Topics include the differences between QuickBooks for Mac and QuickBooks for PC, user interface navigation, generating invoices, posting deposits and much more.  A light breakfast will be included.  Register TODAY as seating is limited.

QuickBooks for Mac

WHEN: Thursday, June 14th from 8:00AM - 9:30AM

WHERE: Davis & Hodgdon Associates Offices: 33 Blair Park Road, Suite 201, Williston VT

REGISTRATION: Email Anna at anna@dh-cpa.com or call 802-878-1963

1. Home mortgage interest and property taxes are deductible.  Home mortgage interest includes interest on any home loan of up to $1 million to acquire or improve your home or a second home, as well as interest on a home equity loan up to $100,000.
2. Participate in a retirement plan offered by your employer.  Many employers will offer a match to the contributions you make, up to a specific percentage. 
3. Make an active effort to organize gift tax receipts and verify that you have documentation for any deductions you claim in the next year.

For more interest in tax planning for the 2012 tax year, please visit our services page to see exactly what we can do for you: DHA Services

Or give us a call:  802-878-1963

The establishment of a good system of internal controls starts with management.  The manager’s role is to support good business practices and decision-making.  Good business practices to support internal control include the following:  written policies and procedures to guide staff in making decisions, organization charts with responsibilities of company employees, training programs to communicate goals and expectations, and periodic evaluations to provide employees with performance feedback.

Questions about internal controls in the workplace? Please call us at 802-878-1963 or visit us on the Web: www.dh-cpa.com.  You can also refer to the following article from Kansas State University: KSU

AICPA Vice President, Edward Karl claims “the idea is to give the public a better idea of the various taxes that impact them.” You may know what you paid in taxes this past April for your Federal and State income returns, but do you realize how much you paid in state and local taxes on your purchases in the last year? This calculator has over 3,000 formulas that allow you to calculate an estimated tax amount based on 24 input options. Although it does not consider all the tax items and deductions you can take, the AICPA is hoping to use this calculator to come up with additional features that the users would like to see.

You must realize that this does not replace your tax preparation software or any tax planning items that you may currently use. This is just a fun tool to that allows you to see the different taxes you incur on items you purchase throughout the year. It could also help with weighing the impact of your purchase options. For example, how purchasing a fuel efficient car could not only help your environment but also the amount of taxes you pay on gas. Karl emphasis “this doesn’t place a valued CPA.  It’s just about giving the public a rough sense of the impact of taxes in their lives.”

The AICPA hopes to create future versions of this calculator including features that would facilitate comparison among states as well as including more tax calculations, deductions and credits.  Feedback from current users will help decide what the future versions will include.

Check out the calculator at the following link: Tax Calculator

For more information about medical insurance premiums and S-corporations, please visit the following IRS article: IRS.gov.

Rewarding Yourself Doesn’t Always Mean a Materialist Reward – Did you just receive a large bonus that you worked so hard for, and now you want to treat yourself for your hard work?? Why does our rewards always seem to be those materialistic things we normally would never buy? Don’t buy the expensive shoes you want just because you have the money to. Ask yourself “Would I have bought those even if I didn’t get the bonus?” It is ok to treat yourself but make sure you are not buying something that is twice or three times the price you normally do, just because you got that raise.  You deserve a reward that keeps giving so why not put that bonus aside into an investment that will keep rewarding you. If you already have tried the CD savings tool, try investing that extra money into the stock market.  

If you’re someone who does not need to worry about saving your change for yourself or coming up with new ways to set aside money, a great way to think about the above savings tools could be that additional charitable contribution you give at year end. All the money you saved with the tips above could go into a bank account and whatever it has in it at year end can be sent to a charity of your choice.

Katie Rubalcaba, Associate Accountant

Davis & Hodgdon Associates, CPA's

May 2012

1.  To provide a public forum for tax administration and policy
2. To provide ideas and perspective to the Tax Commissioner in creating tax policies
3. To provide constructive observations  on current policies

To learn more about the Vermont Tax Advisory Board and its members, please visit the following link: Vermont Department of Taxes

Along with setting up automatic payments through your paycheck you should also withhold a small amount from each paycheck that goes into a separate bank account. Give yourself a goal for how much you want to save additionally a month and divide this into how often you get paid and have that amount put into a separate account. Make sure to be reasonable with the amount you put into a separate account. This can be a separate savings account that once it gets big enough you can transfer to a CD to earn higher interest on. Once you have gotten used to this practice you can also discipline yourself by saying anything additional, like bonuses or raises, will also be set aside into a separate account. When you have learned to live off of what you were making before net the withholdings and payments on your bills, this extra money won’t be needed to live your everyday life, it will be an additional savings tool. . The best account to put this extra money into would be an account that is not easily accessible and one that you stopped receiving paper statements for. This way you do not get that monthly statement in the mail and if you receive an e-statement, you should train yourself to not open the file but to put it in a separate folder.  

Remember to start with withholding a few dollars from each paycheck. If you do not have any bills that you can set up for automatic payments, then you can open a new account and put the money into that account. Once you have gotten used to your net paycheck being that much lower, increase the amount you withhold into a separate account. Soon enough you will be withholding money and setting it aside in an account and you will realize how much money you don’t need. Once you realized how much you have accomplished you are more disciplined and want to keep improving. This is great if you are the type that “will spend it if you have it.”

Katie Rubalcaba, Associate Accountant

Davis & Hodgdon Associates, CPA's

May 2012

Keep the change- Change adds up quicker than you can imagine. A great savings tool is to just simply save the change. If you find you are someone that constantly says keep the change, you may want to rethink this. A simple trick that many people have been doing for years is saving their left over change. Have a large empty jar hanging out around the house? This jar could be a great goal setter. A simple savings tool is to save all your change and throw it into a jar until it is full. Many people empty their pockets at the end of the day and any loose change goes directly into this jar. The best jars to use are those with a bottleneck as these make it easy for you to drop change into, but is a little harder for you to get it back out on the go. It is amazing how quickly it adds up. Rather than swiping your card to pay the balance exactly, try using cash and then with the change you receive from breaking the bills gets thrown into your jar at the end of each day. On a monthly or quarterly basis (or when it is full) you should roll up the change and put it into a bank account. Better yet, one that does not get touched! The small change can add up quickly!

Katie Rubalcaba, Associate Accountant

Davis & Hodgdon Associates, CPA's

May 2012