If you would like to have further
information on any of these articles, let us
know. We would appreciate receiving your
comments and/or suggestions, anytime!
acarroll@pmcpa.com
1.
If You Are Buying a House, Don't Overlook the
Tax Benefits
If you buy a house this year,
you’ll close the deal by signing a
mind-numbing stack of papers. When that’s
finished, don’t just file the documents away
in a drawer. Hidden in there are some
deductions you might be able to take this
year, and others that could increase your
profit when you sell.
To find the extra deductions, you’ll need to
locate a document called the closing
statement. That’s a list showing the costs to
be paid by buyer and seller at closing. Look
for these items which you may be able to
deduct in the year of purchase:
 |
Loan origination fees,
sometimes known as points. You can
generally deduct these upfront, unless
you’re refinancing a previous mortgage.
|
|
|
Mortgage interest
for the few days from closing until the
first of the following month when regular
mortgage payments begin. You’ll usually
prepay this interest in your closing
costs, and it’s deductible.
|
|
|
Your share of property
taxes. Usually the seller has prepaid
the property taxes for at least six
months, and you’ll repay him for your
share at closing. You can deduct these as
part of your itemized deduction for taxes
paid during the year. |
Other closing costs you pay
will generally add to your cost basis in the
home. These can be important when you sell, as
they may reduce your liability for capital
gains tax. Make sure you save a copy of the
closing statement in your permanent records.
If you have
questions, bring a copy of your closing
statement to our office. We can identify
what’s deductible and alert you to any other
tax breaks.
2.
Tech Tip Weekly: Inserting Automatic Decimal
Points in MS Excel
If
you're entering lots of numbers with a fixed
number of decimal places, you can save some
time by having MS Excel enter the decimal
point. (This feature is similar to the
feature that is available on some adding
machines and office calculators.)
To
do so, follow these steps:
1. Choose Tools, Options from the
menu bar.
2. Click the Edit tab of the Options
dialog box that appears.
3. Select the Fixed Decimal check
box, and set the number of decimal places that
you want to use by clicking the Places spinner
control.
4. Click OK.
MS
Excel subsequently supplies the decimal points
for you automatically. If you have it set for
two decimal places and you enter 12345 into a
cell, for example, MS Excel interprets it as
123.45. To restore things to normal, just
deselect the Fixed Decimal check box in the
Options dialog box.
Remember: Changing this setting doesn't affect
any values that you've already entered.
3.
Compliance Calendar
May 10
-Employers deposit Social Security, Medicare
and withheld income tax for May 3, 4, and 5.
May 12
-Employers deposit Social Security, Medicare
and withheld income tax for May 6, 7, 8, and
9.
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