2015 Standard Mileage Rates

Beginning on Jan. 1, 2015, the standard mileage rates for the use of a car, van, pickup or panel truck will be:

• 57.5 cents per mile for business miles driven, up from 56 cents in 2014

• 23 cents per mile driven for medical or moving purposes, down half a cent from 2014

• 14 cents per mile driven in service of charitable organizations

For self-employed business owners, interest expense paid on the car loan is also deductible, above and beyond the standard mileage rate.

Parking and tolls are always separately deductible.

The standard mileage rate for business is based on an annual study of the fixed and variable costs of operating an automobile, including depreciation, insurance, repairs, tires, maintenance, gas and oil. The rate for medical and moving purposes is based on the variable costs, such as gas and oil. The charitable rate is set by law.

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2014 Standard Mileage Rates

Beginning on Jan. 1, 2014, the standard mileage rates for the use of a car (also vans, pickups or panel trucks) will be:

  • 56 cents per mile for business miles driven
  • 23.5 cents per mile driven for medical or moving purposes
  • 14 cents per mile driven in service of charitable organizations

The business, medical, and moving expense rates decrease one-half cent from the 2013 rates.  The charitable rate is based on statute.

The standard mileage rate for business is based on an annual study of the fixed and variable costs of operating an automobile. The rate for medical and moving purposes is based on the variable costs.

Taxpayers always have the option of calculating the actual costs of using their vehicle rather than using the standard mileage rates.

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The Age of Misinformation!

CAUTION!  We’ve gone from the age of information to the age of MISINFORMATION! 

I have been told that this blog appears with advertising.  I do not allow ads to appear in this blog, and never will.  At first I thought there are hackers who have managed to invade the blog and make these ads appear.  I have since found out that WordPress is now resorting to extortion in seeking a “No Ads Upgrade” by placing porn ads on my blog.

Please be assured that if you see any advertising here on this blog, it is WordPress doing so to make money for WordPress.   I only receive a free blog hosting.  I do not place ads.  I do not receive compensation for ads.  Proceed with caution!

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Form 941 for 2013

The new Form 941 for 2013 is here:
http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f941.pdf
The instructions are here:
http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/i941.pdf

The major changes to Form 941 are on lines 5a through 5f. The Social Security (OASDI) tax rate on lines 5a (Taxable Social Security wages) and 5b has increased from 10.4% to 12.4%. The 2% increase is due to the expiration of legislation that temporarily reduced the employee Social Security tax rate from 6.2% to 4.2% through Dec. 31, 2012.

Line 5d, Taxable wages & tips subject to Additional Medicare Tax withholding, has been added to Form 941. Beginning in 2013, in addition to withholding Medicare tax at 1.45%, employers must withhold an additional 0.9% Medicare tax from wages paid to an employee in excess of $200,000 in a calendar year. Employers must begin withholding the additional Medicare tax in the pay period in which wages are in excess of $200,000, and continue to withhold it until the end of the calendar year. The tax is only imposed on employees. All wages that are subject to Medicare tax are also subject to additional Medicare tax withholding if paid in excess of the $200,000 withholding threshold.

There are still lines on the 2013 Form 941 for COBRA premium assistance payments/subsidy (lines 12a and 12b) because some involuntarily terminated workers may still be eligible to receive a COBRA premium subsidy, even though the subsidy was not available to most workers beyond Aug. 31, 2011.

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Nothing is FREE, especially INSURANCE and INVESTMENT “PRODUCTS”!

I subscribe to a lot of financial industry emails to keep up with the latest sales tactics that some so called “financial advisors” use to separate taxpayers from their hard earned money.  In today’s inbox is this ad:

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A SIMPLE PRESENTATION USING THIS OPTICAL ILLUSION (and an optical illusion is pictured) IS MAKING ADVISORS $30,000, $40,000 AND $50,000 A MONTH

How?

Simple. This new product is easy to sell for 2 reasons:
1. It instantly doubles your client’s:
• Growth
• Income
• Safety
• All with no additional taxes
2. And you don’t have to move a single cent of their money… leave it right where it’s at (imagine making $6,000 commission without having to move a penny of your client’s portfolio)!

This new product has already been reviewed by FINRA is 100% compliant with all BD’s and Insurance companies… and is selling itself during 1-call closes (why wouldn’t it, looking at the 2 reasons above)?

If you get in front of people before your competition… this will be the easiest sale of your life.

Learn how it’s done in a 50-minute presentation by the creator of the product and presentation and get ready to be rocked. These types of opportunities only come around in the financial industry every 10 years or so… and they are dynasty makers.”

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As my Dad used to say in the fishing tackle business, you first have to catch the fisherman before your lure has a chance to catch any fish.   With this kind of advertising to the financial advisors who sell you “investment” products, you will find some advisors will be looking out for their own interests first.  Someone has to pay for that $6,000 commission, and you can be certain that if you buy whatever this investment product claims to be, that $6,000 will be coming out of your pocket.   You won’t see that because it is an OPTICAL ILLUSION!

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