Congressional Research Service Examines Expiring Tax Provisions

A new Congressional Research Service (CRS) report examines the tax provisions currently set to expire at the end of the year and the budgetary costs and policy considerations associated with extending them. These include the so-called Bush tax cuts, the alternative minimum tax (AMT) patch, the payroll tax cut, and a host of other miscellaneous provisions and “tax extenders.”

Each category of expiring provisions, including 2012 law, currently scheduled changes if the provisions aren’t extended, and relevant budgetary and policy considerations, is addressed separately.

The Bush Tax Cuts. The Bush tax cuts were primarily enacted by the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001 (EGTRRA, P.L. 107-16) and the Jobs Growth Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2003 (JGTRRA, P.L. 108-27) under President Bush. The Bush tax cuts, as referred to in this article, also include several modifications and additions made by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA, P.L. 111-5). The Bush tax cuts were extended through 2012 by President Obama as part of the Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010 (2010 Tax Relief Act, P.L. 111-312).

Current law. The Bush tax cuts currently set to expire at the end of 2012 include:

• reduced individual tax rates (10%, 15%, 25%, 28%, 33% and 35%);
• reduced long-term capital gain rates (maximum 15%);
• reduced qualified dividends rate (15%);
• no phase-out for personal exemptions (the personal exemption phaseout, or “pep,” limitation);
• no phase-out for itemized deductions (the “Pease” limitation);
• expanded tax credits, including the earned income tax credit (EITC), child tax credit (CTC), adoption credit, and dependent care tax credit;
• reduced marriage penalty (i.e., increased standard deduction and upper limit of the 15% bracket for married taxpayers to 200% of that for singles, and increased income level at which the EITC begins to phase out);
• modified education tax incentives (including Coverdell education saving accounts (ESAs), the student loan interest deduction, favorable tax treatment of certain scholarships and fellowships, and an exclusion for employer-provided educational assistance).

The Bush tax cuts also gradually reduced the estate tax over 2002 to 2009, leading to its repeal in 2010. The 2010 Tax Relief Act reinstated the estate tax for 2010  and enacted a $5 million exemption (adjusted for inflation in 2012), a top tax rate of 35%, and a step-up in basis through 2012. The 2010 Tax Relief Act also introduced the new “portability” feature allowing a deceased spouse’s unused exemption to be shifted to the surviving spouse.

Post-2012 scheduled changes. If the above provisions are allowed to expire, for tax years beginning after Dec. 31, 2012:

• individual income tax rates will rise to 15%, 28%, 31%, 36% and 39.6%;
• long-term capital gains will be taxed at a maximum rate of 20%;
• dividends will be taxed as ordinary income;
• the limit on personal exemptions will be restored such that, for higher-income taxpayers, the total amount of exemptions that can be claimed will be reduced by 2% for each $2,500 by which the taxpayer’s adjusted gross income (AGI) exceeds a certain inflation-adjusted threshold;
• the limit on itemized deductions will be restored such that, for higher-income taxpayers, the total amount of itemized deductions will be reduced by 3% of the amount by which the taxpayer’s AGI exceeds a certain inflation-adjusted threshold;
• the CTC, adoption credit, and dependent care tax credit will all be cut back;
• the standard deduction and upper limit of the 15% bracket for married couples will fall from 200% to 167% of the deduction and upper limit for unmarried taxpayers, and married taxpayers will be subject to the same EITC phase-out levels as unmarried taxpayers; and
• the education incentives will disappear altogether or be significantly cut back.

Additionally, after 2012, the estate tax exemption is scheduled to fall to $1 million, and the top rate will revert to 55%.

Budgetary effects.  The budgetary cost of the 2010 Tax Relief Act’s two-year extension of the Bush tax cuts was a $475.79 billion revenue reduction over a 10-year window (2011-2020). Of this, $363.55 billion is from the extension of income tax provisions, and $68.15 billion is from the estate tax provisions. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimated that further extending the income and estate tax provisions through 2022 would cost $2.84 trillion over the 2013-2022 period.

Policy considerations. Proponents of the Bush tax cuts argue that lower tax rates boost economic growth, and that allowing them to expire in 2013 may negatively impact the economy.

Opponents of the cuts note that the cuts overall reduced the progressivity of income taxes and disproportionately benefitted high-income taxpayers. According to CBO estimates, approximately two-thirds of the benefits of the cuts went to the top 20% of taxpayers with the highest income, and 26.5% of the benefits accrued to the top 1%. The CRS report observes that the distribution impact “may be relevant to policy makers if they are concerned with growing income inequality in the United States.” However, the report noted that the expansions of the CTC and EITC reduced income inequality.

AMT rules. The AMT was enacted to ensure that higher-income taxpayers who would otherwise be able to pay little or no taxes will pay a “minimum” amount. In calculating the AMT, taxpayers add back various tax preference items to their taxable income to calculate their AMT tax base, claim a basic exemption amount therefrom, then apply either a 26% or 28% rate. The extent to which this figure exceeds a taxpayer’s regular tax liability is his AMT.

Certain parts of the AMT, however, were not indexed for inflation. To deal with this issue, the AMT exemption amount has been increased several times on a temporary basis (part of the “AMT patch”). The 2011 AMT patch allowed married individuals filing jointly and unmarried individuals exemptions of $74,450 and $48,450, respectively. The AMT patch also generally includes a provision allowing taxpayers to reduce their AMT by nonrefundable personal tax credits.

Current law. For 2012, absent another patch, the AMT exemption amounts are $45,000 for married individuals and $33,750 for unmarried individuals, and most nonrefundable credits won’t be allowed against the AMT. A separate CRS report estimates that, unless Congress acts, 30 million plus taxpayers, or roughly one-fifth of all taxpayers, could be hit by the AMT in 2012.

Although we’re well into 2012, AMT patches are often passed later in the year. For example, the AMT patch for 2010 wasn’t enacted until Dec. 17, 2010, as part of the 2010 Tax Relief Act.

Budgetary effects.  The Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT) estimates that a one-year AMT patch for 2012 would reduce revenues by $92 million over the 2012-2021 period. For later years, the cost of the AMT patch depends on the regular tax rates since the AMT is calculated in reference to them. If the Bush tax cuts are allowed to expire, the cost of indexing the AMT to inflation through 2022 is estimated to be $804 billion over the 2013-2022 period.

Policy considerations.  As a result of the lack of certain AMT inflation adjustments, taxpayers who aren’t necessarily the higher-income targets of the AMT may nonetheless be subject to it. The dueling aims of the AMT debate are not subjecting these unintended taxpayers to the AMT, while at the same time minimizing losses in federal revenue that would result from another AMT patch.

The CRS report states that Congress may “consider indexing the AMT for inflation” or “reform the regular income tax system in such a way that the AMT no longer exists.”

To help stimulate the economy by increasing workers’ take-home pay, the 2010 Tax Relief Act reduced by two percentage points the employee OASDI tax rate under the FICA (from 6.2% to 4.2%) and the OASDI tax rate under the SECA tax for the self-employed (from 12.4% to 10.4%) on the first $106,800 of wages. The temporary reduction was originally scheduled to expire at the end of 2011.

Current law. The 2-point reduction was ultimately extended through 2012 by the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012 (P.L. 112-96). Thus, for the first $110,100 of remuneration received during 2012, the 4.2% and 10.4% rates apply.

Post-2012 scheduled changes.Absent Congressional action, the OASDI rates will revert to normal levels.

Budgetary effects.The cost of the payroll tax cut for 2011 and 2012 is estimated at $225.7 billion for the 2011-2022 period.

Policy considerations.Although the payroll tax cut benefits most taxpayers, research shows that it “may not be as targeted or cost-effective a stimulus as other tax policies or direct-spending programs” Since it is based on the amount of wages received by a taxpayer, the actual value of the tax cut depends on the taxpayers wages-thus providing a smaller benefit to lower earners. Additionally, since many of those who receive a benefit from the payroll tax cut aren’t necessarily facing fiscal constraints, some of the funds may be saved instead of spent, reducing the cut’s stimulative effect.

According to the CBO, although the short-term stimulus impact of the payroll tax cut is lower than if aid were increased to the unemployed, or if additional refundable tax credits were provided to low and middle income households, the payroll tax cut was nonetheless more stimulative in the short term than extending the Bush tax cuts.

Miscellaneous expiring provisions and “tax extenders.”A number of temporary tax provisions have either expired at the end of 2011 or are scheduled to expire at the end of 2012. These provisions generally relate to individuals, businesses, charitable giving, energy, community development, or disaster relief. Many of these provisions were originally enacted with expiration dates that have been routinely extended on a short-term basis (hence the term “tax extenders”), but there are also several expiring provisions that have not been previously extended. Tax extenders are often considered as a group during the enactment process.

Budgetary effects. The cost of extending temporary provisions depends on which provisions are extended and for how long. Following are several significant individual and business provisions that expired after 2011, and the 10-year cost of a one-year extension:

• the deduction for state and local sales taxes under Code Sec. 164(b)(5) ($2.79 billion);
• the above-the-line deduction for qualified tuition and related expenses under Code Sec. 222(e) ($780 million); and
• the treatment of mortgage insurance premiums as deductible qualified interest under Code Sec. 163(h)(3) ($740 million).

Expired business provisions include, among others:

• the Code Sec. 41(h)(1)(B) research credit ($7.65 billion);
• 100% bonus first-year depreciation under Code Sec. 168(k)(5) ($5.97 billion);
• 15-year straight-line cost recovery for qualified leasehold, restaurant, and retail improvements under Code Sec. 168(e) ($2.93 billion); and
• the Code Sec. 51(c)(4) work opportunity tax credit ($970 million).

The CRS report provides a thorough list of the expiring provisions in each category (individuals, businesses, charitable giving, energy, community development, and disaster relief), as well as the associated extension costs where available.

Policy considerations.The CRS report opines that there are several reasons that Congress enacts tax provisions on a temporary basis-to provide short-term stimulus, to provide short-term disaster relief, or to encourage routine evaluation of whether a provision is effective. Additionally, the budgetary cost of short-term extension is less. However, the temporary nature of these provisions, and the accompanying uncertainty about how long they will be around, limits their effectiveness in achieving policy objectives.

In testimony before the Senate Committee on Finance, an economics professor queried whether temporary tax legislation is a mere “budget game,” since CBO’s estimates are made on the basis of current law (thus assuming that “temporary” provisions expire as scheduled, even if that is extremely unlikely).

Payroll Tax Cut.  The Federal Insurance Contributions Act (FICA) imposes two taxes on employers, employees, and self-employed workers-one for Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance (OASDI; commonly known as the Social Security tax), and the other for Hospital Insurance (HI; commonly known as the Medicare tax).

If you have any questions regarding these tax developments, please contact your Warren Averett Wilson Price Division accountant.

Circular 230 Notice: To ensure compliance with requirements imposed by the IRS, we inform you that any tax advice contained in this communication (including any attachments) is not intended or written to be used, and cannot be used, for the purpose of (i) avoiding penalties under the Internal Revenue Code or (ii) promoting, marketing or recommending to another party any transaction or matter addressed herein.

Tax Saving Strategies for Your 2011 Form 1040

There is no better source for saving taxes than your AICPA member accountant.  Here is what the AICPA recommends that will not only help you complete your tax return, but may also help you minimize your 2011 tax bill.

Whether you’re training for a marathon, landing the job of your dreams or closing a sale, you’re not going to succeed without being well prepared and fully informed.  The same holds true when managing and preparing your taxes.

Waiting until the return due date of April 17th for the 2012 filing season to put your financial house in order is a straight path to paying higher taxes. To manage your taxes and minimize your tax bill, you need to know the rules of the game, which are constantly changing, and you want to take advantage of year-round tax-planning opportunities.

The Basics

An understanding of the tax-return filing process can make tax season a more positive experience, so we’ll begin by taking a quick look at a few of the basics, beginning with the standard deduction.

Standard Deduction

The standard deduction is the basic deduction all taxpayers can take.  Every year, the IRS adjusts the standard deduction to account for inflation. For 2011, the standard deduction is $5,800 if single or married filing separately and $11,600 if married filing jointly or qualifying widow(er)s. It’s $8,500 if head of household.  Taxpayers age 65 and older or taxpayers who are blind receive an additional standard deduction of $1,450 (single or head of household) or $1,150 (married filing jointly, married filing separately or qualifying widow/er).

Itemizing Deductions

An alternative to claiming the standard deduction is itemizing your deductions. To determine the best strategy, total all of your deductions. In general, if your total allowable itemized deductions are more than the standard deduction, then you should probably itemize, although there are exceptions. Itemized deductions include medical expenses, certain state and local taxes, sales taxes (in lieu of income taxes), mortgage interest, charitable contributions, casualty and theft losses, and other miscellaneous items such as tax-return preparation fees, investment advisory fees and unreimbursed employee business expenses. Tables for the sales tax deduction are provided in the IRS instructions.

In years past, high income taxpayers were required to reduce their itemized deductions by means of a “phaseout”.  There is no phaseout of itemized deductions for 2011.

If you find you’re getting close to exceeding the standard deduction limit, try bunching your tax breaks every other year. This allows you to claim the standard deduction one year and itemize the next, but it also allows you to plan for the maximum tax benefit.

Also, since itemized deductions are a factor in determining if you’re subject to the AMT, which we will be discussing in detail, some pre-planning might help if you’re in this situation.

Charitable Deductions

Making charitable contributions can instill a feeling of goodwill and tax laws have been created to recognize philanthropic efforts.

Donations you make by cash, check or credit card to qualified religious, charitable, educational or other philanthropic institutions are deductible up to 50% of your AGI, if you itemize your deductions. Contributions that are not deductible include those made to political groups, fraternities and sororities, certain scholarships, for-profit hospitals, and blood banks.  In general, if your cash donations exceed 50% of your income, you can carry them forward for up to five years.

Also, remember to obtain and keep a record to substantiate all donations, regardless of the amount, even cash donated to charitable organizations such as the Salvation Army’s Red Kettle drive during the holidays and when attending religious services. Substantiating documents range from a cancelled check and credit-card statement to a W-2 form and a written statement from the organization. The type and extent of documentation is usually determined by the amount of the donation.

Your charitable donations of more than $75 require a disclosure statement from the organization stating the value of any received benefit. Also, you can only deduct a charitable donation of $250 or more if you have a statement from the charitable organization showing the amount of money contributed, and a description, but not value, of any property donated and whether the organization did or did not provide you with any goods or services in return for the contribution.

Donating appreciated assets that qualify for the long-term capital gains treatment can actually do more to cut your tax bill. However, in most cases these donations are limited to 30% of income, with excess amounts carried forward for up to five years. When you give appreciated long-term securities to a nonprofit, you deduct the full market value of the asset at the time of the donation and you avoid paying capital gains tax on the appreciation. Be sure to follow substantiation and other requirements.

A tax deduction for clothing and household items is generally allowed only if the items are in good condition. Automobiles may be contributed to a charity, but the amount of the deduction may depend on what the charity does with the vehicle. These types of donations, as with other donations of tangible property, are included with your cash contributions to determine your annual limit. A single item with a value greater than $500 is subject to special substantiation rules.

Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT)

In addition to the regular income tax, more and more taxpayers are subject to the AMT.

The AMT applies to both higher-income taxpayers as well as to lower-income taxpayers with a large number of exemptions or other tax adjustments. Since the AMT is not indexed for inflation, taxpayers are increasingly finding themselves affected by the AMT.

Some items that can trigger the AMT include:

• A higher-than-average number of dependency exemptions
• Large deductions for state and local income taxes
• High real estate taxes
• Miscellaneous itemized deductions and medical expenses

Congress has attempted to limit the impact of the AMT by increasing the amount of exempt income.

For 2011, the AMT exemption amounts are $48,450 for single filers and $74,450 for married taxpayers filing jointly. However, the exemption amount begins to phase out when AMT income exceeds $112,500 if single or $150,000 if married filing jointly. Exemption amounts may decrease in 2012.Unfortunately, the AMT defies most traditional tax-planning strategies. If you’ve been close to the threshold, you’ll need to consult with your CPA for specific advice on how the AMT may affect you this tax season.

TAX STRATEGIES & INCENTIVES

Now that we have the basics behind us, it’s time to move further ahead.   Let’s consider six categories that every taxpayer can relate to:

• Family
• Education
• Job
• Home
• Investments
• Retirement

FAMILY

Let’s start with some tax breaks for which you may be eligible if you are raising a family. If you’re a parent, you want to be sure to take advantage of every tax-saving opportunity available. In this section, we’ll discuss:

• Kiddie Tax
• Child Tax Credit
• Adoption Credit
• Health Savings Accounts
• Health Flexible Spending Arrangements
• Dependent Care Tax Credit
• Long-term Care Premium
• Shifting Income

A credit is the best tax break you can get. Deductions reduce the amount of taxable income on which you must pay taxes, but tax credits reduce, dollar-for-dollar, the taxes you actually owe.

Kiddie Tax

A tax strategy long employed by parents was to shift assets to a child’s name with the result that the investment income would be taxed at the child’s lower tax bracket. However, recent changes make this strategy less beneficial.

To discourage income splitting of investment income between parents and minor children, the tax law has imposed a Kiddie Tax under which any investment income over $1,900 will be taxed at the parent’s tax rate. If a child has unearned income of $1,900 or less, the tax is computed based on the child’s regular tax liability. Thus, the first $950 of unearned income would not be taxed – that is the standard deduction amount for a child. The next $950 of unearned income would be taxed at the child’s tax rate. Even if the Kiddie Tax does apply, regular tax liability must be computed, with the child paying the higher tax liability.

The tax does not apply if both of a child’s parents were deceased at the end of 2011 and regular rules are followed to determine the child’s tax.

The Kiddie Tax applies to investment income of children in these three categories: (1) children under age 18 at the end of 2011, (2) children who are age 18 at the end of 2011 and do not have earned income exceeding 50% of their support for the year and (3) children age 19 through 23 at end of 2011 and who are full-time students and who do not have earned income exceeding 50% of their support for the year. The tax also applies if the child is married and files separately.

Child Tax Credit

The Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization and Jobs Creation Act of 2010 extended the Child Tax Credit to tax years 2011 and 2012.  The credit is worth $1,000 for each qualifying child who is under age 17 at the end of the calendar year and who qualifies as a dependent – your son, daughter, adopted child who lived with you all year, stepchild or eligible foster child, brother, sister, stepbrother, stepsister, or a descendant of any of these individuals. The child must also be a U.S. citizen, resident or national. The Child Tax Credit is in addition to the child’s dependency exemption.  That means if you have three children, the child credit can potentially reduce your tax bill by $3,000.

Adoption Credit

There is good news for people who are planning to adopt a child under age 18 or a person incapable of self-care due to physical or mental challenges because there are two tax benefits that offset escalating adoption expenses.

In 2011, the adoption credit, which is fully refundable, rose to a maximum of $13,360 per child. Parents who work for companies with an Adoption Assistance Program can receive up to a $13,360 reimbursement from their employer for qualified adoption expenses without paying taxes on that benefit.

When adopting a child who is a United States citizen or resident, the family is permitted to take the credit in the year following the year when the actual expense was incurred. These expenses may be taken as a credit even if the adoption ultimately is not completed. Where a foreign adoption is involved, the family may not deduct any expenses, regardless of the year incurred, until the adoption is final.

When you adopt a child with special needs, you are allowed to claim the full credit regardless of actual expenses paid.

Health Savings Accounts

Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) are designed for individuals covered by a High Deductible Health Plan (HDHP) and are not covered by Medicare. HSAs offer a wide range of tax advantages: contributions within certain limits are tax deductible and earnings that accumulate within the account are not taxed until withdrawn, and even under those circumstances, withdrawals to pay for qualified medical expenses are tax free. However, withdrawals you may make for medical expenses that are not qualified are both taxable and subject to a 20% penalty unless you are age 65 or older or disabled.

Health Flexible Spending Arrangements

Although employees are increasingly responsible for some or all of their medical expenses, many companies are offering Flexible Spending Arrangements (FSAs) to help employees pay for these expenses. Employees can contribute some of their wages to these special accounts and the amounts are not taxed in 2011. Funds can be accessed any time during the year to pay for health insurance premiums as well as medical costs and other expenses not covered by insurance, although they must qualify as a deductible medical expense. Reimbursable medical expenses include prescription medications such as over-the-counter drugs prescribed by your doctor. Beginning in 2011, the cost of non-prescription drugs other than insulin can no longer be reimbursed by an FSA. The company’s plan determines contribution terms and limits. It is important to remember that funds not used during the year, or by the end of any grace period the plan may offer, are lost.

Dependent Care Tax Credit

Working parents know how expensive child care can be. The Dependent Care Tax Credit aims to ease some of the burden. Basically, the credit works like this: If you pay someone to care for a dependent under age 13, you may be eligible for a tax credit of up to $2,100. The credit is a percentage of qualifying expenses that range from 20% to 35%, depending on your AGI. You must have earned income to receive the credit and if married, file a joint return.

The dollar limit on the expenses toward which you can apply the credit percentage is $3,000 for the care of one qualified dependent and $6,000 for the care of two or more. Thus, the maximum credit allowed in 2011 is $1,050 if you have one qualified dependent and $2,100 if you have two or more qualified dependents.

Taxpayers should note that the dependent care credit is reduced by the value of qualifying day care provided by your employer under a written, non-discriminatory plan, which generally is not taxable up to $5,000 ($2,500 if married filing separately).

This credit is not restricted to child-related care costs. If you pay someone to look after an incapacitated spouse or dependent of any age, such as a parent or disabled family member, you may also be eligible for this tax break.

Long-term Care Premium

An increasing number of Americans require long-term care due to advanced age or chronic conditions. Unfortunately, nursing homes and their high costs, which can exceed $70,000 annually, are not covered by Medicare or supplemental Medicare insurance. However, long-term care insurance pays for this type of care and a portion of your premiums, based on your age, is tax deductible as a qualified medical expense. The deductible increased in 2011.

You can include your premiums for qualified long-term care services as medical expenses up to the following amounts:

• Age 40 or under - $340
• Age 41 to 50 – $640
• Age 51 to 60 - $1,270
• Age 61 to 70 - $3,390
• Age 71 or over – $4,240

Shifting Income

Investment strategies have to be right for you and appropriate for the economic environment. The current economy makes some of the following strategies more or less beneficial, depending on your circumstances. Income tax rates may increase after 2012, although there is also some movement to see the rates decreased. Regardless of what may ultimately happen, you need to be prepared to react to any change so I recommend that you first check with your CPA financial advisor on these matters.

Kiddie Tax

Let’s begin with strategies for how parents can save on taxes.  As we discussed earlier, shifting income to a child in a lower tax bracket can be a smart strategy and may provide the Kiddie Tax with a place in your overall tax plan. However, as I mentioned, it won’t pay to shift a significant amount of income to a child falling under the Kiddie Tax rules, but transferring a few income-producing assets to a child might still lower your overall tax bill.

Gift Tax

Be sure to also consider the gift tax when shifting assets. For 2011, you generally can give a gift to a child, or anyone else, valued at up to $13,000 each without being subject to the gift tax. It rises to $26,000 if your spouse agrees to split the gifts. The exclusion is allowed only for cash gifts or present interests in property.

Family Business

If you’re a sole proprietor, you can shift income by hiring your minor children to help in your business. In addition to providing valuable work experience for your child, this arrangement can offer tax savings to the business. As long as the work your children do is legitimate, you follow all the rules and your children receive reasonable wages, you can deduct their wages as a business expense and shift the money to your children in lower tax brackets. And as an added bonus, if your son or daughter is under age 18, you don’t have to pay Social Security or Medicare taxes on the wages you pay.  Also, since their wages are earned income, they are not subject to the Kiddie Tax.

EDUCATION

Education Strategies

Since in most cases education accounts for the greatest cost associated with raising kids, you’ll want to read carefully to learn all you can about the credits and deductions for education expenses. Keep in mind that these benefits are available to college students of every age.

Tax Credits

Two popular tax credits – the American Opportunity Tax Credit and the Lifetime Learning Credit – can help defray education expenses for you and your children. And because they are credits rather than deductions, they take a bigger bite out of your tax bill.However, you cannot claim both credits for the same student’s expenses in the same tax year so you’ll need to decide which credit delivers the greater tax savings.

American Opportunity Tax Credit

For 2011 and 2012, the American Opportunity Tax Credit, previously known as the Hope Scholarship Credit, is available to each eligible student and for the first four years of college or other postsecondary school that leads to a degree, certificate or other recognized educational credential. It does not apply to graduate-level courses.

The maximum credit is $2,500 per student for each year and 40% of the credit is refundable, meaning it can reduce your liability below zero and you can receive up to $1,000 even if you owe no taxes.The credit applies to 100% of the first $2,000 of costs and 25% of the next $2,000 of costs. This means you must spend at least $4,000 to obtain the maximum credit of $2,500.  Costs include tuition as well as student-activity fees required for enrollment and attendance. They also include books, supplies and equipment needed for a course of study that must be purchased from the educational institution as a condition of enrollment or attendance. This credit is allowed against the AMT.

Lifetime Learning Credit

The Lifetime Learning Credit provides a credit of up to $2,000 per year. It applies so long as the American Opportunity Tax Credit is not also being claimed for the same student and can be claimed for every year that you qualify to receive it. As its name suggests, the Lifetime Learning Credit can be used by you, your spouse or your dependent(s) for undergraduate, graduate and professional-degree expenses at an eligible educational institution – tuition as well as student-activity fees required for enrollment and attendance. It also applies to books, supplies and equipment needed for a course of study that must be purchased from the educational institution as a condition of enrollment or attendance. Unlike the American Opportunity Tax Credit that applies to each student, the Lifetime Learning Credit applies to each taxpayer and courses taken do not need to be toward a recognized educational credential.

Student Loan Deduction

If you’re paying off student loans, you’ll be happy to know that the rules for deducting student loan interest remain liberal. Taxpayers can continue to deduct up to $2,500 of the interest paid on a qualified student loan as an adjustment to gross income, regardless of how long it takes to repay the loan. And you don’t have to itemize in order to take this deduction. However, there is no deduction if you file as married filing separately, you are claimed as a dependent or the loan is from a related party or a qualified employer plan.Similar to many other provisions, the deduction is limited for certain income amounts.

Higher Education Tuition and Fees Deduction

In 2011, you can claim a tuition and fees deduction – up to $2,000 or $4,000 – as an adjustment to gross income for qualified expenses that you paid for higher education at an eligible educational institution. This deduction, which is available each year you qualify for it, generally applies to the same expenses as those covered by the American Opportunity Tax Credit and Lifetime Learning Credit. The deduction applies to you, your spouse and any dependents who you claim as an exemption. The deduction is barred if your filing status is married filing separately, you can be claimed as a dependent, or if you claimed the American Opportunity Tax Credit or Lifetime Learning Credit.  Similar to many other provisions, there are limits for certain income thresholds.

Qualified Tuition Programs (529 Plans)

Qualified Tuition Programs, also known as 529 Plans, give parents and other family members a tax-advantaged way to save money for college expenses. While there is no tax deduction or credit available on contributions to the plan, the money in the plan grows tax free and no tax is due on withdrawals if the distribution is used to pay for qualified higher-education expenses. There may also be state income tax breaks for plan contributors. Expenses include tuition, room and board, books, supplies, and fees. There is no dollar limit for these expenses. Unlike 2010, computers and other technology equipment and services are no longer qualified expenses.

529 Plans are often used as vehicles for gifts from family members, especially grandparents.

Prepaid Tuition Plans

When saving for tuition, you are not restricted to using your state’s savings plans and can use any state’s plan. The Internet is an invaluable research tool. However, if you select another state’s plan, you may lose a state tax deduction that some states offer to residents who use their state’s prepaid or 529 Plans. Many states have instituted savings plans substantially similar to 529 Plans that propose to create a prepaid tuition account for a student in that state. The amount contributed will depend on when the plan is begun and the child’s age. States have created actuarial tables that they believe will result in a fully funded tuition based on a schedule of deposits and investment-return rates.The advantage of these plans is that they guarantee tuition costs will be covered. However, they do not guarantee admissions, and they do not cover room and board and the cost of books. These expenses would have to be funded separately. The plans provide assistance if the student decides not to attend an in-state school; however, it may not cover the full tuition costs of these schools.In general, the tax treatment of these prepaid tuition plans is similar to 529 Plan rules.

U.S. Savings Bonds

Generally, investors who redeem U.S. savings bonds to pay for qualified higher education expenses may exclude the interest redeemed from gross income. The exclusion has no dollar limit and it applies to Series EE bonds issued after 1989 or Series I bonds.

JOB

Job Search Tax Benefit

For many of us, we spend the majority of our day on the job and the hours we typically devote to our work seem to grow even greater during rocky economic times. However, in addition to a paycheck, experience and hopefully some degree of satisfaction, we receive a number of benefits that have important tax implications, one of which pertains to our job search efforts.  Many unreimbursed expenses incurred as a result of employment are deductible as miscellaneous itemized deductions, though they can only be claimed to the extent they are greater than 2% of adjusted gross income. Included among these expenses are job search costs. These expenses are deductible if the search is for a job in the same line of work, regardless of whether a new position is obtained. However, if a period of unemployment is lengthy, the IRS may disallow the deduction. Also, expenses for finding a first job are not deductible.

HOME

Homeowner Strategies

Now let’s turn our attention to the tax benefits of owning a home, because as a homeowner there are many tax-saving opportunities available to you.

Deductions

Mortgage Interest

In most cases, you can deduct all of the interest you pay on any loan secured by your home if you itemize your deductions. Interest is generally deductible on up to $1 million ($500,000 if married filing separately) of home-acquisition loans. These are loans used to buy, build or substantially improve your principal residence or second home, and are secured by that same residence. Interest on a home-equity loan up to $100,000 ($50,000 if married filing separately) is also deductible. You can also use this deduction for one additional residence that you identify as your second home.This means you can deduct interest on total home debt up to $1.1 million ($550,000 if married filing separately).

As long as the home-equity loan is secured by your home, it doesn’t matter how you spend the proceeds. Home improvements, college tuition, debt consolidation or an exotic vacation – it’s up to you. Just be sure you have a plan to pay it back.

The IRS defines points as any extra charges paid by a home buyer at closing in order to obtain a mortgage. In effect, points are prepaid interest. Points paid to secure a loan for the purchase, construction or improvement of a principal residence are usually fully deductible in the year you paid them. Points paid to buy or improve a second home must be deducted ratably over the term of the loan.

Real Estate Taxes

After the home-mortgage interest deduction, the next most important tax break for homeowners is the deduction for real estate taxes. You can deduct as an itemized deduction real estate taxes and state and local property taxes on all the real estate you own. There are no limits on the dollar amount of real estate taxes you can deduct or on the number of homes for which you can claim the deduction. The only decision you may need to make is whether you prepay the coming year’s taxes or delay the current year’s taxes to see which way it might benefit you.

Selling Your Home

Excluding the gain on the sale of a home is another major incentive for buying a home. If you meet certain requirements, you can keep a significant portion of the profit of the sale of your principal residence without having to pay tax on the gain. Any gain is taxed as a capital gain so the amount owed is not as high. However, any losses on the sale of a principal residence are not deductible.

When you sell your principal residence, you can exclude from income up to $250,000 in gains ($500,000 if married filing jointly or a surviving spouse if the sale is within two years of the other spouse’s death). If you realize a gain on the sale greater than the exclusion, that amount is taxed at capital-gains rates.

To qualify, you must have owned and used your home as a principal residence for at least an aggregate of two of the five years preceding the sale.

The exclusion is available even if you took temporary absences, including vacations, or rented out the home while not living there.

Special rules are provided for sales of the home due to certain health issues, employment reasons or unforeseen circumstances, and for members of the uniformed services.

Keep in mind that if you took a First-time Homebuyer Credit, you may have to repay or recapture some or all of the loan/credit in 2011. Also, if you used your residence as a home office, you may need to make other adjustments.

First-time Homebuyer Credit

The First-time Homebuyer Credit does not apply to home purchases made in 2011 unless the taxpayer or his or her spouse is a specific public employee on extended official duty outside the United States. The credit for other homebuyers ended with purchases completed by or in contract on April 30, 2010.

However, if you claimed the 2008 credit for a home you purchased after April 8, 2008 and before January 1, 2009, in most cases the credit must be repaid, though interest free, over 15 years in 15 equal installments. For all taxpayers, no matter the year claimed, if you sold or otherwise disposed of the home, or used it differently in 2011, you generally are required to repay the complete credit when you file your 2011 tax return.

Home Energy Incentives

In 2011, homeowners can again claim tax credits for making certain energy-saving improvements to their home. These credits include the (1) Nonbusiness Energy Property Credit and (2) Residential Energy Efficient Property Credit. However, the credits are not as favorable as 2010.Under the Nonbusiness Energy Property Credit, homeowners can receive a credit of 10% of the costs of qualified energy-efficient improvements and 100% of the costs of certain energy property expenditures, although dollar limitations may apply to specific types of property, including a maximum lifetime credit of $500. Energy efficient improvements include insulated walls or ceilings; energy-efficient exterior doors and windows, including skylights; specially treated metal or asphalt roofs; and a high-efficiency furnace, water heater or central air conditioning system, and energy property expenditures such as certain heat pumps, water pumps and circulating fans.

The 30% Residential Energy Efficient Property Credit applies to costs for qualified residential solar panels, a geothermal heat pump, solar water-heating equipment, qualified solar electric property costs and small wind-energy property. This credit has no dollar limit or principal-residence requirement. A second 30% credit for qualified fuel-cell plantshas principal-residence and kilowatt-capacity requirements, and cannot be greater than $500 for each 0.5 kilowatt of capacity.

INVESTMENTS

Investment Strategies

Strategy and timing are as important as skill in investing, particularly with regard to taxes. There are a number of tax-smart investment strategies you may want to consider, especially in light of legislation that has lowered the tax rate on dividends and capital gains.These same strategies can be applied during today’s difficult economic times when many people have suffered substantial investment losses. However, be aware that Congress may make changes to them in the future.

Dividends

Qualified dividend income received by an individual shareholder is taxed at a top rate of 15%. It is taxed at 0% for taxpayers in the 10% or 15% income tax bracket.

Capital Gains Tax

The maximum tax rate on net capital gains remains at 15% for 2011. If you’re in the 10%or 15% income tax bracket, your tax rate on net capital gains is zero, and you will not be taxed for 2011. The Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization and Jobs Creation Act of 2010 extended these tax rates through 2012.

To qualify for long-term tax treatment, an asset must generally be held for more than one year before it is sold. Capital gains on investments held for one year or less are taxed at regular income tax rates.

Offset Capital Gains with Losses

When it comes to investment decisions, knowing when to make a move is critical. Then there are times, such as those we are experiencing today, when many of our conventional ideas about investing are dramatically challenged. Many of you may be finding yourselves buying high and selling low, creating a loss.In 2011, capital losses are netted against capital gains. If your capital losses exceed your capital gains, you can deduct up to $3,000 of your combined long-term and short-term capital losses against ordinary income.

Any remaining net capital losses may be carried forward to future years and can be used to offset future gains. It is very important to keep track of these unused losses and whether they are short-term or long-term losses.

Keep in mind that an investment sold at a loss in 2011 need not be gone forever. If you believe it was a good long-term investment, you can buy it back. Just be sure to wait at least 31 days after the sale. Otherwise you’ll get caught up in the wash sale rule. This rule disallows losses on securities sold if substantially identical securities are bought within 30 days before or after the date of the sale, creating a 61-day wash-sale period, although the definition of “substantially identical” provides some flexibility.

RETIREMENT

Retirement Strategies

We all know that contributing to a retirement plan is a key step when working toward a secure retirement, but did you know it can lower your current income tax bill as well?

Employer Sponsored Plans

Pre-tax contributions to an employer-sponsored retirement plan reduce the amount of taxable wages you report on your tax return, making qualified retirement plans an excellent way to cut your tax bill. Matching contributions and income earned within your plan are also tax deferred. If you have a 401(k) and you haven’t arranged to contribute the maximum, try to increase your contributions before year end. This is especially important if your employer makes matching contributions, which, in effect, represents free money. For 2011, if you’re under age 50, your maximum contribution to a 401(k) plan is $16,500. Taxpayers who are age 50 or older by the end of 2011 can make an additional $5,500 “catch-up” contribution for that calendar year to reach $22,000 for 2011.

Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs)

The top annual contribution for traditional or Roth IRAs remains at $5,000 for 2011. If you’re age 50 or older by the end of 2011, you can make an additional $1,000 “catch-up” contribution. You cannot contribute more than your qualifying income for the year, but if your spouse has little or no income, you can contribute to either a traditional IRA or Roth IRA for your spouse based on your earnings.

Traditional IRA contributions may be deductible depending on your modified AGI and whether you or your spouse (if filing jointly) is covered by an employer-sponsored retirement plan. Also, you must begin to take minimum required distributions from the IRA once you reach age 70 ½, but this does not apply to Roth IRAs.

Roth IRA contributions are not deductible, but you can withdraw them at any time tax free. You can also withdraw earnings on contributions tax free after five years if you are age 59½ or older, disabled or paying qualifying first-time homebuyer expenses.

You have until the filing deadline of April 17, 2012 to open and contribute to an IRA for 2011. But why wait? The sooner you contribute, the longer your money grows tax deferred or tax free.

Conversion to Roth IRA

Regardless of your filing status or income, you can convert traditional IRAs to Roth IRAs, with no dollar limit on the amount converted. However, the entire transfer must be reported as income unless after-tax contributions were made to any of your traditional IRAs. Although income tax is due on the amount converted, the 10% early-distribution penalty does not apply if you are under age 59½ and keep the funds in the Roth IRA for at least five years.  There is no modified AGI requirement needed for a conversion and it can be reversed no later than the extended due date for the 2012 tax return.

Your Warren Averett Wilson Price CPA can help you decide whether a conversion to a Roth IRA is best for you.

Key Takeaways

This was a lot to cover, but the key takeaways for you are these:

• First, remember that your CPA can be a valuable partner in providing answers to your questions and helping to keep your tax bill to a minimum.
• Second, don’t hesitate to ask a lot of questions to make sure you understand the advice you are being given.
• Third, don’t wait until tax time to seek professional tax assistance. Your Warren Averett Wilson Price CPA can help you plan for tax savings throughout the year.

If you have any questions regarding these tax developments, please contact your Warren Averett Wilson Price Division accountant.

Circular 230 Notice: To ensure compliance with requirements imposed by the IRS, we inform you that any tax advice contained in this communication (including any attachments) is not intended or written to be used, and cannot be used, for the purpose of (i) avoiding penalties under the Internal Revenue Code or (ii) promoting, marketing or recommending to another party any transaction or matter addressed herein.

The following is a summary of the many important tax developments that have occurred in the past three months that may affect you, your family, your investments, and your livelihood. Please call us for more information about any of these developments and what steps you should implement to take advantage of favorable developments and to minimize the impact of those that are unfavorable.

Payroll tax cut temporarily extended. The Temporary Payroll Tax Cut Continuation Act of 2011 was enacted late last year. It temporarily extends the two percentage point payroll tax cut for employees, continuing the reduction of their Social Security tax withholding rate from 6.2% to 4.2% of wages paid through Feb. 29, 2012. Shortly after its passage, the IRS instructed employers to implement the new payroll tax rate as soon as possible in 2012 but not later than Jan. 31, 2012. The law also includes a “recapture” provision, which applies only to those employees who receive more than $18,350 in wages during the two-month period (i.e., two-twelfths of the 2012 wage base of $110,100). This provision imposes an additional income tax on these higher-income employees in an amount equal to 2% of the amount of wages they receive during the two-month period in excess of $18,350 (and not greater than $110,100). In addition, under the new law, the social security tax rate for a self-employed individual remains at 10.4%, for self-employment income of up to $18,350 (reduced by wages subject to the lower rate for 2012). Congress is going to try to negotiate a deal to extend the payroll tax cut for all of 2012. If a deal is struck to extend it for the full year, the recapture provision for employees would not apply.

Credit for hiring veterans extended and enhanced. A law enacted last November extended and enhanced a credit for hiring qualified veterans. Before the law was passed, the credit would have been available only if the qualified veteran were hired before Jan. 1, 2012, and only certain veterans were considered qualified veterans. The new law extends the credit for hiring qualified veterans, adds two new classes of veterans who are considered qualified veterans, increases the credit for hiring certain qualified veterans, “fast-tracks” the process for certifying that an individual is a qualified veteran, and provides tax-exempt employers with a credit against payroll tax for hiring qualified veterans. The credit amount varies depending on a number of factors. It can be as high as $9,600 for hiring a qualified disabled veteran. For an employer to qualify for the credit, the qualified veteran must begin work for the employer before Jan. 1, 2013 and other requirements must be met.

New rules for deducting or capitalizing tangible property costs. The IRS has issued new regulations for determining whether amounts paid to acquire, produce, or improve tangible property may be currently deducted as business expenses or must be capitalized. The regulations will affect virtually all taxpayers that acquire, produce, or improve tangible property. They are comprehensive, voluminous and virtually rewrite the rules in this area. For example, they provide detailed definitions of “materials and supplies” and “rotable and temporary spare parts” and prescribe new rules and elective de minimis and optional methods for handling their cost. They also have rules for differentiating between deductible repairs and capitalizable improvements, among many other items. The regulations generally are effective in tax years beginning after Dec. 31, 2011. However, to add to their complexity, some of the new rules in the regulations do not supersede prior IRS guidance.

New foreign asset reporting guidance and form. The IRS issued detailed guidance on the new law requiring individuals with an interest in a “specified foreign financial asset” during the tax year to attach a disclosure statement to their income tax return for any year in which the aggregate value of all such assets is greater than $50,000 (or a dollar amount higher than $50,000 as the IRS may prescribe). In addition, the IRS issued Form 8938 (Statement of Specified Foreign Financial Assets), which individual taxpayers will use starting in the 2012 tax filing season to report specified foreign financial assets for tax year 2011. The guidance consists of detailed temporary regulations. They define terms that apply for purposes of the reporting requirement; provide rules to determine if a specified individual must file a Form 8938 with their annual return; define what are specified foreign financial assets; detail what information needs to be reported; provide guidelines for valuing specified foreign financial assets; list exceptions to the reporting requirements; and describe the penalties that apply for failure to comply with the reporting requirements.

Standard mileage rates flat or lower. The optional mileage allowance for owned or leased autos (including vans, pickups or panel trucks) is 55.5¢ per each business mile traveled after 2011. For 2011, it was 55.5¢ for miles driven after June 30 and 51¢ per mile for miles driven before July 1. Further, the 2012 rate for using a car to get medical care or in connection with a move that qualifies for the moving expense deduction is 23¢ per mile. For 2011, it was 23.5¢ for miles driven after June 30 and 19¢ per mile for miles driven before July 1.

New Form 8949 replaces Form 1040, Schedule D-1. Many transactions that, in previous years, would have been reported on Form 1040, Schedule D or D-1 must be reported on Form 8949 if they occurred in 2011. Specifically, a taxpayer uses Form 8949 to report:

• The sale or exchange of a capital asset not reported on another form or schedule,
• Gains from involuntary conversions (other than from casualty or theft) of capital assets not held for business or profit, and
• Nonbusiness bad debts.

The taxpayer uses Schedule D to figure the overall gain or loss from transactions reported on Form 8949 and to report capital gain distributions not reported directly on Form 1040, line 13, a capital loss carryover from 2010 to 2011, and certain specialized items.

Withholding requirement for government contractors repealed. A law enacted in 2005 was to have required the Federal government and the government of every state, political subdivision of a state, and instrumentality of a state or state subdivision (including multi-state agencies) making certain payments to a person providing any property or services (e.g., payments to a government contractor) to deduct and withhold 3% from that payment. Although the withholding requirement was originally set to apply to payments made after 2010, it was subsequently deferred to apply to payments made after 2012. A law enacted in November 2011 repealed the government contractor withholding requirement.

If you have any questions regarding these tax developments, please contact your Warren Averett Wilson Price Division accountant.

Circular 230 Notice: To ensure compliance with requirements imposed by the IRS, we inform you that any tax advice contained in this communication (including any attachments) is not intended or written to be used, and cannot be used, for the purpose of (i) avoiding penalties under the Internal Revenue Code or (ii) promoting, marketing or recommending to another party any transaction or matter addressed herein.

The 2010 Tax Relief Act provided bigger depreciation deductions for business assets. In fact, under Section 179, businesses can expense up to $500,000 of depreciable business assets acquired during 2011, with any remaining basis fully deducted using the 100% bonus depreciation. Unfortunately, unfavorable depreciation rules apply to most passenger autos and light trucks used in business. For a vehicle acquired in 2011, depreciation deductions are generally limited to the following amounts: 

		New Cars (With Bonus Depreciation)		Used Cars (No Bonus Depreciation)		New Light Trucks and Vans (With Bonus Depreciation)		Used Light trucks and Vans (No Bonus Depreciation)
Year 1		$  11,060		$    3,060		$  11,260		$    3,260
Year 2		4,900		4,900		5,200		5,200
Year 3		2,950		2,950		3,150		3,150
Year 4 and thereafter		1,775		1,775		1,875		1,875

Of course, when a vehicle is used less than 100% for business, these figures are cut back even further. In fact, the average client may not live long enough to fully depreciate a really expensive car.

Exception for Heavy Trucks, Vans, and Sport Utility Vehicles (SUVs).

These vehicles are not subject to the above limits. A truck, van, or SUV is “heavy” if it has a Gross Vehicle Weight Rating (GVWR) (the manufacturer’s maximum weight rating when loaded) above 6,000 pounds.  We’ve listed below many of the 2012 vehicle models that qualify for these special tax benefits based on their GVWRs at the time we checked them. As you can see, it’s a surprisingly long list. In addition, there may be some we have missed (new and retooled models are coming out all the time). Thus, always verify the GVWR for yourself before making a buying decision. The GVWR can normally be found on a label attached to the inside edge of the driver’s side door.

If you buy such a vehicle in 2011 and use it more than 50% for business, you may be able to deduct the entire business portion of the vehicle’s cost this year. For example, if before the end of the year you buy a new $65,000 heavy SUV that has a gross vehicle weight above 6,000 pounds and is used 100% for business, you may be able to deduct the entire $65,000 this year.

To claim these deductions, you must establish through contemporaneous records (such as, a mileage log) that you use the vehicle over 50% of the time for business. If your business usage later falls below 51%, a portion of the deductions previously claimed will need to be recaptured and reported as ordinary income in that year. Also, deductions allowable for used vehicles may be limited as such vehicles do not qualify for 100% bonus depreciation. Finally, this strategy works best if you are self-employed-claiming a Section 179 and bonus depreciation deductions for a heavy corporate-owned vehicle is much more difficult. Nevertheless, the heavy vehicle deductions can generate major tax savings given the right circumstances.

If you would like more details, please do not hesitate to call.

Vehicles with GVWRs above 6,000 Pounds

Audi		Infinity
Audi Q7		QX56
BMW		Jeep
X5 MX6 M		Grand Cherokee
Buick		Land Rover
Enclave		LR4
		Range Rover
Cadillac		Lexus
Escalade		GX460
		LX570
Chevrolet
Avalanche		Lincoln
Express van		Navigator
Silverado
Suburban		Mercedes
Tahoe		G Class
Traverse		GL Class
		M Class
Dodge		R Class
Dakota2
Durango2		Nissan
Ram		Armada
		NV
Ford		Pathfinder
Expedition		Titan
Explorer
F150		Porsche
F250		Cayenne
F350
F450		Toyota
		4Runner
GMC		Land Cruiser
Acadia		Sequoia
Savana		Tundra
Sierra
Yukon		Volkswagon
		Touareg
Honda
Pilot		Volvo
Ridgeline	__	XC90

 

Contact Us

Circular 230 Notice: To ensure compliance with requirements imposed by the IRS, we inform you that any tax advice contained in this communication (including any attachments) is not intended or written to be used, and cannot be used, for the purpose of (i) avoiding penalties under the Internal Revenue Code or (ii) promoting, marketing or recommending to another party any transaction or matter addressed herein.

As we approach year-end, it’s again time to focus on last-minute moves you can make to save taxes-both on your 2011 return and in future years. Before we get to specific suggestions, here are two important considerations to keep in mind.

First, remember that effective tax planning requires considering both this year and next year-at least. Without a multiyear outlook, you can’t be sure maneuvers intended to save taxes on your 2011 return won’t backfire and cost additional money in the future. For example, postponing a stock sale gain until next year would reduce your 2011 adjusted gross income (good), but increase the 2012 figure (bad). Higher income next year could make you ineligible for the child tax credit; reduce or eliminate the credits or deduction for college expenses; limit deductible losses from your rental real estate investments; and so on.

Second, be on the alert for the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) this year. It’s an add-on tax over and above your “regular” tax. Although you may have never owed AMT in the past, your odds of being hit are higher now. Why? Because the tax brackets, standard deduction, and personal exemption allowances used in calculating your regular tax liability are all indexed annually for inflation. Most AMT parameters are not. The odds of owing the tax go up every year due to this factor alone. The risk goes up another notch or two if you deduct a significant amount of state and local taxes or miscellaneous itemized deductions (like unreimbursed employee business expenses) or claim multiple dependents. These deductions are not allowed against the AMT. Finally, if you exercised incentive stock options or recognized a large capital gain this year, consider yourself a likely AMT victim.

Here are a few tax-saving ideas to get you started. As always, you can call on us to help you sort through the options and implement strategies that make sense for you.

Ideas for Your Business

Take Advantage of Tax Breaks for Purchasing Equipment, Software, and Certain Real Property. If you have plans to buy a business computer, office furniture, equipment, vehicle, or other tangible business property or to make certain improvements to real property, you might consider doing so before year-end to capitalize on the following generous, but temporary tax breaks:

• Bigger Section 179 Deduction. Your business may be able to take advantage of the temporarily increased Section 179 deduction. Under the Section 179 deduction privilege, an eligible business can often claim first-year depreciation write-offs for the entire cost of new and used equipment and software additions. (However, limits apply to the amount that can be deducted for most vehicles.) For tax years beginning in 2011, the maximum Section 179 deduction is $500,000. For tax years beginning in 2012, however, the maximum deduction is scheduled to drop back to $125,000.
• Section 179 Deduction for Real Estate. Real property costs are generally ineligible for the Section 179 deduction privilege. However, an exception applies to tax years beginning in 2011. Under the exception, your business can immediately deduct up to $250,000 of qualified costs for restaurant buildings and improvements to interiors of retail and leased nonresidential buildings. The $250,000 Section 179 allowance for these real estate expenditures is part of the overall $500,000 allowance. This temporary real estate break will not be available for tax years beginning after 2011 unless Congress extends it.

Note: Watch out if your business is already expected to have a tax loss for the year (or be close) before considering any Section 179 deduction, as you cannot claim a Section 179 write-off that would create or increase an overall business tax loss. Please contact us if you think this might be an issue for your operation.

• 100% First-year Bonus Depreciation. Above and beyond the bumped-up Section 179 deduction, your business can also claim first-year bonus depreciation equal to 100% of the cost of most new (not used) equipment and software placed in service by December 31 of this year. For a new passenger auto or light truck that’s used for business and is subject to the luxury auto depreciation limitations, the 100% bonus depreciation break increases the maximum first-year depreciation deduction by $8,000 for vehicles placed in service this year. The 100% bonus depreciation break will expire at year-end unless Congress extends it.

Note: 100% bonus depreciation deductions can create or increase a Net Operating Loss (NOL) for your business’s 2011 tax year. You can then carry back a 2011 NOL to 2009 and 2010 and collect a refund of taxes paid in those years. Please contact us for details on the interaction between asset additions and NOLs.

Claim the Health Insurance Tax Credit for Small Employers. Qualifying small employers can claim a tax credit that can potentially cover up to 35% of the cost of providing health insurance coverage to employees. A qualifying small employer is one that: (1) has no more than 25 Full-time Equivalent (FTE) workers, (2) pays an average FTE wage of less than $50,000 and (3) has a qualifying healthcare arrangement in place. The allowable credit is quickly reduced under a complicated phase-out rule when the employer has more than 10 FTE employees or an average FTE wage in excess of $25,000. Please contact us if you have questions about this break.

Evaluate Inventory for Damaged or Obsolete Items. Inventory is normally valued for tax purposes at cost or the lower of cost or market value. Regardless of which of these methods is used, the end-of-the-year inventory should be reviewed to detect obsolete or damaged items. The carrying cost of any such items may be written down to their probable selling price (net of selling expenses). [This rule does not apply to businesses that use the Last-in, First out (LIFO) method because LIFO does not distinguish between goods that have been written down and those that have not].

To claim a deduction for a write-down of obsolete inventory, you are not required to scrap the item. However, in a period ending not later than 30 days after the inventory date, the item must be actually offered for sale at the price to which the inventory is reduced.

Ideas for Maximizing Nonbusiness Deductions

One way to reduce your 2011 tax liability is to look for additional deductions. Here’s a list of suggestions to get you started:

Make Charitable Gifts of Appreciated Stock. If you have appreciated stock that you’ve held more than a year and you plan to make significant charitable contributions before year-end, keep your cash and donate the stock (or mutual fund shares) instead. You’ll avoid paying tax on the appreciation, but will still be able to deduct the donated property’s full value. If you want to maintain a position in the donated securities, you can immediately buy back a like number of shares. (This idea works especially well with no load mutual funds because there are no transaction fees involved.)

However, if the stock is now worth less than when you acquired it, sell the stock, take the loss, and then give the cash to the charity. If you give the stock to the charity, your charitable deduction will equal the stock’s current depressed value and no capital loss will be available. Also, if you sell the stock at a loss, you can’t immediately buy it back as this will trigger the wash sale rules. This means your loss won’t be deductible, but instead will be added to the basis in the new shares.

Maximize the Benefit of the Standard Deduction. For 2011, the standard deduction is $11,600 for married taxpayers filing joint returns. For single taxpayers, the amount is $5,800. Currently, it looks like these amounts will be about the same for 2012. If your total itemized deductions are normally close to theseamounts, you may be able to leverage the benefit of your deductions by bunching deductions in every other year. This allows you to time your itemized deductions so that they are high in one year and low in the next. You claim actual expenses in the year they are bunched and take the standard deduction in the intervening years.

For instance, you might consider moving charitable donations you normally would make in early 2012 to the end of 2011. If you’re temporarily short on cash, charge the contribution to a credit card-it is deductible in the year charged, not when payment is made on the card. You can also accelerate payments of your real estate taxes or state income taxes otherwise due in early 2012. But, watch out for the AMT, as these taxes are not deductible for AMT purposes.

Bunch Deductions Subject to an Adjusted Gross Income Limit. Miscellaneous itemized deductions (such as unreimbursed employee business expenses) are deductible to the extent they exceed 2% of your adjusted gross income (AGI). (Your AGI is the number at the bottom of the first page of your return.) Medical expenses are deductible only to the extent they exceed 7.5% of AGI. To lessen the affect of these AGI limitations, try to bunch your miscellaneous and medical expense deductions into every other year.

Making the Most of Year-end Securities Transactions

For 2011 sales, you’ll generally owe only 15% on gains from investment assets held over one year (0% if the gains would otherwise fall into the 15% regular income tax bracket). Gains from investments held one year or less are taxed at your ordinary rates. So, the framework for year-end tax selling of investment securities is fairly simple. First, list those stocks, mutual fund shares, and bonds that you feel you could easily live without. You’ll probably have some winners (current market value above your cost) and some losers (value below cost) on the list.

Between now and year-end, you can sell enough losers to offset any capital gains recognized earlier this year. Plus, you can sell enough to generate another $3,000 in losses ($1,500 for married filing separate status), which then can be deducted against your income from all other sources. Because selling the losers reduces your income, the odds are increased that you’ll qualify for various other tax breaks.

If your year-to-date sales have resulted in an overall loss in excess of $3,000, you can sell enough winners between now and year-end to get back to the “negative $3,000″ level. Cashing in gains to that extent won’t add a cent to your federal tax bill, whether or not the assets have been held over 12 months. On the other hand, if your year-to-date sales are currently standing at zero or a net gain and you want to unload some winners, but no more losers, before year-end, try to sell only those you’ve owned over 12 months. Then, the resulting gains will be taxed at no more than 15%.

When selling stock or mutual fund shares, the general rule is that the shares you acquired first are the ones you sell first. However, if you choose, you can specifically identify the shares you’re selling when you sell less than your entire holding of a stock or mutual fund. By notifying your broker of the shares you want sold at the time of the sale, your gain or loss from the sale is based on the identified shares. This sales strategy gives you better control over the amount of your gain or loss and whether it’s long-term or short-term.

Secure a Deduction for Nearly Worthless Securities. If the dismal economy has left you with securities that are all but worthless with little hope of recovery, you might consider selling them before the end of the year so you can capitalize on the loss this year. You can deduct a loss on worthless securities only if you can prove the investment is completely worthless. Thus, a deduction is not available, as long as you own the security and it has any value at all. Total worthlessness can be very difficult to establish with any certainty. To avoid the issue, it may be easier just to sell the security if it has any marketable value. As long as the sale is not to a family member, this allows you to claim a loss for the difference between your tax basis and the proceeds (subject to the normal rules for capital losses and the wash sale rules restricting the recognition of loss if the security is repurchased within 30 days before or after the sale).

Employer Stock Options. If you own appreciated stock acquired by exercising Incentive Stock Options (ISOs) and are now considering selling as part of your overall year-end strategy, remember what it takes to qualify for the 15% rate. First, the shares must be held over two years from the option grant date (the date you received the ISO). Second, the shares must be held over 12 months after the exercise date (the date you acquired the stock by exercising your ISO). Selling sooner means all or part of your gain may be taxed at your higher ordinary tax rate.

What if you own nonqualified options? It may pay to exercise now, if there’s just a modest spread between market value and your exercise price and you expect the stock to appreciate. You’ll owe tax at your ordinary rate on the spread, but any future appreciation will qualify for the 15% rate if you’ve held the shares over 12 months by the time you sell.

If you already own shares from exercising nonqualified options, remember your post-exercise gains will qualify for the 15% rate as long as more than 12 months have passed since you acquired the stock. A shorter holding period means your gains will be taxed at your higher ordinary rate, unless you have offsetting capital losses from other transactions this year.

Ideas for Seniors Age 701/2 Plus

Make Charitable Donations from Your IRA. IRA owners and beneficiaries who have reached age 70½ are permitted to make cash donations totaling up to $100,000 to IRS-approved public charities directly out of their IRAs. These so-called Qualified Charitable Distributions, or QCDs, are federal-income-tax-free to you, but you get no itemized charitable write-off on your Form 1040. That’s okay because the tax-free treatment of QCDs equates to an immediate 100% federal income tax deduction without having to worry about restrictions that can delay itemized charitable write-offs. QCDs have other tax advantages too. Contact us if you want to hear about them.

Be careful-to qualify for this special tax break, the funds must be transferred directly from your IRA to the charity. Also, this favorable provision will expire at the end of this year unless Congress extends it. So, this could be your last chance.

Take Your Required Retirement Distributions. The tax laws generally require individuals with retirement accounts to take withdrawals based on the size of their account and their age every year after they reach age 701/2. Failure to take a required withdrawal can result in a penalty of 50% of the amount not withdrawn. There’s good news for 2011 though-QCDs discussed above count as payouts for purposes of the required distribution rules. This means, you can donate all or part of your 2011 required distribution amount (up to the $100,000 limit on QCDs) and convert taxable required distributions into tax-free QCDs.

Also, if you turned age 701/2 in 2011, you can delay your 2011 required distribution to 2012 if you choose. But, waiting until 2012 will result in two distributions in 2012-the amount required for 2011 plus the amount required for 2012. While deferring income is normally a sound tax strategy, here it results in bunching income into 2012. Thus, think twice before delaying your 2011 distribution to 2012-bunching income into 2012 might throw you into a higher tax bracket or have a detrimental impact on your other tax deductions in 2012.

Ideas for the Office

Maximize Contributions to 401(k) Plans. If you have a 401(k) plan at work, it’s just about time to tell your company how much you want to set aside on a tax-free basis for next year. Contribute as much as you can stand, especially if your employer makes matching contributions. You give up “free money” when you fail to participate to the max for the match.

Take Advantage of Flexible Spending Accounts (FSAs). If your company has a healthcare and/or dependent care FSA, before year-end you must specify how much of your 2012 salary to convert into tax-free contributions to the plan. You can then take tax-free withdrawals next year to reimburse yourself for out-of-pocket medical and dental expenses and qualifying dependent care costs. Watch out, though, FSAs are “use-it-or-lose-it” accounts-you don’t want to set aside more than what you’ll likely have in qualifying expenses for the year.

Married couples who both have access to FSAs will also need to decide whose FSA to use. If one spouse’s salary is likely to be higher than what’s known as the FICA wage limit (which is $106,800 for this year and will likely be somewhat higher next year) and the other spouse’s will be less, the one with the smaller salary should fund as much of the couple’s FSA needs as possible. The reason is the 6.2% social security tax levy for 2012 is set to stop at the FICA wage limit (and doesn’t apply at all to money put into an FSA). Thus, for example, if one spouse earns $115,000 and the other $40,000 and they want to collectively set aside $5,000 in their FSAs, they can save $310 (6.2% of $5,000) by having the full amount taken from the lower-paid spouse’s salary versus having 100% taken from the other one’s wages. Of course, either way, the couple will also save approximately $1,400 in income and Medicare taxes because of the FSAs.

If you currently have a healthcare FSA, make sure you drain it by incurring eligible expenses before the deadline for this year. Otherwise, you’ll lose the remaining balance. It’s not that hard to drum some things up: new glasses or contacts, dental work you’ve been putting off, or prescriptions that can be filled early. Although, over-the-counter drugs (e.g., aspirin and antacids) no longer qualify for reimbursement by healthcare FSAs, bandages and medical equipment (e.g., thermometers and blood pressure monitoring devices) do qualify.

Adjust Your Federal Income Tax Withholding. If it looks like you are going to owe income taxes for 2011, consider bumping up the Federal income taxes withheld from your paychecks now through the end of the year. When you file your return, you will still have to pay any taxes due less the amount paid in. However, as long as your total tax payments (estimated payments plus withholdings) equal at least 90% of your 2011 liability or, if smaller, 100% of your 2010 liability (110% if your 2010 adjusted gross income exceeded $150,000; $75,000 for married individuals who filed separate returns), penalties will be minimized, if not eliminated.

Don’t Overlook Estate Planning

For 2011 and 2012, the unified federal gift and estate tax exemption is a relatively generous $5 million. However, the exemption will drop back to only $1 million in 2013 unless Congress takes action. In addition, the maximum federal estate tax rate for 2011 and 2012 is 35%. For 2013 and beyond, it is scheduled to rise from the current 35% to a painfully high 55%. Therefore, planning to avoid or minimize the federal estate tax should still be part of your overall financial game plan. Even if you already have a good plan, it may need updating to reflect the current $5 million exemption. Contact us for more information on the best ways to minimize estate taxes for someone in your situation.

Conclusion

Through careful planning, it’s possible your 2011 tax liability can still be significantly reduced, but don’t delay. The longer you wait, the less likely it is that you’ll be able to achieve a meaningful reduction. The ideas discussed in this letter are a good way to get you started with year-end planning, but they’re no substitute for personalized professional assistance. Please don’t hesitate to call us with questions or for additional strategies on reducing your tax bill. We’d be glad to set up a planning meeting or assist you in any other way that we can.  

Contact Us

Circular 230 Notice: To ensure compliance with requirements imposed by the IRS, we inform you that any tax advice contained in this communication (including any attachments) is not intended or written to be used, and cannot be used, for the purpose of (i) avoiding penalties under the Internal Revenue Code or (ii) promoting, marketing or recommending to another party any transaction or matter addressed herein.

President Obama introduced The American Jobs Act last night during a speech to Congress and the nation.  Details of this plan are outlined below in the official press release from The White House.

If you have any questions about how this act may effect your individual or business tax planning, please contact your Wilson Price accountant.

The White House
Office of the Press Secretary
For Immediate Release
September 08, 2011 

Fact Sheet: The American Jobs Act

THE AMERICAN JOBS ACT  

1. Tax Cuts to Help America’s Small Businesses Hire and Grow

• Cutting the payroll tax in half for 98 percent of businesses: The President’s plan will cut in half the taxes paid by businesses on their first $5 million in payroll, targeting the benefit to the 98 percent of firms that have payroll below this threshold.
• A complete payroll tax holiday for added workers or increased wages: The President’s plan will completely eliminate payroll taxes for firms that increase their payroll by adding new workers or increasing the wages of their current worker (the benefit is capped at the first $50 million in payroll increases).
• Extending 100% expensing into 2012: This continues an effective incentive for new investment.
• Reforms and regulatory reductions to help entrepreneurs and small businesses access capital.
    

2. Putting Workers Back on the Job While Rebuilding and Modernizing America

• A “Returning Heroes” hiring tax credit for veterans: This provides tax credits from $5,600 to $9,600 to encourage the hiring of unemployed veterans.
• Preventing up to 280,000 teacher layoffs,while keeping cops and firefighters on the job.
• Modernizing at least 35,000 public schools across the country, supporting new science labs, Internet-ready classrooms and renovations at schools across the country, in rural and urban areas.
• Immediate investments in infrastructure and a bipartisan National Infrastructure Bank, modernizing our roads, rail, airports and waterways while putting hundreds of thousands of workers back on the job.
• A New “Project Rebuild“, which will put people to work rehabilitating homes, businesses and communities, leveraging private capital and scaling land banks and other public-private collaborations.
• Expanding access to high-speed wireless as part of a plan for freeing up the nation’s spectrum.

3. Pathways Back to Work for Americans Looking for Jobs.

• The most innovative reform to the unemployment insurance program in 40 years: As part of an extension of unemployment insurance to prevent 5 million Americans looking for work from losing their benefits, the President’s plan includes innovative work-based reforms to prevent layoffs and give states greater flexibility to use UI funds to best support job-seekers, including:
  • Work-Sharing:  UI for workers whose employers choose work-sharing over layoffs.
  • A new “Bridge to Work” program: The plan builds on and improves innovative state programs where those displacedtake temporary, voluntary work or pursue on-the-job training.
  • Innovative entrepreneurship and wage insurance programs: States will also be empowered to implement wage insurance to help reemploy older workers and programs that make it easier for unemployed workers to start their own businesses.
• A $4,000 tax credit to employers for hiring long-term unemployed workers.
• Prohibiting employers from discriminating against unemployed workers when hiring.
• Expanding job opportunities for low-income youth and adults through a fund for successful approaches for subsidized employment, innovative training programs and summer/year-round jobs for youth.

4. Tax Relief for Every American Worker and Family

• Cutting payroll taxes in half for 160 million workers next year: The President’s plan will expand the payroll tax cut passed last year to cut workers payroll taxes in half in 2012 – providing a $1,500 tax cut to the typical American family, without negatively impacting the Social Security Trust Fund.
• Allowing more Americans to refinance their mortgages at today’s near 4 percent interest rates, which can put more than $2,000 a year in a family’s pocket.

5. Fully Paid for as Part of the President’s Long-Term Deficit Reduction Plan.To ensure that the American Jobs Act is fully paid for, the President will call on the Joint Committee to come up with additional deficit reduction necessary to pay for the Act and still meet its deficit target. The President will, in the coming days, release a detailed plan that will show how we can do that while achieving the additional deficit reduction necessary to meet the President’s broader goal of stabilizing our debt as a share of the economy.

AMERICAN JOBS ACT OVERVIEW

The American people understand that the economic crisis and the deep recession weren’t created overnight and won’t be solved overnight. The economic security of the middle class has been under attack for decades. That’s why President Obama believes we need to do more than just recover from this economic crisis – we need to rebuild the economy the American way, based on balance, fairness, and the same set of rules for everyone from Wall Street to Main Street.  We can work together to create the jobs of the future by helping small business entrepreneurs, by investing in education, and by making things the world buys. The President understands that to restore an American economy that’s built to last we cannot afford to outsource American jobs and encourage reckless financial deals that put middle class security at risk.

To create jobs, the President unveiled the American Jobs Act – nearly all of which is made up of ideas that have been supported by both Democrats and Republicans, and that Congress should pass right away to get the economy moving now. The purpose of the American Jobs Act is simple: put more people back to work and put more money in the pockets of working Americans. And it would do so without adding a dime to the deficit.

Tax Cuts to Help America’s Small Businesses Hire and Grow

New Tax Cuts to Businesses to Support Hiring and Investment:The President is proposing three tax cuts to provide immediate incentives to hire and invest:

• Cutting the Payroll Tax Cut in Half for the First $5 Million in Wages:This provision would cut the payroll tax in half to 3.1% for employers on the first $5 million in wages, providing broad tax relief to all businesses but targeting it to the 98 percent of firms with wages below this level.
• Temporarily Eliminating Employer Payroll Taxes on Wages for New Workers or Raises for Existing Workers:The President is proposing a full holiday on the 6.2% payroll tax firms pay for any growth in their payroll up to $50 million above the prior year, whether driven by new hires, increased wages or both. This is the kind of job creation measure that CBO has called the most effective of all tax cuts in supporting employment.
• Extending 100% Expensing into 2012:The President is proposing to extend 100 percent expensing, the largest temporary investment incentive in history, allowing all firms – large and small – to take an immediate deduction on investments in new plants and equipment.
• Helping Entrepreneurs and Small Businesses Access Capital and Grow: The President’s plan includes administrative, regulatory and legislative measures – including those developed and recommended by the President’s Jobs Council – to help small firms start and expand. This includes changing the way the government does business with small firms. The Administration will soon announce a plan to accelerate government payments to small contractors to help put money in their hands faster. The President is also charging his CIO and CTO to, within 90 days, stand up a one-stop, online portal for small businesses to easily access government services. As part of the President’s Startup America initiative, the Administration will work with the SEC to conduct a comprehensive review of securities regulations from the perspective of these small companies to reduce the regulatory burdens on small business capital formation in ways that are consistent with investor protection, including expanding “crowdfunding” opportunities and increasing mini-offerings. Finally, the President’s plan calls for Congress to pass comprehensive patent reform, increase guarantees for bonds to help small businesses compete for infrastructure projects and remove burdensome withholding requirements that keep capital out of the hands of job creators.

Putting Workers Back on the Job While Rebuilding and Modernizing America 

• Tax Credits and Career Readiness Efforts to Support Veterans’ Hiring:The President is proposing a Returning Heroes Tax Credit of up to $5,600 for hiring unemployed veterans who have been looking for a job for more than six months, and a Wounded Warriors Tax Credit of up to $9,600 for hiring unemployed workers with service-connected disabilities who have been looking for a job for more than six months, while creating a new task force to maximize career readiness of servicemembers.
• Preventing Layoffs of Teachers, Cops and Firefighters:The President is proposing to invest $35 billion to prevent layoffs of up to 280,000 teachers, while supporting the hiring of tens of thousands more and keeping cops and firefighters on the job. These funds would help states and localities avoid and reverse layoffs now, requiring that funds be drawn down quickly. Under the President’s proposal, $30 billion be directed towards educators and $5 billion would support the hiring and retention of public safety and first responder personnel.
• Modernizing Over 35,000 Schools – From Science Labs and Internet-Ready Classrooms to Renovated Facilities:The President is proposing a $25 billion investment in school infrastructure that will modernize at least 35,000 public schools – investments that will create jobs, while improving classrooms and upgrading our schools to meet 21st century needs. This includes a priority for rural schools and dedicated funding for Bureau of Indian Education funded schools. Funds could be used for a range of emergency repair and renovation projects, greening and energy efficiency upgrades, asbestos abatement and removal, and modernization efforts to build new science and computer labs and to upgrade technology in our schools. The President is also proposing a $5 billion investment in modernizing community colleges (including tribal colleges), bolstering their infrastructure in this time of need while ensuring their ability to serve future generations of students and communities.
• Making an Immediate Investment in Our Roads, Rails and Airports: The President’s plan includes $50 billion in immediate investments for highways, transit, rail and aviation, helping to modernize an infrastructure that now receives a grade of “D” from the American Society of Civil Engineers and putting hundreds of thousands of construction workers back on the job. The President’s plan includes investments to improve our airports, support NextGen Air Traffic Modernization efforts, and resources for the TIGER and TIFIA programs, which target competitive dollars to innovative multi-modal infrastructure programs. It will also take special steps to enhance infrastructure-related job training opportunities for individuals from underrepresented groups and ensure that small businesses can compete for infrastructure contracts.The President will work administratively to speed infrastructure investment through a recently issued Presidential Memorandum developed with his Jobs Council directing departments and agencies to identify high impact, job-creating infrastructure projects that can be expedited in a transparent manner through outstanding review and permitting processes. The call for greater infrastructure investment has been joined by leaders from AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka to U.S. Chamber of Commerce President Thomas Donohue.
• Establishing a National Infrastructure Bank: The President is calling for Congress to pass a National Infrastructure Bank capitalized with $10 billion, in order to leverage private and public capital and to invest in a broad range of infrastructure projects of nationaland regional significance, without earmarks or traditional political influence. The Bank would be based on the model Senators Kerry and Hutchison have championed while building on legislation by Senators Rockefeller and Lautenberg and the work of long-time infrastructure bank champions like Rosa DeLauro and the input of the President’s Jobs Council.
• Project Rebuild: Putting People Back to Work Rehabilitating Homes, Businesses and Communities. The President is proposing to invest $15 billion in a national effort to put construction workers on the job rehabilitating and refurbishing hundreds of thousands of vacant and foreclosed homes and businesses. Building on proven approaches to stabilizing neighborhoods with high concentrations of foreclosures, Project Rebuild will bring in expertise and capital from the private sector, focus on commercial and residential property improvements, and expand innovative property solutions like land banks. This approach will not only create construction jobs but will help reduce blight and crime and stabilize housing prices in areas hardest hit by the housing crisis.
• Expanding Access to High-Speed Wireless in a Fiscally Responsible Way: The President is calling for a deficit reducing plan to deploy high-speed wireless services to at least 98 percent of Americans, including those in more remote rural communities, while freeing up spectrum through incentive auctions, spurring innovation, and creating a nationwide, interoperable wireless network for public safety.  

Pathways Back to Work for Americans Looking for Jobs 

• Reform Our Unemployment Insurance System to Provide Greater Flexibility, While Ensuring 6 Million People Do Not Lose Benefits: Drawing on the best ideas of both parties and the most innovative states, the President is proposing the most sweeping reforms to the unemployment insurance (UI) system in 40 years help those without jobs transition to the workplace. Alongside these reforms, the President is reiterating his call to extend unemployment insurance, preventing 6 million people looking for work from losing their benefits and extending what the independent Congressional Budget Office has determined is the highest “bang for the buck” option to increase economic activity.
• Reemployment Assistance: States will be required to design more rigorous reemployment services for the long-term unemployed and to conduct assessments to review the longest-term claimants of UI to assess their eligibility and help them develop a work-search plan.  These reforms are proven to speed up UI beneficiaries’ return to work.
• Work-sharing: The President will expand “work-sharing” to encourage arrangements using UI that keep employees on the job at reduced hours, rather than laying them off.
• State Flexibility for Bold Reforms to Put the Long-Term Unemployed Back To Work: The President is proposing to provide additional funds to allow states to introduce new programs aimed at long-term unemployed workers, including:
• “Bridge to Work” Programs:States will be able to put in place reforms that build off what works in programs like Georgia Works or Opportunity North Carolina, while instituting important fixes and reforms that ensure minimum wage and fair labor protections are being enforced.  These approaches permits long-term unemployed workers to continue receiving UI while they take temporary, voluntary work or pursue work-based training. The President’s plan requires compliance with applicable minimum wage and other worker rights laws.
• Wage Insurance:  States will be able to use UI to encourage older, long-term unemployed Americans to return to work in new industries or occupations.
• Startup Assistance:  States will have flexibility to help long-term unemployed workers create their own jobs by starting their own small businesses.
• Other Reemployment Reforms:  States will be able to seek waivers from the Secretary of Labor to implement other innovative reforms to connect the long-term unemployed to work opportunities.
• Tax Credits for Hiring the Long-Term Unemployed: The President is proposing a tax credit of up to $4,000 for hiring workers who have been looking for a job for over six months.
• Investing in Low-Income Youth and Adults: The President is proposing a new Pathways Back to Work Fund to provide hundreds of thousands of low-income youth and adults with opportunities to work and to achieve needed training in growth industries. The Initiative will do three things: i) support summer and year-round jobs for youth, building off of successful programs that supported over 370,000 such jobs in 2009 and 2010; ii) support subsidized employment opportunities for low-income individuals who are unemployed, building off the successful TANF Emergency Contingency Fund wage subsidy program that supported 260,000 jobs in 2009 and 2010; and iii) support promising and innovative local work-based job and training initiatives to place low-income adults and youths in jobs quickly.
• Prohibiting Employers from Discriminating Against Unemployed Workers: The President’s plan calls for legislation that would make it unlawful to refuse to hire applicants solely because they are unemployed or to include in a job posting a provision that unemployed persons will not be considered.  

 More Money in the Pockets of Every American Worker and Family

• Cutting Payroll Taxes in Half for 160 Million Workers Next Year:The President’s plan will expand the payroll tax cut passed last December by cutting workers payroll taxes in half next year. This provision will provide a tax cut of $1,500 to the typical family earning $50,000 a year. As with the payroll tax cut passed in December 2010, the American Jobs Act will specify that Social Security will still receive every dollar it would have gotten otherwise, through a transfer from the General Fund into the Social Security Trust Fund.
• Helping More Americans Refinance Mortgages at Today’s Historically Low Interest Rates:The President has instructed his economic team to work with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, their regulator the FHFA, major lenders and industry leaders to remove the barriers that exist in the current refinancing program (HARP) to help more borrowers benefit from today’s historically low interest rates. This has the potential to not only help these borrowers, but their communities and the American taxpayer, by keeping borrowers in their homes and reducing risk to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. 

Fully Paid for as Part of the President’s Long-Term Deficit Reduction Plan. 

• To ensure that the American Jobs Act is fully paid for, the President will call on the Joint Committee to come up with additional deficit reduction necessary to pay for the Act and still meet its deficit target. The President will, in the coming days, release a detailed plan that will show how we can do that while achieving the additional deficit reduction necessary to meet the President’s broader goal of stabilizing our debt as a share of the economy.

		$ in billions
Tax Cuts to Help America’s Small Businesses Hire and Grow		70
	Cut employer payroll taxes in half & bonus payroll cut for new jobs/wages	65
	Extend 100% expensing in 2012	5
Putting Workers Back on the Job While Rebuilding and Modernizing America		140
	Teacher rehiring and first responders	35
	Modernizing schools	30
	Immediate surface transportation	50
	Infrastructure bank	10
	Rehabilitation/repurposing of vacant property (neighborhood stabilization)	15
	National wireless initiative	0*
	Veterans hiring initiative	n.a.
Pathways Back to Work for Americans Looking for Jobs		62
	UI Reform and Extension	49
	Jobs tax credit for long term unemployed	8
	Pathways back to work fund	5
More Money in the Pockets of Every American Worker and Family		175
	Cutting employee payroll taxes in half in 2012	175
TOTAL		447

• Proposal has a gross cost of $10 billion, but a net deficit reducing impact of $18 billion because of spectrum auction proceeds.

Circular 230 Notice: To ensure compliance with requirements imposed by the IRS, we inform you that any tax advice contained in this communication (including any attachments) is not intended or written to be used, and cannot be used, for the purpose of (i) avoiding penalties under the Internal Revenue Code or (ii) promoting, marketing or recommending to another party any transaction or matter addressed herein.