|
New
Mileage Rates
- In IR-2008-62 and Announcement 2008-63 the
IRS increased the business mileage rate from 50.5
cents per mile to 58.5 cents per mile effective July
1, 2008.
- In IR-2008-62 and Announcement 2008-63 the
IRS increased the medical and moving mileage rate
from 19 cents per mile to 27 cents per mile
effective July 1, 2008. The charitable mileage rate
was not changed.
- Farm
& Ranch Tax in Garden City Kansas
on July 22, (This seminar will also be available as
live streaming video)
|
|
|
Back to
top |
|
Bankruptcy,
Foreclosure &
Debt Forgiveness
- The IRS continues to come out with
more guidance on these items. Our fall 1040 In-Depth
seminars will include an entire new chapter, with
example 1099-c and related forms and schedules to try
to lead you through the mess. Our detailed
instructions and guidance should answer your questions this fall.
In the meantime, read below:
- Debt
cancellation income is taxable by default. There are
now 6 excpetions to this rule, and if you cannot use 1
of these exceptions, or the exception does not offset
the full amount of debt forgiveness, the remaining
amount is taxable income reported on Form 1040, Line
21 as other income.
- Exception
1-student loans which are
accepted by the student only under conditions that the
student will work in certain professions are exempt if
made by qualified agencies. Only the following student
loans qualify.
Loans
directly from federal, state or local
government,
Loans from
certain tax-exempt public benefit corporations,
and
Loans from
certain educational institutions.
- Exception 2-Debt cancelled in a Chapter 11
bankruptcy case
- Exception 3-Debt cancelled when insolvent, but
only to the extent of insolvency. A taxpayer is
insolvent when his total debt exceeds the total FMV of
all of his assets.
- Exception 4-Qualified farm debt from an unrelated
financial institution.
- Exception 5-Qualified real property business debt
for the costs of acquisition, construction or
improvements.
- Exception 6-Qualified personal residence debt
forgiveness for acquisition indebtedness costs to buy,
build or improve a personal residence.
- Note that equity loans for personal, investment or
any other purpose than improvement of the main home
will still be taxable if forgiven.
- In all cases of debt forgiveness the taxpayer must
reduce the related tax attributes-basis, NOL amounts,
etc.
|
|
|
Back to
top |
|
Bonus Depreciation
Again!
The number one email question we are
receiving right now revolves around bonus depreciation.
We discussed it in May, but, based on the questions,
let's review the major points:
-
Bonus depreciation is available on assets in
the 3,5,7,10, 15 and 20 year class
lives.
-
Commonly overlooked assets qualifying for bonus
depreciation include parking lots, sidewalks,
landscaping, personal property used in rental homes,
HVAC systems and leasehold
improvements.
|
|
|
Back to
top |
|
|
|
In
This Issue |
|
1. New Mileage Rates
and New
Seminars
2. Bankruotcy,
Foreclosures
& Debt
forgiveness
3. More bonus depreciation
answers
4. Save $5 per gallon on LIVE STREAMING
VIDEO
COURSES!
| |
|
2008
Summer Live Schedule:
7/8 Compilations
Fargo
7/14 Compilations
Chicago
7/15 Compilations
Cleveland
7/15 Estates
Chicago
7/16 Estates
Cleveland
7/17 Estates
Louisville
7/18 Business
Tax Update Quebec City,
Quebec
7/21 Technology
Oklahoma City,
Oklahoma
July 22-23 we will be in Ft. Collins, Colorado (Rocky
Mountain National Park) for Estate
and Compilation
courses. We will follow up on July 28 in Ft. Collins,
CO with a Tax
Strategies for Small Business
class.
7/24 Estates
Albuquerqe
7/25 Technology
Albuquerque
8/4 Tax
Strategies for Small Business Cleveland
8/8 Tax
Strategies for Small Business Oklahoma City
August 11-15 will see us in Florida for several
courses. Aug. 11-12 we will be in Sarasota for
Compilations
and Estates
, followed by Orlando on
Aug. 13-14 for Compilations
and Estates
, and Port St.
Lucie on August 15 for Estates .
8/15 Technology
Fargo
8/19 Business
Tax Update Des
Moines
8/21 Technology
Scranton
8/27 SE
Acctng Show Atlanta
8/28-29 NSA
Convention Kansas
City
9/2 Federal
Tax Update New Albany,
IN
9/3 Tech/Reducing
Health Care Costs-Evansville, IN
9/4 Tech/Reducing
Health Care Costs-South
Bend, IN
9/5 Business
Tax Update- Ft. Wayne, IN
9/16-17 Business
Tax In Depth-Indianapolis,
IN
9/18-19 Business
Tax In Depth Portland,
OR
9/22-23 Business
Tax In Depth Oklahoma
City
9/24 Business
Tax Update-Garden City,
KS
9/25-26 Business
Tax In Depth Ft.
Collins, CO
9/29-30 Compilations,
Reviews & Disclosures-Bloomington,
IL
Go to www.Taxspeaker.com for more
information on these and our other seminars,
as well as our full fall and winter schedule.
|
|
LIVE STREAMING
VIDEO COURSES COMING NEXT MONTH-SAVE GAS & TIME &
GIVE IT A TRY!
Our first live streaming video
was
held in June on Pension Plans & IRAs, with much acclaim
and a few minor (and easily overcome) glitches. A
live streaming video is a TV-like live
presentation beamed to your computer via your high speed
internet
connection and your computer's speakers.
With gas costs
continuing to skyrocket we are rapidly expanding our
offerrings of live streaming videos for this fall, and
will now provide the nation's first 2-day live seminars
presented live over the internet for Business Tax
In-Depth and 1040 In-Depth this fall.
Finally, our entire 2008 course
selection will also be available as after-the-fact streaming
video slowly as we tape over the year.
We currently have only the Clergy tax course online, but
several more will follow in the next few weeks-Technology, Pension
Plans & IRAs, and Compilations & Reviews will all be
available by the end of the month in DVD format
or in downloadable streaming video to your
desktop.
Before you sign up check
with your state society to see if they have entered into
an agreement with us to give you a discount
code.
|
OTHER UPCOMING
EVENTS
We will be back in Garden
City, Kansas this year (driving!) for our 1 day Business
Tax Update on September 24
and on July 22 for the Farm
& Ranch Tax Seminar.
Our Farm Manual is back completed
as you are reading this
. It should be available for purchase as self study by
July 15, and as DVD or streaming video
by September 1. Sorry, we have no plans for a live
presentation anywhere this year except in Garden City, KS in
mid-July.
NEW SPECIALTY
MANUALS
We now have 2 new specialty
manuals available, written by our speakers with substantial
expertise in those areas:
The
Oil & Gas Taxes for 1040's manual
AND
The
1040 NR Manual
We have also just finished
our 2008 Reducing
Health Care Costs manual and our Pension
Plans & IRAs Manual which has been substantially
expanded far beyond our other manuals. |
