Have Fun With This Year’s Holiday Quiz!

Have Fun With This Year’s Holiday Quiz!

Back by popular demand is this season’s holiday movie and TV trivia quiz! So while you’re waiting for your holiday dinner or just resting after a wonderful feast, break out this quiz to share with family and friends. Enjoy!

  • The song White Christmas, performed by Bing Crosby, was sung in a number of movies. In which movie did the song make its debut?
  • Holiday Inn. The song White Christmas was released in 1942 as part of the movie Holiday Inn. Many think that the song debuted in the movie titled with the same name. While extremely popular, the movie White Christmas was created in part to leverage the popularity of the song.

    Bonus: Who won an Oscar for writing White Christmas?
    A: Irving Berlin
  • In the movie It’s a Wonderful Life, what happens every time a bell rings?
  • An angel gets it’s wings…

    Bonus: What was the name of the angel?
    A: Clarence
  • In the movie Home Alone, the family is going on vacation and accidentally leaves Kevin behind. Where were they going?
  • Paris

    Bonus: Give yourself a point if you can name either of the thieves in the movie.
    A. Harry (Joe Pesci) and Marv (Daniel Stern)
  • In the movie How the Grinch Stole Christmas, what three words are used to describe the Grinch?
  • Stink, Stank, Stunk

    Bonus: Who voiced the Grinch in the famous cartoon?
    A: Boris Karloff, who appeared in 174 films and is known for his role as the original Frankenstein, won a Grammy award for portraying the Grinch and narrating How the Grinch Stole Christmas.
  • Tom Hanks played six different roles in this popular holiday movie.
  • The Polar Express

    Bonus: The Polar Express had a number of firsts. Name any one of them for a bonus point.
    • First full-length animated movie released in IMAX format.
    • First full-length movie to use animated 3D capture technology allowing creation without drawing each individual frame.
    • First movie to be released with a Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack.
    • First animated movie to have a song nominated for an Academy Award. The song was titled Believe.
  • In the movie A Charlie Brown Christmas, what does Charlie Brown do poorly that turns out all right in the end?
  • He buys a sad-looking tree. But in the end everyone gets the Christmas spirit and wishes Charlie Brown a Merry Christmas. Linus sums up the feeling: I never thought it was such a bad little tree. It’s not bad at all, really. Maybe it just needs a little love.

    Bonus: Name the comic strip made famous by Charlie Brown and its creator Charles Schulz.
    A. Peanuts

May you and yours enjoy the holiday season with peace and joy.

Results:

11 to 12 points: Deck the Halls! You are awesome.

8 to 10 points: You are dashing through the snow…no walking for you!

4 to 7 points: Ho! Ho! Ho! You are having fun besides watching holiday movies.

0 to 3 points: Holidays? What Holidays? Pass me a cookie, would you please?

 

Year-End Tax Planning Tips for Your Business

Year-End Tax Planning Tips for Your Business

As 2023 winds down, here are some ideas to help you prepare for filing your upcoming tax return:

  • Informational returns. Identify all vendors who require a 1099-MISC and a 1099-NEC. Obtain tax identification numbers (TINs) for each of these vendors if you have not already done so.
  • Shifting income and expenses. Consider accelerating income, or deferring earnings, based on profit projections.
  • Be prepared to receive a Form 1099-K. You may receive a Form 1099-K from each payment processor from whom you receive $600 or more in payments. In addition to credit card companies and banks, payment processors can include Amazon, Etsy, PayPal, Venmo and Apple Pay. You’ll need to include the 1099-K on your tax return.
  • Categorize income and expenses. The best way to prepare for receiving a 1099-K is to organize your records by major categories of income, expenses and fixed asset purchases. If your accounting records are accurate, then any tax form, including a 1099-K, should be easy to tie out to your books.
  • Separation of expenses. Review business accounts to ensure personal expenses are not present. Reimburse the business for any expenses discovered during this review.
  • Create expense reports. Having expense reports with supporting invoices and business credit card statements with corresponding invoices will help substantiate your deductions in the event of an audit.
  • Fixed asset planning. Section 179 or bonus depreciation expensing versus traditional depreciation is a great planning tool. If using Section 179, the qualified assets must be placed in service prior to year-end.
  • Leveraging business meals. Business meals with clients or customers are 50% deductible. Retain the necessary receipts and documentation that note when the meal took place, who attended and the business purpose on each receipt.
  • Charitable opportunities. Consider any last-minute deductible charitable giving including long-term capital gain stocks.
  • Cell phone record review. Review your telephone records for qualified business use. While expensing a single landline out of a home office can be difficult to deduct, cell phone use can be documented and deducted for business purposes.
  • Inventory review. Review your inventory for proper counts and remove obsolete or worthless products. Keep track of the obsolete and worthless amounts for a potential deduction.
  • Review your receivables. Focus on collection activities and review your uncollectible accounts for possible write-offs.
  • Review your estimated tax payments. Recap your year-to-date estimated tax payments and compare them to your forecast of full year earnings. Then make your 2023 4th quarter estimated tax payment by January 16, 2024.
Year-End Tax Cutting Moves to Consider

Year-End Tax Cutting Moves to Consider

Here are moves you can make to reduce your taxable income. But the year is quickly coming to a close, so plan accordingly.

  • Max out pre-tax retirement savings. The deadline to contribute to a 401(k) plan to get a 2023 taxable income reduction is December 31st. So if your employer’s plan allows it, consider making a last-minute lump sum contribution. For 2023, you can contribute up to $22,500 to a 401(k), plus another $7,500 if you’re age 50 or older. Even better, you have until April 15, 2024, to contribute up to $6,500 into a traditional IRA. And as long as your income does not exceed phaseout limits, you can reduce your taxable income on your 2023 tax return.
  • Convert to a Roth IRA. Consider converting some or all of your traditional IRA, SEP IRA, or SIMPLE IRA into a Roth IRA. Although you pay income tax on the amount of the Roth conversion the year it is made, subsequent growth is tax-free in a Roth IRA, and withdrawals from the account are 100% tax-free after five years from the date of the conversion.
  • Tax loss harvesting. If you own stock outside a tax-deferred retirement plan, you can sell your under-performing stocks by December 31st and use these losses to reduce any taxable capital gains. If your net capital losses exceed your gains, you can net up to $3,000 against other income such as wages. Losses over $3,000 can be used in future years.
  • Selling appreciated assets. Consider selling appreciated assets in the tax year that helps you the most. While this strategy may be hard to accomplish this late in the year, it is still worthy of consideration. To do this, estimate your current year’s taxable income and compare it to next year’s projected income. Then sell the appreciated asset in the year that will yield the lowest tax. Remember to account for the 3.8% net investment income tax in your estimates.
  • Review health spending accounts. If you participate in a Health Savings Account (HSA), try to maximize your annual contribution to reduce your taxable income. Remember, these funds allow you to pay for qualified health expenses with pre-tax dollars. More importantly, unlike Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA), you can carry over all unused funds into future years. If you do have an FSA, you can carry forward a maximum of $610 from 2023 into 2024 if your plan allows this. The deadline for contributing to your Health Savings Account (HSA) and still getting a deduction for the 2023 tax year is April 15, 2024. The maximum contribution for 2023 is $3,850 if single and $7,750 for married couples. If you’re age 55 or older, you can add $1,000 to your HSA contribution.

While the year is quickly coming to an end, there is still time to reduce your 2023 tax liability, but only if you act now.

The Trouble With 0% Financing

The Trouble With 0% Financing

Companies want to make it easy to buy their big ticket items, especially at times of economic uncertainty. A popular technique is to offer 0% financing when you buy furniture, electronics and other household items. You can also take matters into your own hands with a credit card that offers 0% APR on purchases, balances transferred to the card, or both.

While paying for goods and services with 0% interest may sound appealing, there are risks you’ll face that you should be aware of before you take this step.

What’s hiding behind 0% financing

Here are some of the potential problems hiding behind these 0% financing offers:

  • Special financing offers make it easier to overspend. Psychology Today reported that credit card use can easily result in overspending, and the same is true for loans. The key is to understand the monthly payments you are committing to, and ensuring you can handle them. At the same time, try to assess your purchase decision. Would you buy this item if the 0% offer was not available?
  • Some 0% APR offers come with deferred interest. Hidden in the fine print of some 0% interest offers may lurk deferred interest charges. This means that while you’re enjoying monthly payments with no interest, the interest charge accrues over time. If you miss a payment, have a late payment or haven’t paid off the loan by the end of the 0% offer period, the accrued interest gets added to your unpaid balance. The key is to precisely understand what happens if you miss a payment or don’t follow the 0% offer exactly as written…before you take the 0% offer.
  • The 0% offer may be impacting the price. Remember, money has value and someone is paying the interest cost of the 0% financing. Usually the merchant is hiding the cost inside the price you are paying for the item.

What you can do

Before considering a 0% interest financing offer on your next purchase, do this:

  • Save up for large ticket purchases. Instead of financing items and ensuring you have even more bills to pay each month, start saving for pricier purchases on a regular basis. Even better, leverage the value of your savings within higher interest savings account options that are now in excess of 4 percent.
  • Turn on your negotiating switch. Whenever you see a 0% offer, there should be a discount available to you for paying upfront. Someone is paying the interest and it is probably going to be you if the financing cost is built into the price you are paying.
  • Pay on time! Finally, if you do think the 0% option is a deal for you… set up auto payments. Most of these deals are unforgiving and punitive if you miss a payment, so automate them to avoid this possibility.
Taxes: Knowing the Basics is Key

Taxes: Knowing the Basics is Key

It’s the starting point to saving money

Understanding how our tax system works can be tricky for anyone. Whether you’re an adult who never paid much attention to the taxes being withheld from your paycheck or a kid who just got his or her first job, the starting point to reducing your tax is knowing when to ask a question. But that means having a basic understanding of what might be taxed.

Here are some pointers to help you or someone you know navigate our tax maze.

There are many types of taxes

When you think of taxes, the income tax usually comes to mind. This is a tax on personal and business income you earn from performing a job, or providing a product or service. But there are also other types of taxes besides income taxes. Here are some of the most common.

  • Payroll taxes. While income taxes can be used to pay for pretty much anything the government needs money for, payroll taxes are earmarked to pay for Social Security and Medicare benefits. This is 15.3% of most employee’s paycheck, but half of it is paid by your employer.
  • Property taxes. These are taxes levied on property you own. The most common example is the property tax on a home or vacation property.
  • Sales tax. These are taxes on goods and services you purchase. While most of this tax is applied at the state and local levels, there are also federal sales taxes on items like gasoline.
  • Capital gains taxes. If you sell an investment or an asset for a profit, you may owe capital gains taxes. The most common example of this is when you sell stock for a gain. Capital gains taxes could also come into play with other assets, such as selling your home or a rental property you sell for a profit.
  • Estate taxes. This tax is applied to assets in your estate after you pass away.

Not all income is subject to tax

Most, but not all, of your income is subject to tax.

  • While your paycheck is subject to taxes, interest earned from certain municipal bonds is not. And the government often excludes things like certain life insurance benefits.
  • Capital gains taxes have exclusions for gains on the sale of your home and donated stock.
  • Estate taxes have an exclusion, so only estates in excess of this exclusion amount are taxed.
  • Many employee benefits such as health care, Health Savings Account contributions, commuting benefits and small gifts from your employer are tax free.

The rules around these different types of taxes is complex. Having someone in your corner to help you navigate your tax obligation is often an essential element in minimizing how much tax you do have to pay. It is also helpful, though, for you to understand the basics so you know when to ask a question.

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