1. You must donate to a qualified charity if you want to deduct the gift. You can’t deduct gifts to individuals, political organizations or candidates.

2. In order for you to deduct your contributions, you must file Form 1040 and itemize deductions.

These brochures are a summary of the key tax law changes in 2013 for individuals and small businesses that may affect you.

2013 Individual Tax Law Snapshot
2013 Small Business Tax Law Snapshot

If you are wondering about the need for Long-Term Disability Insurance, but figure you are covered with Social Security. Be sure to consider:

The following individual income tax deductions, credit and exclusions will expire at the end of this month:

• The non-business energy property credit
• The credit for health insurance costs of eligible individuals
• The deduction for certain elementary and secondary school teacher expenses
• Premiums for mortgage insurance deductible as qualified residence interest
• Deduction for state and local general sales taxes
• The special rules for contributions of capital gain real property made for conservation purposes
• The above-the-line deduction for qualified tuition and related expenses
• The exclusion for discharge-of-indebtedness income on principal residence
• Parity between the exclusion from income for employer-provided mass transit and parking benefits
• Tax-free distributions from IRAs for charitable purposes

As we enter the final 3 months of the tax year, here are a couple of strategies to consider with your non-retirement investment portfolio.

• 0% rate on long-term capital gains and dividends. If your income other than gains and dividends is in the 10% or 15% bracket, profits on sales of assets owned for over a year and dividends are tax free until they push you into the 25% bracket. That bracket starts at $72,500 of taxable income for couples and $36,250 for singles. The balance of your long-term gains and dividends is taxed at 15% or possibly 20%.

Syndicated talk show host Dave Ramsey has selected CPA Kevin Boudreau as one of his Endorsed Local Providers in the Phoenix area for tax services. For more information, contact Kevin at (480) 776-3358.

As we enter the final 3 months of the tax year, here are a couple of strategies to consider with your non-retirement investment portfolio.

As some companies look to avoid certain administrative and financial headaches of employing workers, they make arrangements with individuals to be independent contractors who generally get paid without benefits and worker protections.

But be careful. The IRS and courts have certain working environment aspects that are used to evaluate the true definition of the worker.

This comes to light again as a federal judge ruled earlier this week that Rick’s Caberet, a strip club, has to pay its dancers minimum wage and treat them as employees. The club had long classified its dancers as independent contractors and were only paid in customer tips, thus skirting minimum wage rules. This week’s ruling means that 1,900 of Rick’s Caberet International current and former dancers can seek back wages, according to NBCNews.com.

The Internal Revenue Service has issued final regulations for the shared responsibility payment for not maintaining minimum essential coverage under the Affordable Care Act.

• The final regulations largely finalize the rules proposed in February.
• The individual mandate differs from the employer mandate, which was delayed last month until January 2015.
• The individual mandate in contrast is still scheduled to take effect in 2014, when individuals who choose not to enroll in a health insurance program will have to pay a penalty of $95 per person per year, or 1 percent of their income, whichever is larger.
• The individual mandate penalty will gradually increase in 2015 to $325, or 2 percent of income, and in 2016 to $695, or 2.5 percent of income, whichever is bigger.