News & Resources

Retirement Contributions Limits Announced for 2017

Cost of living adjustments affecting dollar limitations for pension plans and other retirement-related items for tax year 2017 have been announced by the IRS. Here are the highlights:

In general, income ranges for determining eligibility to make deductible contributions to traditional Individual Retirement Arrangements (IRAs), to contribute to Roth IRAs, and to claim the saver’s credit all increased for 2017. Contribution limits for SIMPLE retirement accounts for self-employed persons remains unchanged at $12,500.

Traditional IRAs

Taxpayers can deduct contributions to a traditional IRA if they meet certain conditions; however, if during the year either the taxpayer or their spouse was covered by a retirement plan at work, the deduction may be reduced, or phased out, until it is eliminated, depending on filing status and income. If neither the taxpayer nor their spouse is covered by a retirement plan at work, the phase-outs of the deduction do not apply. Here are the phase-out ranges for 2017:

• For single taxpayers covered by a workplace retirement plan, the phase-out range is $62,000 to $72,000, up from $61,000 to $71,000.
• For married couples filing jointly, where the spouse making the IRA contribution is covered by a workplace retirement plan, the phase-out range is $99,000 to $119,000, up from $98,000 to $118,000.
• For an IRA contributor who is not covered by a workplace retirement plan and is married to someone who is covered, the deduction is phased out if the couple’s income is between $186,000 and $196,000, up from $184,000 and $194,000.
• For a married individual filing a separate return who is covered by a workplace retirement plan, the phase-out range is not subject to an annual cost-of-living adjustment and remains $0 to $10,000.

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LMGW Employees Give To Charity with Firm Matching In Lieu of Holiday Cards

This holiday season, LMGW is continuing the tradition of making charitable donations in lieu of mailing holiday cards. We allow our employees to choose the charitable organizations to make a donation to. LMGW then matches the employee’s donation, up to $50 per person, to each charity. Below are the charities our employees chose to support this year:

Maybeck High School

Second Harvest Food Bank of Santa Cruz County

Gerson Institute

The Bridge School

Abilities United

Direct Relief

The Cabrillo College Foundation

ChildFund International

David Andrew “Pooh” Maddan Foundation

GreaterGood “Stop the Yulin Dog Meat Festival”

Unity Care Group

George Mason University

The Sankara Eye Foundation USA

If you would like to learn more about any of the organizations listed feel free to ask us about them. Many of the LMGW team are personally involved with the organizations they chose to support and would be happy to share information about the services they provide.

LMGW Seeks Tax Manager or Experienced Tax Preparer

Advancement and opportunity await at LMGW Certified Public Accountants! LMGW is seeking experienced tax manager or preparer to join our team of growing professionals during this exciting growth phase in our company.

Ideal Candidates will:

• Have a passion for public accounting
• Be focused on career growth and a firm to call home
• Possess a high degree of technical competence and a strong sense of confidence in one’s own abilities
• Recognize the opportunity to be part of the growth and transition of a firm moving to the next level
• Keep the “big picture” view in mind at all times
• Will be responsible for 100-150 individual tax clients

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ACA Requirements for Employers

The health care law contains tax provisions that affect employers. The size and structure of a workforce–small or large–helps determine which parts of the law apply to which employers. Calculating the number of employees is especially important for employers that have close to 50 employees or whose workforce fluctuates during the year.

Two parts of the Affordable Care Act apply only to applicable large employers. These are the employer shared responsibility provisions and the employer information reporting provisions for offers of minimum essential coverage.

The number of employees an employer has during the current year determines whether it is an applicable large employer (ALE) for the following year. For example, you will use information about the size of your workforce during 2016 to determine if your organization is an ALE for 2017.

Applicable large employers are generally those with 50 or more full-time employees or full-time equivalent employees. Under the employer shared responsibility provision, ALEs are required to offer their full-time employees and dependents affordable coverage that provides minimum value. Employers with fewer than 50 full-time or full-time equivalent employees are not applicable large employers. Read more

The Overtime Rule: What Employers Need to Know

Approximately 4.2 million employees are expected to benefit from the new overtime rule that goes into effect on December 1, 2016. Here’s what employers need to know about the new overtime regulations.

What is the Overtime Rule?

The final overtime rule raises the salary threshold for overtime eligibility from $455/week to $913 ($47,476 per year). What this means for employers is that if you have an employee that makes less than $47,476 ($913 a week), then he or she automatically qualifies for overtime pay when they work more than 40 hours per week.

In accordance with the FLSA (Fair Labor Standards Act) employers are required to pay at least a minimum wage for up to 40 hours per week and to pay overtime for hours in excess of 40; however, many workers with at least some managerial duties who make between $23,660 and $47,476 are currently considered “exempt” from overtime pay. The Final Overtime Rule is, among other things, intended to make sure that these workers are adequately compensated, ensuring all employees that make less than $47,476 ($913 a week) automatically qualify for overtime pay when they work more than 40 hours per week. Read more