Tax LEtter & updates

Dear Clients, Family and Friends:

Happy 2024 from our Staff!

​Sheri – Office Manager, Bookkeeper and Payroll
Eddie – Tax Manager, Tax Preparer and Bookkeeper 
dj – Tax Preparer and Bookkeeper
Barb – Bookkeeping, Payroll and Tax Dept Assistant
Brenda – Bookkeeping, Tax and Front Desk Assistant 
Didi – Front Desk Administration
Deni – all things Serenity.

Didi remains at the front desk as your point of contact. Brenda will also be helping at the front desk. They both can be reached at 218-464-1510 or [email protected]. They will
answer general questions and help you schedule your tax appointment.

Please call the office to set up your appointment as soon as possible, as spots will fill up quickly.

As always, you have the option to drop off, email, mail in, upload or fax us your information.

Tax Season Hours will begin Monday, January 29th, 2024
Monday – Thursday: 8:30 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.
Friday – Saturday: 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Here is some tax information for 2023 that may be beneficial to know:

CHILD TAX CREDIT:
For 2023, the CTC remains at $2,000 for all dependents who were under the age of 17 as of 01/01/2024. If you have a dependent that is over 17, but under 24, you could qualify for the Qualifying Relative Credit of $500.

CHILD AND DEPENDENT CARE CREDIT:
The maximum credit will be $1,050 for up to $3,000 in expenses for 1 child, and $2,100 for up to $6,000 in expenses for 2 or more children.

Many of our clients ask about Itemizing Deductions. In 2018, when the tax code was changed, one of the biggest changes was the Standard Deduction. The standard deduction was doubled.
Once that happened – itemizing changed. Here are the guidelines for itemizing:

Medical/Dental – In order to use this deductions, your medical expenses must exceed 7.5% or your adjusted gross income. An example would be if your AGI is $50,000, you would have to
have more than $3,750 to qualify – and that first $3,750 of expenses wouldn’t count – it would be anything above that.

SALT – State and Local Taxes – there is a limit of $10,000. This would consist of state income taxes paid, estimates and balance due amounts paid in that current year, property taxes and
personal taxes such as license plates (not all state plates apply).

Mortgage interest – This is the interest that is paid on our home. If you have a home equity interest – it may or may not qualify.

Charitable Contributions - keep track of your charitable contributions, as you may be eligible for credit on your MN state return. Also, note that the only contributions that qualify for any deduction are those made to a 501c3 organization. Raffle tickets or Girl/Boy Scouts, where you get something in return for your “donation”, do not count as charitable contributions. (Go Fund Me, political contributions and a few others are not 501c3s)

Gambling Losses – up to your gambling winnings

Job expenses for employees – this deduction is no longer allowed. There are certain individuals that qualify for an above the line deduction for job related expenses, however, there are only four types, and they are very specific.

OTHER NOTABLE FACTS FOR THE 2023 TAX SEASON

Standard Deduction:
Single/MFS $13,850 
MFJ/QW $27,700 
HOH $20,800 

Mileage rates:
Business - .655
Charitable - .14
Medical - .21

Single Filers and Married Couples Filing Jointly:
Tax Rate:    (Single):                          (Married Filing Jointly)
10%             Up to $11,000                   Up to $22,000
12%            $11,001 to $44,725            $22,001 to $89,450
22%            $44,726 to $95,375           $89,451 to $190,750
24%            $95,376 to $182,100         $190,751 to $364,200
32%            $182,101 to $231,250        $364,201 to 462,500
35%            $231,251 to 578,125          $462,501 to $693,750
37%            Over $578,125                   Over $696,750

Married Filing Separately and Head-of-Household Filers:
Tax Rate (Married Filing Separately)      (Head of Household)
10%          Up to $10,275                              Up to $14,650
12%          $10,276 to $41,775                      $14,651 to $55,900
22%          $41,776 to $89,075                     $55,901 to $89,050
24%          $89,076 to $170,050                   $89,051 to $170,050
32%          $170,051 to $215,950                  $170,051 to $215,950
35%          $215,951 to $323,925                  $215,951 to $539,900
37%          Over $332,925                             Over $539,900

PRICING:

There will be no increase in the base price for tax returns this year. $150 for Federal returns and $50 for each state return. We've added an Admin Fee of $15 to cover the cost of processing and mailing returns and copies. Additional forms will add to the cost of the return.

If your return involves bookkeeping (this includes QuickBooks, preparation of spreadsheets or going through receipts/bank statements) this time will be billed at $105 per hour in addition to the cost of the tax return.

Tax Planning for 2023 and beyond will also be billed at $105 per hour.

If we need to make a call to the IRS, on your behalf, this may also result in a charge of $105 per hour, depending on the circumstances of the call.

If you have a dependent who would like their tax return prepared, we will happily do so at 50% of the normal rate for the return (Minimum $100).

Amended returns will be billed at the normal processing rate.

Business Returns (Corporations, Partnerships, Non-Profits and Estates and Trusts) will have a price increase; however, we will send out a separate letter to these clients.

We provide a copy of your tax return once it has been completed, either in paper or digital form.

Requests for additional copies, later in the year, will now be billed at $50 per copy. Digital copies will be available in your Secure File Pro account to access when you need them.

We require payment at time of tax return completion, we will not process your return unless we have payment on file.

IMPORTANT DATES:
Start of e-file acceptance January 29, 2024
Federal/State filing deadlines –

Business Files:  Wednesday, March 15, 2024

1040 & C-Corps Tuesday, April 15, 2024

Non-Profits (990) Monday, May 15, 2024

ESTIMATED PAYMENTS:
Quarter 1 (Jan, Feb, Mar) April 15, 2024
Quarter 2 (Apr, May) June 17, 2024
Quarter 3 (Jun, Jul, Aug) September 16, 2024
Quarter 4 (Sept, Oct, Nov, Dec) January 15, 2025
IRA/401K Information:

401 K Contribution limits: 2023 - $22,500 (+catchup of $7,500 for over 50)
IRA Contribution limits: 2023 - $6,500/person (+catchup of $ $1,000 for 50+)

EXTENSIONS:

Remember that filing an extension does NOT extend your payment deadline. If you need to file an extension, talk with your tax preparer about submitting a payment to avoid incurring penalties.

Also, if you wish to have us file an extension for you, please let us know by March 31 or sooner. If we don’t hear from you, no extension will be filed.

Referral Discounts:
Your loyalty, support and friendship to the Serenity family is why we are here. We appreciate the opportunity to serve all your tax preparation needs. Your faith in us, through your personal recommendation to others, is humbling. As usual, for your personal referrals for new tax clients, we will discount your next year’s tax return preparation by $25 as a thank you.

The discount for Active Military remains at $50. Talk with your tax preparer for details.

SECURE FILE PRO:
As in previous years, we will use Secure File Pro or Adobe Sign for obtaining signatures. We will be using Secure File Pro for file uploads and selected file storage. Please contact the office,
or your tax preparer, if you have questions.

This is the last year we will be mailing out the letters. Updated information will be found on our Facebook page and on our Secure Portal. If you want to have a letter sent, we can
email you a copy.

We look forward to seeing or hearing from you soon!
Sincerely,

Deni   Sheri   Eddie   DJ   DiDi   Barb  Brenda