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Mike DiSabatino CPA

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February 2017 DiSabatino, CPA Newsletter

February 2017 DiSabatino, CPA Newsletter
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February 2017

As your mailbox fills up with information required to organize your 2016 tax records, now is the time to think about productive ways to use your potential refund. Outlined here are some ideas to consider. Unfortunately, tax-filing season is also tax-scam season. This month's newsletter shows you how to identify possible fraudsters that may target you. Information regarding the pending overtime law change and the taxability of collectibles round out this month's newsletter.

Should you know of someone who may benefit from this information please feel free to forward this to them.

Reminder: It is Tax Scam Season Too

Imagine you receive a call from an IRS agent who says you owe back taxes and threatens to arrest you if you don't immediately make a payment over the phone.

Thousands of Americans faced this situation in 2016, though the people on the other end of their phone lines weren't actually from the IRS. They were scam artists calling across the world from Mumbai, India. Their aggressive intimidation of U.S. taxpayers brought in $150,000 a day until police cracked down on their call center.

Amazingly, con artists impersonating IRS agents were involved in a quarter of all the consumer fraud incidents reported to the Better Business Bureau last year, making it by far the most common financial scam. With the new tax-filing season underway, now is the time to be especially vigilant.

hidden person

The threatening approach used in Mumbai is just one variety of IRS scam. Another involved sending emails from fake IRS addresses telling taxpayers that due to a mistake they were owed larger refunds. According to the email, all they had to do was provide their bank information and prepay the tax due on the larger refund. Once they made the prepayment, both the scammer and their supposed refund disappeared.

See through any IRS scam

By following a few guidelines you can see through any IRS scam:

Bullet Point Digital communication is a big no. The IRS will never initiate contact with you via email, text message or social media, nor will they request personal or financial information over those channels. If you do get an email communication purporting to be from the IRS don't click on any links or open any attachments. Instead, forward the email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
Bullet Point Mail first. The first contact from the real IRS will be through the mail. If you get a letter from the IRS that is unexpected or suspicious, it should have a form or notice number searchable on the IRS website, www.irs.gov. Compare what you find there with what you received. If it doesn't look right, you can call the IRS help desk at 1-800-829-1040 to question it.
Top scams of 2016 graphic
   
Bullet Point Never pay by phone. A legitimate IRS agent will never make a call to demand immediate payment of a bill or ask you to provide your debit or credit card information over the phone. If you are suspicious, ask for the employee's name, badge number and phone number. A real IRS agent won't hesitate to provide this information. You can then politely end the call and dial the IRS at 1-800-366-4484 to confirm the person's identity.
 

Overtime Rules Go Into Overtime

The fate of a Labor Department rule extending mandatory overtime pay to workers by doubling the eligible salary cap is uncertain under the new presidential administration.

The rule introduced by the Labor Department under the direction of former President Barack Obama increases the salary cap for workers eligible to receive mandatory overtime to $47,476. It extends mandatory overtime, or time-and-a-half pay, to workers primarily in managerial or administrative roles in the retail, restaurant, and nonprofit industries.

Time Clock

Opponents of the rule won a court injunction blocking it in November 2016. The case may be abandoned altogether depending on the priorities set by President Donald Trump's appointee to lead the Labor Department. Andrew Puzder, chief executive of fast food corporation CKE Restaurants Holdings Inc. (owner of Hardee's and Carl's Jr.) is undergoing Senate confirmation for the role. Until the case is resolved, the previous salary cap of $23,660 remains in place.

 

Use Your Tax Refund Wisely

Three of every four Americans got a refund check last year and the average amount was $2,777, according to IRS statistics. Because the amount of a refund is often uncertain, we may be tempted to spend it without too much planning. One way to counteract this natural tendency is to come up with a plan beforehand to spend your refund purposefully. Here are some ideas:

1 Pay off debt. If you have debt other than your home mortgage, a great spending priority can be to reduce or eliminate it. The longer you hold debt, the more the cumulative interest burden weighs on your future plans. You have to work harder for longer just to counteract the effect of the debt on your financial health. Start by paying down debts with the highest interest rates and work your way down the list until you bring your debt burden down to a manageable level.
Roth Basics
2 Save for retirement. Saving for retirement works like debt, but in reverse. The longer you set aside money for retirement, the more time you give the power of compound earnings to work for you. This money can even continue working for you long after you retire. Consider depositing some or all of your refund check into a Traditional or Roth IRA. You can contribute a total of $5,500 to an IRA every year, or $6,500 if you're 50 years old or older.
3 Save for a home. Home ownership is a source of wealth and stability for many Americans. If you don't own a home yet, consider building up a down payment fund using some of your refund. If you already own a home, consider using your refund to start paying your mortgage off early.
4 Invest in yourself. Sometimes the best investment isn't financial, but personal. If there's a course of study or conference that would improve your skills or knowledge, that could be a wise use of your money in the long run.
5 Give some of it away. Helping people, and being able to deduct gifts and charity from your next tax return, isn't the only benefit of giving to a good cause. Research shows that it makes us feel good on a neurological level. In fact, donating money activates our brains' pleasure centers more than receiving the equivalent amount.1

If a refund is in your future, start planning now on how it can best help your financial situation.

1 https://www.wired.com/2010/12/the-science-of-charity

 

Collectibles and the Tax Collector

It typically takes a great deal of personal interest and expertise in a given field — whether it's rare art, coins or baseball cards — to judge a treasure from a trinket. For those of you who have been bitten by the collector's bug, here are some tax considerations.

Collectibles defined

According to the IRS: "Collectibles include works of art, rugs, antiques, metals (such as gold, silver, and platinum bullion), gems, stamps, coins, alcoholic beverages, and certain other tangible properties." 1What makes something a collectible is that it carries additional value based on its rarity and its market demand. Essentially, the opinion of other collectors and experts, based on what they are willing to pay for your collection, determines its value.

Collectible Coins

For example, a typical one-ounce gold coin is worth about $1,200 based upon the value of the metal and would not be considered a collectible by the IRS. However, a rare antique double eagle gold coin produced in the 19th century could be worth $20,000 to a collector, even though it is made of exactly the same amount of gold as the non-rare coin.

Collectibles special tax rate

When collectibles are sold, they become taxable at a maximum tax rate of 28 percent. The tax applies to profit on the sale of your collectibles.

That tax rate is considerably higher than the average capital gains tax of 15 percent that most people pay for non-collectible investments such as stocks and bonds (the tax range for long-term capital gains is from 0 to 20 percent). The exception to this rule is that if you've held your collection less than a year before you sell it, your capital gain will be taxed as regular income.

It's all about the basis

In order to calculate what you owe to the IRS if you sell your collectibles, start with your basis. Your basis typically equals the amount you paid for your collectibles, plus any auction or broker fees incurred during your purchase. If you spent money to refurbish, restore or maintain collectibles while you owned them, you can also add that to your basis.

Then, subtract your basis from the sale price of your collectibles; the amount left over is what is taxed. Here's an example:

Ima Dahl decides to sell an 1898 German Bisque porcelain doll from her collection. She's owned the doll for ten years and originally paid $700 for it. She also paid $150 two years ago to repair its cracked finish. She receives $1,800 by selling it at an online auction and spends $100 paying her auction fees and shipping to the new owner. Since she owned the doll for more than one year, her long-term capital gain is $850 and her potential maximum tax is $238. The calculation: $1,800 net sales price, minus the $700 basis, minus $150 for repairs, minus $100 selling expense multiplied by 28%.

Some collectible hints

Bullet Point Know the market value. If you inherit a collectible you will need to know the value of the object on the date you obtain it. This will usually become your basis when you sell it.
Bullet Point Investment or personal use. If your collectible is an investment you can usually take a loss on the sale of the collectible. Unfortunately, if the IRS deems the collectible has an element of personal use, you may not deduct the loss. An example of personal use may be the hanging of a painting on your wall. Being careful how you sell your collectible can also make a difference in managing your potential tax liability.
Collectible
Bullet Point Collectibles tax rate good or bad. The 28 percent capital gain tax on collectibles is the maximum tax rate. For example, if you are in the 15 percent income tax range, your collectible gain is taxed at that rate. If your income tax bracket is higher than 28 percent, the collectibles tax rate is capped at 28 percent, resulting in a potentially lower tax rate versus ordinary income taxes.

As you can imagine, the taxes on buying and selling collectibles can be complex. If you are considering selling a potentially valuable item, ask for assistance.

1 Source: IRS 2016 Schedule D instructions

As always, should you have any questions or concerns regarding your situation please feel free to call.

This newsletter is provided by

DiSabatino CPA 
Michael DiSabatino

651 Via Alondra, Suite 715
Camarillo, CA 93012

Phone: 805-389-7300
Fax:  805-435-7498

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. 
www.SharpCPA.com

 

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