How To Prepare A 2014 Federal Tax Return

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1 ANDREWS-DRUMMOND GROUP PC January 2015 Hello and Happy New Year! Once again a new year is before us and income taxes are coming. In this most unusual tax season of 2015, all Americans will be seeing changes on their tax returns. We have some documents on our website that you may want to print off and read. The first one is a checklist for you to use as you gather your 2014 documents that we will need to calculate your returns for this year. This list is attached to this letter but you can print it off our website if you need another copy or want to keep the list for later in the year. You will most likely not have everything on this list...and may have some documents not listed here. That's okay! It's just a generic list that will cover most information. As always, we will make a list of any questions while working on your return...and ask if we notice anything missing. There is a more comprehensive Tax Organizer on our website. For those of you who like to fill out the Organizer, please print it from the website and bring it in with your documents. The tax organizer and/or checklist may not be enough however, and we wanted to bring some special items to your attention below. Affordable Care Act All Americans will be affected in some manner by the Affordable Care Act from 2010 (some people call it Obamacare). Five new tax forms were released by the IRS as a result of this act for If you received a Form 1095 from any issuer or agency, we MUST have all copies to prepare your tax return. If you did not receive a 1095, we must ask you a number of additional questions about insurance coverage so that we can help you avoid any penalties for failure to have health insurance. The five new forms will add between $ to this year s tax preparation bill, courtesy of the Affordable Care Act and the estimated 1-3 hours of additional time on our part to get things right. We have been informed the average increase in fees due to these forms for the larger tax preparation companies is $285 per return. We will do everything we can to minimize this additional cost to you. The most important thing you can do is help us by reading carefully and providing all forms and information needed to complete these forms.

2 Health Care Deductions Last year s tax bill reduced your deduction for medical costs, including health insurance for We will see very few deductions available for medical costs now unless you have substantial bills. The amount of your medical expenses in most cases must now be more than 10% of your income before we can deduct anything, so weigh carefully whether to go to the trouble of summarizing these costs. If you are self-employed, we still need to know how much you paid for health insurance premiums, including dental and vision coverage. Charity ALL deductions of any amount must have a receipt. Any individual contribution over $250 must also have an acknowledgement letter from the charity, and the letter must be dated by the date we file your return. The letter should show the date and amount of any individual contribution over $250 and should also state that no goods or services were received in return for the contribution. We have a worksheet on our website for your use to determine values of your non-cash contributions. Please print it off and fill it out and bring with your other 2014 records. Clients, these are the IRS rules. We, here at our office do not need to see your receipts. If you send us a list of your charitable contributions, we will include them on your return. You do need to be aware of IRS regulations should the IRS decide to select you for a compliance audit. Foreign Accounts If you have read any news in the last year, you know that the IRS is looking closely for offshore accounts. If you have an account, retirement account, or business interest with a value over $10,000 in a foreign country, or a foreign business ownership (not through a mutual fund), please let us know as some special rules will apply to you. There are substantial penalties for failure to disclose these items. Mortgage Interest We must obtain Form 1098 from you when you pay mortgage interest. Additionally we must obtain refinancing closing statements, and if you drew money out on a home mortgage or refinancing we must have general information on the use of the money according to the IRS.

3 Children/Student Tax Returns Please, do not allow your dependent children or college students to file their own returns this year. We must file their return because of the Affordable Care Act. Allowing a child to file their own return, particularly a student, can cost the child and parent literally thousands of dollars in Health Care penalties and/or credits. I know this sounds harsh. I don t mean to get all bossy, but the cost of filing an amendment for your child, should the return be prepared incorrectly could be huge. We can generally file an amended return for your child if the return is filed early and causes you to lose deductions and credits, BUT the fee for an amendment is much more than the fee we charge to prepare a child s return in the first place. Also, if your child s return is filed prior to yours and is incorrect, and you are entitled to claim that child as a dependent, you probably won t be able to efile your return. It will have to be mailed in. We have this issue with clients every year, but this year, I have decided to address it in this letter, as the insurance changes will just create more potential for errors. Future Income Tax Rates & Other We highly recommend that when you are getting your information to us for your 2014 Federal tax return, that you set an appointment for an after tax season Tax Tune Up to examine tax and estate planning strategies. If your income is over $200,000, it is almost mandatory that we meet for future tax planning because of surtaxes. If you receive any Form 1099-k, please be sure to bring it to us. It may have a direct impact on your return. There are literally hundreds of other changes, extensions and deletions that we will consider this year while preparing your return. Because of these changes, we are requesting everyone to try to have their tax information in to us at least two weeks earlier than normal. Please rest assured that we will utilize our best resources to once again provide you with timely, complete and accurate service while keeping your tax burden to the lowest legal amount. Thank you again for your continued support. Please remember, when wondering whether a specific deduction, credit or tax will apply to you...or how much tax it will save you, most of the time the answer is IT DEPENDS. As much as we would like to give you a definite YES or NO to your questions prior to getting all your info,

4 most of the time it does depend...on your filing status, income, type of income, children, children's ages, other deductions, etc, etc, etc.... So, as you gather your information for us, it would be most helpful if you have questions about certain issues to list them separately. If you wonder about any potential deductions, please list your questions and put the receipt or info with your tax info. When we get your information in, we promise you, we will spend as much time as necessary to get every deduction you are entitled to! As always, we offer e-filing (with direct deposit of your refunds) free with every tax return we prepare. We are using our website to keep you updated on state & federal tax issues. Please add it to your "favorites" and check with us often. If you have any suggestions for information or links you would like added to our website, please let us know. Finally, as always, you are always welcome to call and schedule an appointment with us, but if you are receiving this letter, you are most likely already a valued client. You can drop off your information, leave current , cell, work & home phone numbers, and we can prepare your returns without an initial appointment. We will always call you and go over the return prior to the final draft...and we want to meet with you when you come to sign and pick up your returns! The appointment prior to preparing your return is your choice, but not necessary for us. :) As long as we can reach you by phone or , you do not have to schedule an appointment. Please always remember, we do not work for the IRS--we work for you! We are your advocates and will do everything possible to help you with your taxes throughout the year! NOTE FROM TINA DRUMMOND While I am the owner of this firm and very hands on with all aspects of our business, I want you to know that I am extremely confident and proud of the staff of accountants that work with me. I have always been the type who preferred to do everything myself (so I knew it was done right), but that has simply not been possible as we have grown. I have been thrilled to find a group of accountants that are every bit as diligent as I am. While I am here anytime you wish to visit, I think those of you who have been working with Chris, Donna and Sherie will agree with me they are the best! Talk to you soon! Andrews-Drummond Group PC

5 Tina Drummond CPA Sherie Williams Donna Robinson CPA Chris Mullennix or Evans Mill Drive Suite 605 Dallas GA Phone: and Fax: