CHECK YOUR WITHHOLDING TAXES

Tax Tip of the Week:

Check your withholding early in 2011, and again whenever your circumstances change during the year (marriage, divorce, new baby, etc.) to be sure you are having the right amount withheld from your paycheck. You must meet minimum tax payment requirements, but don’t overwithhold, or you’ll be giving the IRS interest-free use of your money. If you need to adjust your withholding, file a new Form W-4 with your employer.

Need expert tax or accounting help? SFS Tax, Accounting & College Planning Services is a year round, full service firm offering; bookkeeping, accounting, tax, payroll and college funding and planning services.

IRS problems? Our Enrolled Agent, Jeffrey Schneider specializes in; offer in compromise, IRS levies and garnishments, filing late taxes, penalty and interest abatement, and innocent spouse.

With our online, “Real Time” accounting, we can work with businesses and individuals outside the Port St Lucie and Royal Palm Beach area, throughout Florida, and the other 50 states.

Visit our website: http://www.sfstaxacct.com and sign up for your FREE report and check the site weekly to get your Free Tax Tip.

Located in Royal Palm Beach and Port St Lucie, FL to better serve you.

Can you take the tax deduction?

Do you have a closet full of stuff that you would love to get rid of? Is your garage full to the point of exploding with your now married children’s toys and clothing? What do you do with all this “junk”. You can donate to the various charities (Goodwill, The Salvation Army or Am Vets to name a few), receive a tax deduction (if you itemize) and save about $20-$30 in real taxes or sell it.

Many people conduct periodic garage sales. You sell your stuff and pocket the change. If you have enough stuff, you can pocket a couple of hundred dollars and most of it is tax-free as the cost of the items sold are much more than what you sold it for. The other side is that you can not take the loss (sales price minus cost) as these transactions are considered personal, not business and personal losses are not deductible.

Other people take selling their unwanted toys and clothing to the internet using Ebay and Craigs List, amoung others. If you sell items on an occassional basis, you have tax free income via the new age “internet garage sale”. But what happens if you conduct hundreds of these transactions in any given year? In a recent court case, the IRS prevailed when they wanted to tax the seller on the gross income received from activity on EBay. Their case stemmed on the fact that the individual conducted hundreds of sales transactions in each of two years. They argued and the court agreed that this was a business and that the gross revenue received from each and every sale was income. The court did not put a number as to how many transactions constitute a business. In reading the case, it has more to do with a continuous and ongoing activity that was the deciding factor.

The good news is that the cost of every item sold is a deduction against that income and any fees incurred in the selling of these items are deductions.

The bad news: Who keeps receipts of a childs toy or article of clothing from a few years ago, not to mention 10 or more years. So if you want to conduct numerous transactions on any of these sites, make sure that you have documentation as to the cost of the items sold or the IRS may, not only attempt to subject the revenue to the income tax, but as a business, the self-employment tax.

Please contact SFS Tax, Accounting and College Planning Services before you begin anything that may be construed as a business so you can plan accordingly and limit your potential tax expoure. Our website is http://www.sfstaxacct.com or call us at 561 868-1868 or 772 337-1040.

Is This College Too Expensive?

Sarah Lawrence College just earned the top spot on the list of most expensive colleges in the country.
Sarah Lawrence will charge $58,716 for tuition, fees, room and board for the 2011-2012 school year.
In a recent piece, Karen Lawrence, the school’s president, defended that price tag by citing the school’s commitment to small class size, low staff-to-student ratios and the ability to handcraft your own education.
How do you feel about the cost? Is this school worth it? Let us know what you think

At SFS Tax, Accounting & College Planning we help remove the frustration and confusion experienced when planning and paying for college. We help you make sound financial decisions designed to achieve your families academic goals. There are many strategies that can make college affordable and we will work to find the right one for you.

Please visit our website http://www.sfscollegeplanningspecialists.com or call us 772 337-1040 or 561 868-1868 to find out how we can help you.

Do You Know the Seven Things about Getting More Time to File your Tax Return

Procrastinators can’t make the April 18 tax filing deadline? Need more time to file your tax return?
You can get an automatic six month extension of time to file from the IRS but, SFS Tax, Accounting & College Planning Services in Royal Palm Beach and Port St Lucie, Fl would love to help you out. However, if you prefer to file on you’re your own, keep reading……

Here are seven important things you need to know about filing an extension:

1. File on time even if you can’t pay:  If your return is completed but you are unable to pay the full amount of tax due, do not ask for an extension. File your return on time and pay as much as you can. The IRS will send you a bill or notice for the balance due. To apply online for a payment agreement, go to the IRS website at http://www.irs.gov and click “Apply for an Online Payment Agreement (OPA)” at the left side of the home page under Online Services. If you are unable to make payments, call the IRS at 800-829-1040 to discuss your options.
2. Extra time to file:  An extension will give you extra time to get your paperwork to the IRS, but it does not extend the time you have to pay any tax due. You will owe interest on any amount not paid by the April 18 deadline, plus you may owe penalties.
3. Form to file:  Request an extension to file by submitting Form 4868, Application for Automatic Extension of Time to File U.S. Individual Income Tax Return, to the IRS by April 18, 2011, or make an extension-related electronic credit card payment. For more information about extension-related credit card payments, see Form 4868.
4. E-file extension:  You can e-file an extension request using tax preparation software with your own computer or by going to an professional tax preparer, an Enrolled Agent, who has the software. The IRS will acknowledge receipt of the extension request if you file by computer.
5. Traditional Free File and Free File Fillable Forms:  You can use both Free File options to file an extension. Access the Free File page at http://www.irs.gov.
6. Electronic funds withdrawal:  If you ask for an extension via computer, you can also choose to pay any expected balance due by authorizing an electronic funds withdrawal from a checking or savings account. You will need the correct bank routing and account numbers. For information about these and other methods of payment, visit the IRS website at http://www.irs.gov or call 800-TAX-1040 (800-829-1040).
7. How to get forms:  Form 4868 is available for download from the IRS website or ordered by calling 800-TAX-FORM (800-829-3676).You can also obtain the form at your local IRS office. Telephone requests normally take 7 – 15 days to process and ship.

SFS Tax, Accounting & College Planning Services is here to help you all year round. Tax professional, Jeffrey Schneider, Enrolled Agent is here to make certain you get all tax breaks legally allowed by the IRS. Call us now 561 868-1868 or 772 337-1040. Serving the Royal Palm Beach, Wellington, W Palm Beach, Port St Lucie, Ft Pierce, and Stuart and all surrounding areas as well as the rest of the 50 states.

Procrastinators you still have time to file your taxes!

April 18, 2011 is the Deadline for Filing Your Tax Return.
The IRS offers you three different options should you choose to file your tax return without the help an Enrolled Agent. If you are choosing to self prepare your return, remember to consider the many changes that went into effect as a result of the new tax acts.

There are three choices for filing Form 4868, Application for Automatic Extension of Time to File U.S. Individual Tax Return:
1) Electronically (such as by computer).
2) Paying the tax with a credit card through an outside service provider listed on the form.
3) By mail.

If you file your Form 4868 electronically you will receive an acknowledgement or confirmation number for your records and you do not need to mail in Form 4868. If you need to pay any additional taxes when filing Form 4868 electronically, you may do so through the outside service provider or through e-file. Besides filing electronically, you can generally get an extension of time to file if you pay part or your entire estimate of income tax due by credit card. You may pay by phone or Internet through one of the service providers listed on Form 4868. Each service provider will charge a convenience fee based on the amount of the tax payment. At the end of the transaction, you will receive a confirmation number for your records. In addition to filing Form 4868 electronically, or by paying part of your tax by credit card, you can file Form 4868 by filling out the form and mailing it to the proper address provided on the Form 4868.

Please be aware that an extension of time to file is NOT an extension of time to pay. If you believe that you will owe money, you should pay what you feel you will owe with the extension. If you owe monies with the return, you could be subject to interest and late paying penalties. The IRS can also invalidate the extension and subject you to late paying penalties, as well.

SFS Tax, Accounting & College Planning Services is available to help procrastinators and late filers complete their tax return by the due date or file an extension of time. Jeffrey Schneider, Enrolled Agent also specializes in penalty and interest abatement, offer in compromise and levies and garnishments. Contact us now at 561 868-1868 in Royal Palm Beach or 772 337-1040 in Port St Lucie.

No more Credit Cards for the under 21 crowd?

The Princeton Review Gives 606 Colleges Financial Aid Ratings in New 2011 Editions of Its Annual College Guides and Website Profiles of Schools

http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/the-princeton-review-gives-606-colleges-financial-aid-ratings-in-new-2011-editions-of-its-annual-college-guides-and-website-profiles-of-schools-99765489.html

Did you know…… That there are 2 prices for college!

That’s right. So keep reading…..
According to studies the cost that families could pay for college isn’t nearly as high as the official price published by most schools and more than half of these parents will receive a huge discount. However, this is not common knowledge and most families, parent and student, are unaware of this prime tidbit of information. Wouldn’t our kids have a larger pool of schools to choose from if they did?
How So? Well, the Federal Government stepped up and is requiring colleges and universities to install a college cost calculator or net price calculator as it has also been referenced to, on their website by no later than October 2011. This will certainly open our eyes to a clear picture of exactly what the colleges cost and compare one to another much more easily.
Each net cost calculator should give the user an idea of what the college costs will be for their student at each particular school. Plugging in your personal information will result in a individualized picture of the REAL college costs you can expect to pay. When you see the results, remember, your Net Cost results are intended to serve only as a guideline based upon real data, and will give you a general idea of how much need-based financial aid you are eligible for, how much of it you might expect in the forms of loans and work-study, and what your overall out-of-pocket costs will be.
Rising Seniors when you begin your search to find the “Best Fit” college, you might already see some college websites already have the net cost calulators incorporated on them have your parents take a look and use this very valuable tool.

Some good news for repaying student loans

More for us to consider when we pay for college……

WOW, I read an article on Saturday in the NY Times and found out that both public and private universities are trending towards spending more money in nonacademic areas, even though they are raising the tuition rates. Those student unions, athletic centers and gymnasiums sure look impressive when we visit the campuses and might even help us assist our kids in choosing a school.