plan to any child of an employee who has not attained age 27 as of the end of the tax year. This change is also intended to apply to the exclusion for employer-provided coverage under an accident or health plan for injuries or sickness for such a child. A parallel change is made for VEBAs and 401(h) accounts. Also, self-employed individuals are permitted to take a deduction for the health insurance costs of any child of the taxpayer who has not attained age 27 as of the end of the tax year.
Excise tax on indoor tanning services. The new law imposes a 10% excise tax on indoor tanning services. The tax, which will be paid by the individual on whom the tanning services are performed but collected and remitted by the person receiving payment for the tanning services, will take effect July 1, 2010.

Liberalized adoption credit and adoption assistance rules. For tax years beginning after Dec. 31, 2009, the adoption tax credit is increased by $1,000, made refundable, and extended through 2011. The adoption assistance exclusion is also increased by $1,000.
I hope this information is helpful. If you would like more details about these provisions or any other aspect of the new law, please do not hesitate to call.
Very truly yours,
Henry C Kulik, Jr CPA LLC
11/06/10

HENRY C KULIK, JR.
CERTIFIED PUBLIC ACCOUNTANT,LLC
114 Merriam Ave; Suite 201
Leominster, MA 01453
978-514-8829
www.henrykulik.com