Six Tips for Charitable Taxpayers

Contributing money and property are ways that you can support a charitable cause, but in order for your donation to be tax-deductible, certain conditions must be met. Read on for six things the IRS wants taxpayers to know about deductibility of donations.

1. Tax-exempt status. Contributions must be made to qualified charitable organizations to be deductible. Ask the charity about its tax-exempt status, or look for it on IRS.gov in the Exempt Organizations Select Check, an online search tool that allows users to select an exempt organization and check certain information about its federal tax status as well as information about tax forms an organization may file that are available for public review. This search tool can also be used to find which charities have had their exempt status automatically revoked.

2. Itemizing. Charitable contributions are deductible only if you itemize deductions using Form 1040, Schedule A.

3. Fair market value. Cash contributions and the fair market value of most property you donate to a qualified organization are usually deductible. Special rules apply to several types of donated property, including cars, boats, clothing and household items. If you receive something in return for your donation, such as merchandise, goods, services, admission to a charity banquet or sporting event only the amount exceeding the fair market value of the benefit received can be deducted.

4. Records to keep. You should keep good records of any donation you make, regardless of the amount. All cash contributions must be documented to be deductible – even donations of small amounts. A cancelled check, bank or credit card statement, payroll deduction record or a written statement from the charity that includes the charity’s name, contribution date and amount usually fulfill this record-keeping requirement.

5. Large donations. All contributions valued at $250 and above require additional documentation to be deductible. For these, you should receive a written statement from the charity acknowledging your donation. The statement should specify the amount of cash donated and/or provide a description and fair market value of the property donated. It should also say whether the charity provided any goods or services in exchange for your donation. If you donate non-cash items valued at $500 or more, you must also complete a Form 8283, Noncash Charitable Contributions, and attach the form to your return. If you claim a contribution of noncash property worth more than $5,000, you typically must obtain a property appraisal and attach it to your return along with Form 8283.

6. Timing. If you pledge to donate to a qualified charity, keep in mind that for most taxpayers contributions are only deductible in the tax year they are actually made. For example, if you pledged $500 in September but paid the charity just $200 by Dec. 31 of that same year, only $200 of the pledged amount may qualify as tax-deductible for that tax year. End-of-year donations by check or credit card usually qualify as tax-deductible for that tax year, even though you may not pay the credit card bill or have your bank account debited until after Dec. 31.

Your Blueprint for Personal and Business Success

• Who among us has not recently experienced great change in his or her life?
• Who isn’t affected on some level by the major changes occurring in our world today?

Chaos seems to be a theme with no sign of disappearing in the near future. It is so easy to internalize this confusion.

• What if there was a simple, effective tool to help us to navigate changes and maintain inner peace and confidence?
• What if this tool was sustainable, something that could be used again and again in the future?
• What if you had already created an approach in the past that had worked well for you that simply needs to be re-structured, updated, and applied to existing and future changes as well as challenging circumstances?

Join Connie as she provides the tools and support to help you successfully navigate transition and stress. She has developed a tool that she calls Your Blueprint For Personal and Professional Success. She has used this tool successfully in her own life for many years and it has helped her land on her feet successfully amid transition, challenge, and change. Connie will show you how to create your own Personal Blueprint so you can feel calm and confident through-out the day no matter what's going on around you.

Connie Livingston is a consultant, coach, facilitator, strategist, and speaker with a background in financial services and Community Economic Development. She has worked with individuals and groups for 20 years toward achieving their goals. She started her practice three years ago because she believes that as she helps clients improve their financial, personal, and economic lives, healthy, stable communities are created.

One of her specialties is helping people navigate successfully through transition. Change can be scary; she knows because she has been through so many transitions in her own life. She has started several businesses, left a career in order to raise children, re-entered the world of paid employment, and experienced a number of career changes. She did this using a positive, systematic approach and landed on her feet successfully through the changes as well as in the financial realm. She loves to show her clients how she did this.

July 27, 2012 at 8am - 9:30pm

Tegu Hall, Morrisville

Register:  www.lamoillecountybusinessnetwork.com

PR 101

Elements of a Local-Regional Public Relations Program: Learn how to do the 'blocking and tackling' of media relations. We will discuss the basics of how to get your message across to your audience in the media that matter to you.

Presented by: Fred Iannotti of Iannotti PR

Fred Iannotti is a public relations veteran who, after three years doing local government PR, served a dozen on the corporate side, and since then on the agency side or consulting. Fred focuses on business and national press, but has a broad range of experience pitching consumer and vertical trade media.

Clients have included leaders in high-tech (AGFA Corporation, Iomega, ClearOne Communications, Photronics, Inc., Springer-Miller Systems, Inc., TÜV Rheinland of North America, Inc., Chesapeake Decision Sciences), as well as travel (Sandals and Beaches, Hilton International, Grand Bay Hotels & Resorts, RIHGA Royal, Regal Hotels International, SRS WorldHotel, Wyndham Hotels and Resorts, The Savoy Group), food (Vermont Gold, Turkey Hill, Godiva Ice Cream, Tetley USA, Lenders Bagels, Greenfield Healthy Foods division of Pepperidge Farm, Celentano Bros.), real estate (Millennium Partners, The Related Companies, Trump International, MONY), insurance (Nationwide, Equitable Life), and business-to-business (Factory Mutual Engineering and Research, NADIA Executive Coaching).

He has worked on cause-related marketing that includes Liz Claiborne's "Women's Work" domestic violence awareness program; Coors' "Literacy Pays"; Discover Card's "Tribute Awards"; and the U.S. Postal Service's "Healthy Aging Campaign." Prior to 1992, Fred researched, wrote, and published a dozen corporate annual reports, and coordinated shareholder and customer communications, as well as community and media relations, speechwriting, speakers bureau, and facilities tours for Connecticut-based Aquarion, an NYSE-listed firm with diversified operations in public water supply, real estate development, forest products, biowaste energy cogeneration, analytical laboratory testing, and nonutility management services. Aquarion's Bridgeport Hydraulic Co. public water utility subsidiary was the largest private landowner in Connecticut, with 20,000 acres in the west of the state.

He was a member of the Board of Directors (2002-12) of the Fairfield County Public Relations Association in Connecticut and its recording secretary. He is former vice chair and program chair (2002-04) of Appalachian Mountain Club's Connecticut Chapter; and served on the Executive Committee (2002-05) as editor of its activities listing in the club magazine; newsletter publisher; and for three years maintained the first section of the Appalachian Trail in New England. He has also served as an intermittent advisor to and trails maintainer for Green Mountain Club (2003-06), which maintains Vermont's Long Trail. He currently maintains the trail to Moss Glen Falls in Stowe, Vt.

September 28, 2012 - 8am - 9:30am
Tegu Hall - Cost $10.00
RSVP: www.lamoillecountybusinessnetwork.com

Diana Sheltra
Lamoille County Business Network, LLC.

Why Every Business Needs A Policies and Procedures Manual

Why would a one-woman LLC take on the (oh, so boring!) project of creating a Policies and Procedures Manual? Join Robyn Young, Owner of Money Care, LLC, as she discusses why she is clarifying and recording her company's policies and procedures, and the lessons she is learning along the way. Learn why your business, regardless of its size, should have its own manual and get some ideas on how to begin.

Robyn Young owns Money Care, LLC, a daily money management service that relieves individuals and their families of the burden of bill paying and other day-to-day financial tasks. Prior to founding Money Care in 2005, Robyn was Campaign Director at the United Way of Chittenden County and worked in economic development in the Former Soviet Union.

When: June 29, 2012 at 8am

Where: Tegu Hall, Morrisville

RSVP: www.lamoillecountybusinessnetwork.com

Contact: Diana Sheltra

The Value of the Remote Bookkeeper - Hosting QuickBooks Solutions

Are you looking for a hosting solution for your desktop QuickBooks program? Don’t want to lose the functionality of your desktop program by switching to the online version?  Looking for a Cloud based application you can rely on?

Double Entry Bookkeeping, LLC is now an affiliate of Uni-Data.  Uni-Data provides a hosting solution for QuickBooks and Microsoft Products.

Double Entry Bookkeeping Services, LLC is a full service bookkeeping firm owned by Diana Sheltra. Ms. Sheltra is a Certified QuickBooks Pro Advisor.  Double Entry Bookkeeping, LLC is in its ninth year of business with offices in Essex Junction and Wolcott.

Working with Double Entry Bookkeeping and Uni-Data allows you to employ us as a remote bookkeeping solution while still having full access to your books.  We can work with you to keep your books up to date and accurate while you are invoicing your customers.  Or we can do it all while you retain access to the books and have the ability to run reports anytime.

Double Entry Bookkeeping offers the complete accounting solution to businesses and individuals by providing bookkeeping, QuickBooks training and tax preparation services. Double Entry Bookkeeping enables businesses and individuals to streamline the often much-dreaded tasks of bookkeeping and tax services to one accounting solution.

Diana Sheltra, a Certified QuickBooks Pro Advisor, can provide you with valuable training in setting up your accounting system and using QuickBooks efficiently. Diana provides individual training as well as group training. Training sessions are designed to focus on your individual accounting needs and skills.  Diana and her experienced staff can simplify your bookkeeping and tax preparation; call us for a free consultation.

Uni-Data is a leader in application and hosting & Cloud Computing Technology.
Uni-Data is an Intuit Authorized Host for QuickBooks® Pro, QuickBooks® Premier and QuickBooks® Enterprise. This means that Uni-Data has been thoroughly vetted by Intuit regarding security, infrastructure and expertise in financial data management. Their Hosted QuickBooks® solution makes it possible to use the full power of QuickBooks® in a flexible and secure hosted environment. Moreover, software is available as a subscription, so there is no large upfront licensing expense, while software is perpetually upgraded to the latest version.

The Entrepreneurial Equation

This seminar presented by Rich Jacobs of Edward Jones is designed to help small business owners understand the financial strategies and tools available to help run their business more effectively.

 

Topics include:

  

• Various banking, retirement plan and insurance options
• Valuable strategies that can help you create value outside your business
• Strategies for building, creating value and protecting your business

 

Rich began his career with Edward Jones in 2011. His prior work experience was in the field of education for 30 years as a school principal and school guidance counselor. Rich has a Master of Education from Springfield College, MA and a Bachelor of Science Degree from Springfield College, MA

 

Rich is active with the following organizations:

 

The Lamoille Region Chamber of Commerce

The Rotary Club of Morrisville, Vermont

The Lamoille Chamber Business Builders

Jewish Community of Greater Stowe

You can find Rich at Edward Jones on Main Street in Morrisville 802-888-4207.

 

The seminar is on April 27th at 8am, Tegu Hall in Morrisville. Please register on the website: www.lamoillecountybusinessnetwork.com

 

Diana Sheltra
Lamoille County Business Network, LLC.
P.O. Box 75
Wolcott, VT 05680
802-851-7397

Eight Things to Know about Medical and Dental Expenses and Your Taxes

If you, your spouse or dependents had significant medical or dental costs in 2011, you may be able to deduct those expenses when you file your tax return. Here are eight things the IRS wants you to know about medical and dental expenses and other benefits.

1. You must itemize You deduct qualifying medical and dental expenses if you itemize on Form 1040, Schedule A.

2. Deduction is limited You can deduct total medical care expenses that exceed 7.5 percent of your adjusted gross income for the year. You figure this on Form 1040, Schedule A.

3. Expenses must have been paid in 2011 You can include the medical and dental expenses you paid during the year, regardless of when the services were provided. You’ll need to have good receipts or records to substantiate your expenses.

4. You can’t deduct reimbursed expenses Your total medical expenses for the year must be reduced by any reimbursement. Normally, it makes no difference if you receive the reimbursement or if it is paid directly to the doctor or hospital.

5. Whose expenses qualify You may include qualified medical expenses you pay for yourself, your spouse and your dependents. Some exceptions and special rules apply to divorced or separated parents, taxpayers with a multiple support agreement or those with a qualifying relative who is not your child.

6. Types of expenses that qualify You can deduct expenses primarily paid for the diagnosis, cure, mitigation, treatment or prevention of disease, or treatment affecting any structure or function of the body. For drugs, you can only deduct prescription medication and insulin. You can also include premiums for medical, dental and some long-term care insurance in your expenses. Starting in 2011, you can also include lactation supplies.

7. Transportation costs may qualify You may deduct transportation costs primarily for and essential to medical care that qualify as medical expenses. You can deduct the actual fare for a taxi, bus, train, plane or ambulance as well as tolls and parking fees. If you use your car for medical transportation, you can deduct actual out-of-pocket expenses such as gas and oil, or you can deduct the standard mileage rate for medical expenses, which is 19 cents per mile for 2011.

8. Tax-favored saving for medical expenses Distributions from Health Savings Accounts and withdrawals from Flexible Spending Arrangements may be tax free if used to pay qualified medical expenses including prescription medication and insulin.

For additional information, see Publication 502, Medical and Dental Expenses or Publication 969, Health Savings Accounts and Other Tax-Favored Health Plans, available at www.irs.gov or by calling 800-TAX-FORM (800-829-3676).

Child Tax Credit - 11 Key Points

The Child Tax Credit is available to eligible taxpayers with qualifying children under age 17.

1. Amount With the Child Tax Credit, you may be able to reduce your federal income tax by up to $1,000 for each qualifying child under age 17.

2. Qualification A qualifying child for this credit is someone who meets the qualifying criteria of seven tests: age, relationship, support, dependent, joint return, citizenship and residence.

3. Age test To qualify, a child must have been under age 17 – age 16 or younger – at the end of 2011.

4. Relationship test To claim a child for purposes of the Child Tax Credit, the child must be your son, daughter, stepchild, foster child, brother, sister, stepbrother, stepsister or a descendant of any of these individuals, which includes your grandchild, niece or nephew. An adopted child is always treated as your own child. An adopted child includes a child lawfully placed with you for legal adoption.

5. Support test In order to claim a child for this credit, the child must not have provided more than half of his/her own support.

6. Dependent test You must claim the child as a dependent on your federal tax return.

7. Joint return test The qualifying child can not file a joint return for the year (or files it only as a claim for refund).

8. Citizenship test To meet the citizenship test, the child must be a U.S. citizen, U.S. national or U.S. resident alien.

9. Residence test The child must have lived with you for more than half of 2011. There are some exceptions to the residence test, found in IRS Publication 972, Child Tax Credit.

10. Limitations The credit is limited if your modified adjusted gross income is above a certain amount. The amount at which this phase-out begins varies by filing status. For married taxpayers filing a joint return, the phase-out begins at $110,000. For married taxpayers filing a separate return, it begins at $55,000. For all other taxpayers, the phase-out begins at $75,000. In addition, the Child Tax Credit is generally limited by the amount of the income tax and any alternative minimum tax you owe.

11. Additional Child Tax Credit If the amount of your Child Tax Credit is greater than the amount of income tax you owe, you may be able to claim the Additional Child Tax Credit.

For more information, see IRS Publication 972, available at www.IRS.gov or by calling 800-TAX-FORM (800-829-3676).

Tax Tips for Parents

Your kids can be helpful at tax time. That doesn't mean they'll sort your tax receipts or refill your coffee, but those charming children may help you qualify for some valuable tax benefits. Here are 10 things to consider when filing taxes this year.

1. Dependents In most cases, a child can be claimed as a dependent in the year they were born. For more information see IRS Publication 501, Exemptions, Standard Deduction, and Filing Information.

2. Child Tax Credit You may be able to take this credit for each of your children under age 17. If you do not benefit from the full amount of the Child Tax Credit, you may be eligible for the Additional Child Tax Credit. For more information see IRS Publication 972, Child Tax Credit.

3. Child and Dependent Care Credit You may be able to claim this credit if you pay someone to care for your child or children under age 13 so that you can work or look for work. See IRS Publication 503, Child and Dependent Care Expenses.

4. Earned Income Tax Credit The EITC is a tax benefit for certain people who work and have earned income from wages, self-employment or farming. EITC reduces the amount of tax you owe and may also give you a refund. IRS Publication 596, Earned Income Credit, has more details.

5. Adoption Credit You may be able to take a tax credit for qualifying expenses paid to adopt an eligible child. If you claim the adoption credit, you must file a paper tax return with required adoption-related documents. For details, see the instructions for IRS Form 8839, Qualified Adoption Expenses.

6. Children with earned income If your child has income earned from working, they may be required to file a tax return. For more information, see IRS Publication 501.

7. Children with investment income Under certain circumstances a child’s investment income may be taxed at their parent’s tax rate. For more information, see IRS Publication 929, Tax Rules for Children and Dependents.

8. Higher education credits Education tax credits can help offset the costs of higher education. The American Opportunity and the Lifetime Learning Credits are education credits that can reduce your federal income tax dollar-for-dollar. See IRS Publication 970, Tax Benefits for Education, for details.

9. Student loan interest You may be able to deduct interest paid on a qualified student loan, even if you do not itemize your deductions. For more information, see IRS Publication 970.

10. Self-employed health insurance deduction If you were self-employed and paid for health insurance, you may be able to deduct any premiums you paid for coverage for any child of yours who was under age 27 at the end of the year, even if the child was not your dependent

Cutting Through the Social Media Clutter

Leveraging the Power Without Losing Your Sanity

Presented by Lisa Wood, Sprout New Media

With the explosion of social media in the digital marketplace, we're faced with the overwhelming task of choosing the right tools to promote our businesses online. How are we supposed to keep up? How do we find the time? Join us for an interactive discussion designed to help you cut through the clutter and focus on what's important for you and your business.

We'll discuss the basics of today's popular tools and brainstorm ways you can use them to drive traffic to your website. You'll learn how to identify the tools that work for you so you can focus on those and ignore the rest.

Lisa Wood is a local small business owner with over 15 years experience marketing on the web. She started Sprout New Media (formerly Performance Web Solutions) in 2008 so she could help small businesses and entrepreneurs grow their businesses online. Services include web design & development, general web marketing consulting, social media coaching and WordPress training. Lisa lives in Stowe with her family, and you can find her at SproutNewMedia.com and on twitter as @lisawood.

Lamoille County Business Network, LLC
Tegu Hall, Morrisville
Friday, February 24, 2012 at 8am
To register: www.lamoillecountybusinessnetwork.com

Make Marketing A Habit

Do you believe you don't have time for marketing? Feeling overwhelmed by all the different tools and things you "have to do"? Amy will share her method for adding new marketing techniques into her calendar on a regular basis. Find out how to spend less than an hour a day and make the most impact with the resources you have. By the end of a year, you will have a marketing habit that is part of your daily routine.

Amy Shollenberger has more than 13 years of grassroots organizing, policy, and political issue campaign experience, including work as a press secretary for a member of the U.S. House of Representatives and as a senior policy analyst for Public Citizen’s Critical Mass Energy and Environment Program. As Rural Vermont’s executive director, she worked to help members successfully lobby for several bills. In 2010, she was the campaign manager for a gubernatorial primary candidate in Vermont. She currently serves multiple clients through her Action Circles firm, offering help with political strategy, organizational capacity building, and meeting facilitation.

Amy is a member of Vermont Businesses for Social Responsibility, Women’s Business Owners Network, and the Vermont Consultants Network, and she serves on the board of Salvation Farms. More information about Amy and Action Circles can be found at www.action-circles.com.

Lamoille County Business Network, LLC
Friday, March 30, 2012 at 8:00am
Tegu Hall, Morrisville
Www.lamoillecountybusinessnetwork.com

Six Important Facts About Dependents and Exemptions

Even though each individual tax return is different, some tax rules affect every person who may have to file a federal income tax return. These rules include dependents and exemptions. The IRS has six important facts about dependents and exemptions that will help you file your 2011 tax return.

Exemptions reduce your taxable income. There are two types of exemptions: personal exemptions and exemptions for dependents. For each exemption you can deduct $3,700 on your 2011 tax return.

Your spouse is never considered your dependent. On a joint return, you may claim one exemption for yourself and one for your spouse. If you’re filing a separate return, you may claim the exemption for your spouse only if they had no gross income, are not filing a joint return, and were not the dependent of another taxpayer.

Exemptions for dependents. You generally can take an exemption for each of your dependents. A dependent is your qualifying child or qualifying relative. You must list the Social Security number of any dependent for whom you claim an exemption.

If someone else claims you as a dependent, you may still be required to file your own tax return. Whether you must file a return depends on several factors including the amount of your unearned, earned or gross income, your marital status and any special taxes you owe.

If you are a dependent, you may not claim an exemption. If someone else – such as your parent – claims you as a dependent, you may not claim your personal exemption on your own tax return.

Some people cannot be claimed as your dependent. Generally, you may not claim a married person as a dependent if they file a joint return with their spouse. Also, to claim someone as a dependent, that person must be a U.S. citizen, U.S. resident alien, U.S. national or resident of Canada or Mexico for some part of the year. There is an exception to this rule for certain adopted children. See IRS Publication 501, Exemptions, Standard Deduction, and Filing Information for additional tests to determine who can be claimed as a dependent.

For more information on exemptions, dependents and whether you or your dependent needs to file a tax return, see IRS Publication 501. The publication is available at www.irs.gov or can be ordered by calling 800-TAX-FORM (800-829-3676). You can also use the Interactive Tax Assistant at www.irs.gov to determine who you can claim as a dependent and how much you can deduct for each exemption you claim. The ITA tool is a tax law resource on the IRS website that takes you through a series of questions and provides you with responses to tax law questions.