Dear Friends,

Enclosed you will find our annual winter newsletter, which includes information on several year-end tax strategies. Please review the recommendations and contact our office if you have any questions or need information on how to implement these strategies to your particular circumstance.

As we reach the end of another year, we would like to recommend the following suggestions:

  1. If you are one of our clients who has our firm compile their bookkeeping data on an annual basis, we recommend that you send us any necessary information no later than January 31, 2008. This will eliminate any last minute bookkeeping having to be completed during the busy months of the upcoming tax season. In addition, if there are any questions regarding your accounting data, these questions can be resolved early. If your bookkeeping data is received any later than January 31, 2008, then we may have to file an extension for your 2007 tax return.
  2. The tax organizer will be sent out in early January. Please complete the organizer as soon as possible after receiving it. The organizer will have your prior year tax data for comparison to your current year data. This will help facilitate and reduce fees in the completion of your tax return. As we mentioned last year, our office has begun sending out the organizers via email. This will enable you to complete the organizer on your computer, and either bring in your source documents (W-2's, 1099's, etc.) with you to your appointment, or mail them to our office if you are a long-distance client. If you would prefer a hard copy of the organizer, please call our office and ask Shauna to mail you a paper copy.
  3. If you have had substantial gross income this year, you may want to consider deferring some of your income into 2008. Additionally, if you have had a successful year, you may want to try and pay or pre-pay some of your year-end expenses.
  4. If you have a pension plan, we suggest that you fund the plan to the fullest extent possible. Please call our office to determine if your plan is in compliance, and to receive information on the new contribution limits in 2007.
  5. If you make quarterly estimated tax payments, try to make your final state estimated tax payment by December 31, 2007 in order to get the deduction in 2007. However, if you have paid the alternative minimum tax in previous years, please call my office to determine when to pay the final state tax estimate. Also, if you know that you have not made sufficient tax payments for the year, please call our office to discuss options to minimize any underpayment penalties and/or interest.
  6. Finally, if your company uses QuickBooks for your accounting software, our firm recommends upgrading to the 2008 version. We suggest upgrading every three years, so if you upgrade to the 2008 version, you will be on the same track as our office, which will minimize any software complications, and you won't have to do it again until 2011.

Please call our office if you have any specific questions relating to this newsletter or any other tax planning issues. Our office would be glad to help in any way that we can.

We hope everyone has a happy holiday season and continued success throughout 2008.

Louis Tommasino, CPA