Morris All Hands Meeting 12/5/14
What is new in TY2014
Tax Law
· Most of the numbers have changed i.e. Standard deduction, exemption amounts etc. See 4012 page 11
· Big new addition is Affordable Care Act (see link to presentations below)
· Expired provisions (These or some of these may be reinstated)
o Discharge of indebtedness on principal residence excluded from gross income of individuals
o Qualified Charitable Distribution-QCD
o Adjustments for up to $250 for teacher classroom expenses
o Still can add to Sch A
o Deduction for qualified tuition and related expenses
o Deduction for state and local general sales taxes
o Deduction for mortgage insurance premiums
o Nonbusiness energy property credit
TaxWise
· The columns on the various View Return pages are configurable
· Capital Gains Worksheet now shows letter A thru F for the categories on reported capital gains
§ "A" for short-term transactions reported on Form 1099-B with the basis reported to the IRS
§ "B" for short-term transactions reported on Form 1099-B but the basis is not reported to the IRS
§ "C" for short-term transactions for which you cannot enter A or B
§ "D" for long-term transactions reported on Form 1099-B with the basis reported to the IRS.
§ "E" for long-term transactions reported on Form 1099-B but the basis is not reported to the IRS.
§ "F" for long-term transactions for which you cannot enter D or E
The proper long term/short term letter must be entered to avoid a diagnostic
· ACA forms are added
· You can now access TaxWise using Chrome which means you can use an Apple device or tablets
o There are many downsides:
· Will only work for TWO 2014
· Printer configuration is different
· Data entry on tablets is impractical
· We recommend not using this feature for this year
Scope Changes
· Credit Card Debt is now part of advanced certification. There is a special topic document on TaxPrep4Free that covers Credit Card Debt.
· Foreclosure of primary home is Out of Scope unless the discharge of indebtedness on principal residence excluded from gross income of individuals is reinstated. If that happens it looks like there will be a special COD certification required to do these returns.
· LTC Insurance Contracts are now in scope
o Generally reimbursements are not taxable
o Per diem costs up to an aggregate limit are not taxable
o Reported on 1099-LTC
o Form 8853 Section C is in scope - Sections A& B are out of scope
o We will write a special topic
· Request for waver for failure to take RMD from qualified retirement plan
o Additional tax is 50%
o Counselor not expected to review all plans and verify that required distributions were taken
o We will write a special topic
· In-Cash rental Income for Land
o Was in scope if reported on 1099 MISC
o Now in scope if cash
§ Reported on schedule E
§ No expenses allowed
§ Property taxes may be a schedule A deduction
o We will write a special topic
· 1099 R - Clarifications / updates to codes that are in scope listed in 4012
· Calculating tax penalty is still out of scope
Pub 4012
· Format is the same as last year. They have added additional information to sections – improvement
Intake Sheets
· New color is Yellow
· All pages are landscape
· Page 1 Part 2 has some questions regarding same sex marriage – Since NJ recognizes it we treat the same as heterosexual marriage
· Page 2 has ACA questions – Some to be completed by the taxpayer and some we have to ask
Portal
· Portal has a new look – Use the same log in as last year. The email address that Nancy has on file for you. Use “forgot my password” if you don’t remember what it is.
· If you got reimbursed for your mileage last year you used the portal
Volunteer Agreement (13615)
· There is a box just below the Volunteer Certification Levels section that states “Was the Intake/Interview & Quality Review PowerPoint Training completed? (Required for site coordinators, quality reviewers, return preparers and instructors)”. Seeing the Policy & Procedures Presentation discussed below satisfies this requirement. If you missed this meeting or left early, please review this presentation.
· There is a section at the bottom of the form that should be completed by anyone who wants to receive CE credits for return preparing, quality reviewing or instructing. This section would be finalized at the end of the season and sent to our IRS Spec.
Proficiency Part 1
·
Instructions are on the Morris Website
http://njtaxaide.org/tavolunteers/Morris/Training/Proficiency
Part 1 - The Process TY 2014 Rev 1.pdf
Proficiency Part 2 IRS Test
·
Instructions are attached and on the Morris Website
http://njtaxaide.org/tavolunteers/Morris/Training/Proficiency
Part 2 IRS Test TY 2014 - The Process Rev 1.pdf
Policy & Procedure Presentation
·
Presentation is on TaxPrep4Free under “All Volunteers”
http://taxprep4free.org/Training/AllVolunteers/index.html
· It is a requirement that everyone see this presentation. If you missed the meeting or left early, please review it. There is a box in the Volunteer Agreement that you will check confirming that you have had this training.
ACA Presentations (discussed by Bob Casey)
·
ACA Presentations located on TaxPrep4Free under “What’s New for
TY2014”
http://taxprep4free.org/Training/WhatsNew/index.html