Tax & Accounting Update
The biggest Fraud in history of this kind
Houston billionaire has been charged with a 39 count indictment that includes money laundering, tax conspiracy, wire fraud and tax evasion. This is one of the biggest cases of its kind in the history of the US.
Health Insurance - Open Enrollment
Health insurance open enrollment has started November 1, 2020 and it will be open through December 15, 2020. Now is the time to apply for those of you who are planning to get health insurance coverage through the open market. Please make sure that you use correct figures from your tax return when applying so that your premiums can be calculated appropriately. If wrong figures are used, or if less income is reported in hopes to have a lower premium, when you file your 2021 tax return you may have to repay the credit. For more details on Open Enrollment select the link below.
Tax Topics Simplified
Health Savings Account: How can it help me?
Health Savings Accounts (HSA) came about around 2003. They were established to help save and cover medical cost associated with high deductible health insurance plans. Now that most plans are high deductible, most people qualify to contribute to a HSA. Contributions to an HSA are not taxed and can be invested, any interest or earnings of investments inside the account grow tax free. The HSA is your account to take with you for the rest of your life. You can now use these funds to cover qualified expenses tax free. If you use the funds for non-qualified expenses, it is treated similarly to a traditional individual retirement account. It is taxed as ordinary income, plus an additional 20% if you do a withdraw before age 65. If you pass away with an HSA that still has funds you can give it to your spouse, and they can treat it as theirs for the rest of their life.
It is in your best interest to contact your tax professional to make sure you qualify for a HSA before you contribute.
What is Flexible Spending Account (FSA)?
A Flexible Spending Account (FSA) is used to fund your medical expenses. You and your employer, if offered, can withhold pre-taxed money from each paycheck and set it aside to pay for qualified medical expenses. There are some notable differences between HAS and FSA. The upside of FSA, annual funds are available right away at the beginning of the year. The downside is, use it or lose it. You must use all of the funds by the end of the year, or sometimes a short grace period into the next year. Also, if you leave your place of employment, you no longer have access to the funds unless you meet specific circumstances. Because the FSA is tied to your employer it can only be used while you are employed with that employer. Be sure to think about what medical expenses you have on an annual basis that qualify before maxing out this pretax medical benefit.
Dragana's World
Escape Rooms
Besides tennis and spending time with my pups, one of my hobbies is doing escape rooms. Some of you may be wondering what an escape room is? An escape room is a game in which the goal is to complete the mission by using different clues in period of 60 minutes. The mission in some instances can be to find the key to get out of the room or simply just solve the mystery. My husband and I became escape room addicted about 4 years ago, and ever since, we have done more than one hundred escape rooms all around Louisiana and Texas. Escape rooms are a fun way to interact and bond with the people on your team. I encourage you to try doing some escape rooms with your family, friends or coworkers and see if you have what it takes to solve the mission in 60 minutes or less. Below is the link to SBC Escape. SBC is locally owned, and all ideas and work is done by the two owners. Check them out!
P.S. If you are looking for a CPA who will save you more time and money than they cost you, here are two ways we can get started:
1.Join my newsletter: current news from world of accounting & tax will be shared that you and your business can benefit from.
2.Work with me privately: Feel free to reach out to me and we can schedule a meeting to see what value I can bring to the table for you. My e-mail is: dragana@dcmtax.com