New address effective January 1, 2015
Effective January 1, 2015 the mailing address will be:
1603 Orrington Avenue
Suite 600 Evanston, IL 60201
Meetings are available by appointment only at this new address as well as at:
9933 Lawler Avenue
Suite 440
Skokie, IL 60077
Appointments will continue to be available at you home or business
Phone number remains: 847-328-8011
Fax number remains: 847-780-7920
Email remains: joe@jasfinanciallc.com
Web page remains: www.jasfinancialllc.com
IRA rollover rules change in 2015
IRS previously held that the timing rules applied separately to all IRAs owned by an individual. They applied the rule to each IRA owned. The Internal Revenue Code allow a tax-free distribution if the distribution is rolled into an IRA within 60-days. The tax-free rollover is not allowed if you’ve already completed a tax-free rollover within the previous one-year (12-month) period. The Tax Court held a taxpayer may make only one nontaxable 60-day rollover within each 12-month period regardless of how many IRAs an individual owns (Bobrow v. Commissioner). The IRS will not apply the revised rule prior to 2015.
IRS issued guidance on how the revised one-rollover-per-year limit is to be applied (Announcement 2014-32).
The clarification includes the following:
1) All IRAs, including traditional, Roth, SEP, and SIMPLE IRAs, are aggregated and treated as one IRA when applying the new rule.
2) The exclusion for 2014 distributions is not absolute. Generally you can ignore rollovers of 2014 distributions when determining whether a 2015 rollover violates the new one-year-rollover-per year limit. This special transition rule will not apply if the 2015 rollover is from the same IRA that either made or received, the 2014 rollover.
The one-rollover-per-year limit does not apply to direct transfers between IRA trustees and custodians, rollovers from qualified plans to IRAs, or conversions of traditional IRAs to Roth IRAs.
In general, it’s best to avoid 60-day rollovers whenever possible. Use direct transfers (as opposed to 60-day rollovers) between IRAs, as these direct transfers aren’t subject to the one-rollover-per-year limit. The tax consequences of making a mistake can be significant. A failed rollover will be treated as a taxable distribution (with potential early-distribution penalties if you’re not yet 591/2) and a potential excess contribution to the receiving IRA.
2014 Year-End Charitable Giving
Two of the factors to consider in year-end tax planning are your own financial situation and the tax rules that apply. Congress is considering making changes before year-end that may impact your situation. Some changes may include reinstating all or some tax breaks the expired in 2013. If you wait to determine what changes may be passed for 2014 you may not have enough time to implement your year-end tax planning moves.
Start by identifying the charities you would like to make contributions to and the amount to each charity. Remember to consider the amounts you already contributed during the year.
Check to see if you will be able to deduct the contributions if receiving a tax benefit is part of you motivation for making charitable deductions. In order to deduct your contributions you must file a tax return (Form 1040) and itemize your deductions. That is, you will not receive a deduction if your itemized deductions are less than the standard deduction. The 2014 standard deductions is: $12,400 if you are married and file a joint tax return, $9,100 if you qualify to file as head of household, $6,200 if you are single, and $6,200 if you are married filing a separate return. Both spouses filing a separate tax rerun must itemize their deduction if one spouse itemized their deductions. It maybe beneficial to postpone deductions to the next year if you receive a greater tax benefit in the next year.
The total deduction for contributions is limited to a percentage of your adjusted gross income (AGI). For example gifts to public charities are generally limited to 50% of your 2014 AGI. Other limitations, 30% or 20%, apply depending on the nature of the contribution and the type charity. Amounts not deductible may generally be carried forward over the next 5 years in years that you itemize your deductions , subject to the income percentage limitations.
Contributions can only be deductible if made to a qualified organization. IRS has a listing on their website, Exempt Organizations Select Check: https://www.irs.gov/Charities-&-Non-Profits/Exempt-Organizations-Select-Check
To claim a deduction for donated cash or property of $250 or more, you must have a written statement from the organization. Generally you can deduct the fair market value of property rather than cash or a check.
The above is not intended as a complete discussion of this subject. A tax professional, can help you evaluate your situation, keep you appraised of any legislative changes, and determine the best approach for your individual situation.