Michael Serico, CPA, LLC

IRS announced mileage rates for 2012

michael — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 19:20:53 +0000

Beginning on Jan. 1, 2012, the standard mileage rates for the use of a car (also vans, pickups or panel trucks) will be:

55.5 cents per mile for business miles driven
23 cents per mile driven for medical or moving purposes
14 cents per mile driven in service of charitable organizations

Possible reasons for IRS Audit

michael — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 19:11:20 +0000

The following items may cause a potentially higher risk for audit

1.Making too much money

2. Failing to report all taxable income

3. Taking large charitable deductions

4. Claiming the home office deduction

5. Claiming rental losses

6. Deducting business meals, travel and entertainment

7. Claiming 100% business use of vehicle

8. Writing off a hobby loss

9. Running a cash business

10. Failing to report a foreign bank account

11. Engaging in currency transactions

12. Taking higher than average deduction

Please contact me to discuss further

How Social Security Is Calculated And Estimating Your Retirement Benefits From Social Security

michael — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 16:33:11 +0000

Anyone born in 1929 or later needs 10 years of work (40 credits) to be eligible for retirement benefits. People born before 1929 need fewer years of work.

Your benefit payment is based on how much you earned during your working career. Higher lifetime earnings result in higher benefits. If there were some years when you did not work or had low earnings, your benefit amount may be lower than if you had worked steadily.

Your benefit payment also is affected by the age at which you decide to retire. If you retire at age 62 (the earliest possible age for Social Security), your benefit will be lower than if you wait until later to retire.

Please see the following link for a Social Security estimator: http://www.ssa.gov/estimator/

New personal income tax rates in New York State began January 1, 2012

michael — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 16:13:20 +0000

Governor Andrew M. Cuomo signed into law new lower personal income tax rates for New York State:

Income level  Previous tax rate  New tax rate
$40,001 to $150,000 		6.85% 		6.45%
$150,001 to $300,000 	        6.85% 		6.65%
$300,001 to $2 million 	        7.85% - 8.97% 	6.85%
Over $2 million 		8.97% 		8.82%

Bush Tax Cuts Extended Through 2012

michael — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 18:22:09 +0000

On December 17, 2010 President Obama signed into law the Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization and Job Creation Act of 2010 (“Tax Relief Act”). Pursuant to the Tax Relief Act, certain tax cuts that were enacted during the Bush Administration have been extended until December 31, 2012.

2% Payroll Tax Cut Extended Through 2012

michael — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 17:54:03 +0000

The Temporary Payroll Tax Cut Continuation Act of 2011 temporarily extends the two percentage point payroll tax cut for employees, continuing the reduction of their Social Security tax withholding rate from 6.2 percent to 4.2 percent of wages paid through Feb. 29, 2012. See http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=251650,00.html