Sales Tax Holiday August 7- 9

Recent legislation combined our 3 tax holidays into one big blowout weekend event!  That means qualifying items can be purchased all weekend long just in time for back to school shopping!  Not only can you get all the clothes, shoes and notebooks you need for the school year tax-free, you can also upgrade your home with qualifying Energy Star and WaterSense products.  

School Supplies, Clothing and Footwear:

• School supplies— $20 or less per item
• Clothing and footwear— $100 or less per item

Hurricane and Emergency Preparedness Items:

• Portable generators— $1,000 or less per item
• Gas powered chainsaws— $360 or less per item
• Chainsaw accessories— $60 or less per item
• Other specified hurricane preparedness items with a sales price of $60 or less per item.

Energy Star and WaterSense Items:

• Qualified Energy Star items include dishwashers, clothes washers air conditioners, ceiling fans, light bulbuls, dehumidifiers and refrigerators
• Qualifying WaterSense items include bathroom sink faucets, faucet accessories such as aerators and shower heads, toilets urinals and landscape irrigation controllers.

For more info on what is going to be tax-free this weekend, visit http://www.tax.virginia.gov/

Small Business on the Rise

     Small business is booming.  In recent years access to credit and hiring capabilities have improved.  While trends are not as strong yet as they were in 2014, the first positive trend for this year happened in March.  There are many reasons why this might be, but a lot of people are worried about the effect of the Affordable Care Act when considering hiring more staff.  

     Businesses need to figure out where their employees fall when it comes to providing coverage.  Small businesses employing over 99 people are required this year ( last year it was mandatory) to file forms at the end of the year and smaller business sizing between 50-99 employees still have until 2016.  Most healthcare costs for businesses have gone up over the past year and that means hesitation when looking to hire that 50th person.

     While there are ways to decrease liability, such as hour cuts, this change in health care structure is making sweeping changes in the small business arena.  Know what category your business falls in and prepare for the upcoming changes.  While it’s not mandatory until next year for businesses with less than 50 employees, doing a practice run for healthcare expenses this year could be to your benefit.

5 Things To Do To Avoid A Post-Traumatic #TaxSeason

     Everyone finally gets to take a moment to catch their breath after all the preparation they put into (or paid for) preparing their tax return.  Finalizing the paperwork is both scary and relieving.  But now that it’s over, what to do next?  Just sit around for another 12 months until it's time to start scrambling forms together again?  No. Whether you are stressed about your tax liability or wondering what to do with that large sum of money, here are 5 things you can do to prepare for next year.

Refinancing

The Real Estate industry is all abuzz about how low the rates are starting off 2015.  Remember though, a financial move that could reduce your payments or interest affects your tax liability at the end of the year.  Reducing your interest rate reduces your itemized deductions, this could lead to a larger amount owed to Uncle Sam come next April 15.  If you do some preemptive accounting, you can suitably tailor your withholdings or estimated tax payments throughout the year.  Avoiding that jaw dropping liability takes a little more planning than crossing your fingers and hoping for the best.

Installments

If your tax bill is too large for you to be able to pay it all in one lump sum, you can request an installment agreement or payment plan.  If you’re unable to pay your tax bill because of a singular event, filling out the proper forms should be enough.  If you often find yourself falling short of your tax bill, it’s time to start thinking of increasing your estimated payments or withholdings.  The IRS has been willing to combine previous installment plans with new ones, but the third time is not the charm in this case.  To read about these plans visit http://www.irs.gov/Individuals/Payment-Plans-Installment-Agreements.

Secure Your Income for Retirement

Why not make the maximum contribution to your retirement fund.  Whichever works best for you, either a traditional IRA or a Roth IRA, you’ll save money in taxes by allocating the funds to your retirement.  A Health Savings Account (HSA) is also a savvy way to increase your deductions and put your hard earned money to work for you.

Unintended Savings 

Keep saving that big return!  Uncle Sam held on to it for you all year,   if you can live without it, a big return can be good for putting away in your emergency fund, college savings for your child or a large home repair you know is coming down the road.

Unemployment

Unfortunately, if you’re collecting unemployment checks, you still have to pay taxes on that income.  You can request federal withholding from these checks to cover that amount.

     As long as you do a little preparation throughout the year, paying taxes won’t be as much of a burden come April.  Tax laws are ever-changing, so being up to date on what’s relevant this year will help you plan according to their benefits or disadvantages.