2011 Schedule D Gets a New Look

The IRS has revamped the 2011 Schedule D for reporting capital gains and losses. As part of the change a new Form 8949 will have to be completed before completing Schedule D. Although still in draft form, the 8949 will require taxpayers to report the normal details of their capital transactions, such as the date of acquisition, date of sale, cost basis and sales price. A separate 8949 will have to be prepared for each different type of transaction and taxpayers will have to indicate if a 1099-B was received and if the 1099-B listed basis information. Read more

CA Annual Tax for Out of State LLCs

Earlier this year a foreign LLC lost an appeal before the California Board of Equalization because its sole member was a California resident and it was unable to prove that it did not conduct business within California (Appeal of Legend Plus Enterprises, LLC (February 22, 2011) Cal. St. Bd. of Equal. Case No 486026.) If you are a California resident and a member of an LLC formed in another state the LLC may be subject to the CA LLC annual tax even if there is no California source income. At first glance it may seem that the LLC is not subject to the tax since it is an out of state entity. However, the FTB presumes the entity is doing business in California if the LLC has a California member. It is up to the taxpayer to prove otherwise. Read more

DAM-Cancer 3rd Annual Golf Classic

The DAM Cancer Golf Classic

The David Andrew “Pooh” Maddan Foundation, a nonprofit 501(c)(3) charitable organization is hosting it’s third annual golf classic on Friday, September 23, 2011 at the Presidio Golf course in San Francisco.

To date the Foundation has raised over $220,000 and provided assistance to more than 50 young adults to support them in their fight against cancer.

To learn more about the Foundation or the Golf Classic, please visit their website, http://www.dam-cancer.org/.

FUTA Surtax Expired

The .2% Federal Unemployment Tax (FUTA) surtax expired on June 30, 2011 bringing the FUTA tax rate before state unemployment credits to 6%. FUTA is paid on the first $7,000 of wages paid per year per employee. Now that the surtax has expired employers will be required to separately track FUTA taxable wages before July 1, 2011 and after June 30, 2011 since the FUTA rate is different between the two periods.

The IRS will be revising Form 940, the Employer’s Annual Federal Unemployment Tax Return. There have also been talks in Congress about making the surtax permanent but so far no legislation has been passed.

IRS Increases Standard Mileage Rate

IR News Release 2011-69 announced that the IRS has increased the mileage rate for the second half of 2011.

Effective July 1, 2011 through December 31, 2011 the mileage rate for business travel is 55.5 cents per mile. Medical and moving mileage will increase to 23.5 cents per mile. The rate for charitable mileage remains unchanged at 14 cents per mile. Read more