What if Something Happened?

No one wants to think about death. It is a tough topic to approach with family members and some believe it should be avoided at all costs. Sadly, we have been in this position too many times. However, for the sake of family and loved ones, this is the time for the lawyer, financial planner and accountant to get together and get together fast.

The following is our checklist, knowing full well that all clients have procrastinated and had not paid attention to details:

1. Does the family know all the user names and passwords that they may need on an immediate basis?
2. Make sure the family is fully prepared to pay upcoming life insurance premiums, health insurance premiums, disability insurance premiums, long-term care insurance premiums, homeowners and auto insurance premiums, real estate taxes and college tuition payments.
3. Will there be adequate cash immediately available for a surviving spouse or minor children while the estate administration process is taking place?
4. Immediate review of the client's Will, Trusts, Health Care Power of Attorney and Property Power of Attorney to make sure all documents are in compliance.
5. If the client is a business owner, review the business succession plan. If he has co-owners, the buy-sell agreement may need to be tweaked.
6. Coordinate all titling and beneficiary designations to coordinate with the estate plan documents, including life insurance, IRA's, qualified plans, transfer-on-death designations, joint tenancy, tenancy by the entirety, etc.
7. Can probate be eliminated, and if so, what changes need to be made to accomplish that?
8. Is there a burial plot?  Have funeral arrangements been made and prepaid?

When it comes to getting affairs in order before death, most people know what to do; they just don't know what documents to keep, where to store them, and who they should tell.

KOS has created a guide to help understand the documents you need to establish and gather to ensure that your heirs can find them after you are gone. It will capture the efforts you have arranged to know that your wishes are carried out and that your family members and beneficiaries are not left with any unanswered questions. The guide is available in print or PDF. If you would like to receive a copy of this guide please contact Kristin Kentra, Marketing Director at kkentra@koscpa.com or 847-580-4100. As always, if you have any questions or would like to discuss your options and plans, please contact your KOS Advisor.

It's Wedding Season…A few tax items to check off after the Honeymoon

 

It's wedding season and if you know someone who will be tying the knot this summer, be sure to remind them of these important tax planning steps as they start their new lives together.

• Change of Name – If you decide to change your name, be sure to report it to the Social Security Administration by filing Form SS-5, Application for a Social Security Card found at SSA.gov. This is important as all names and social security numbers need to match Social Security records when you are filing your tax return for 2015. 
• Change your Tax Withholding – The withholding rate for married couples is lower than those who are single and many married people find that they do not have enough withheld at the end of the year at the married rate. You can change your withholding by giving your employer a new Form W-4, Employees Withholding Allowance certificate and you can use the IRS Withholding Calculator tool at IRS.gov to help.
• Change in Circumstances – If you are buying insurance through the Health Insurance Marketplace, be sure to report a change in circumstances, such as your marriage to avoid getting a smaller refund or owning money at the end of the year.
• Change in Address – Let the IRS know you moved by filing Form 8822, Change of Address, with the IRS and you should also notify the U.S. Postal Service. This can be done on-line at USPS.com or at your local post office.
• Change in your Filing Status – If you are married as of December 31, that is your marital status for the entire tax year purposes. You and your spouse can choose to file jointly or separately depending on your circumstances.  Feel free to reach out to one of our KOS tax professionals to determine which status would result in the least amount of tax.

We're Hiring - Human Resources Manager

Kessler Orlean Silver (KOS), a 50+ person firm CPA located in Deerfield, IL is looking for a Human Resources Manager. This is a newly-created position and we will consider either full or mostly-full time applicants.

Put your passion into practice! Grow a great career at KOS. Help create a community for professionals who are here for each other. Our friendly, relaxed atmosphere and open door policy will allow you to do outstanding work. We offer a flexible work environment, good benefits and competitive compensation.  

Please send resumes to recruiting@koscpa.com.

 

Position Responsibilities and Primary Duties:

·         Recruitment

• Coordinate resume screening and interview process
• Act as a liaison with college accounting professors, on campus recruiters and the State accounting society; Attend career fairs
• Establish new hire orientation and onboarding process ensuring a smooth welcoming presence for all new employees
• Utilize effective recruiting sources and methods to attract and select talented employees while balancing external hiring and internal promotions

 ·         Training

• Responsible for effective development, coordination and presentation of training and development programs
• Actively search, creatively design and implement effective methods to educate, enhance performance and recognize performance
• Schedule training of all new hires
• Develop and manage a Professional Development Plan for professional staff 

·         Performance Management

• Ensure employees understand what is expected of them and how they are performing
• Monitor the performance evaluation process and action plans when performance does not meet expectations
• Develop feedback and appraisal training for management and staff

·         Employee Relations and Retention

• Develop and coordinate firm mentoring program
• Work closely with management and staff to improve relationships, culture and morale, increasing productivity and retention of talent
• Provide partners, managers and staff with coaching in areas of career advice, conflict management and crucial conversations
• Collaborate with all levels of management to create a positive environment of trust, teamwork development and entrepreneurship through relationships, coaching and mentoring

·         Human Resource Planning

• Ensure that we have a pool of talented, qualified and interested staff capable of more advanced responsibility including partnership
• Maintain knowledge in both state and federal law rules and regulations
• Liaison with attorneys regarding personnel issues
• Maintain personnel files

·         Compensation, Benefits and Insurance

• Prepare payroll for all employees
• Maintain and update Employee Handbook and firm policies
• Monitor PTO
• Handle Medical, Dental and Vision plan, 401(k) HSA and 125 Plan
• Handle Worker’s Comp. issues and prepare yearly audit

Qualifications:

• The ideal candidate will have 5 or more years of increasingly responsible HR management experience 
• Prior experience in a CPA firm, or professional service firm, a plus
• A bachelor’s degree in Human Resources or another closely related field
• PHR/SPHR preferred
• Functional knowledge of a broad range of Human Resources disciplines, including: employment onboarding, benefits administration, employee relations, employee reviews and performance management, employee engagement initiatives, training and development and conflict resolution
• Time management and multi-tasking ability
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills
• Ability to adapt to change and change processes
• Well developed interpersonal skills; tactful, mature and flexible

Can I deduct a loan to a friend or family member that goes bad?

This is a question that comes up in our practice from time to time. There are instances when a friend or family member is in need of money whether it is to go to school, start a business or help them in a time of need. We loan the money with the hope that the funds will be returned to us at a time and date when the friend or family member is in a better place financially.

Just like businesses, loans by their very nature carry an element of risk. What happens when that friend or family member never get to that “better place” or due to unforeseen circumstances, they choose not to repay the loan? These non-business bad debts can be deductible on your individual tax return in the year that it’s determined that there is no chance that the loan will be paid back (i.e. death, disability, written notice). 

While we would hope that loans to friends and family would be repaid as originally agreed, we’d like to provide some tips to substantiate your deduction if the need should arise:

• Intent: If you lend money to a friend or relative without the intent to be repaid, it’s considered a gift and not a loan. Both parties need to agree that this is a loan with the intent to repay it at some future date.
• Documentation: Loans should be documented in writing and preferably signed by both parties. The documentation should include: date of loan, amount of loan, terms of repayment and interest rate (if any).
• Follow Up: When the term of the loan is up, there needs to be some sort of attempt to collect payment from the debtor. Documentation of phone calls, e-mails or correspondence should be kept on file along with any responses from the debtor regarding their ability or intent to repay the loan.

If you have a situation where a loan to a friend or family member may not be collectible or you receive a request, please contact your KOS tax advisor for help and tips to structure this in a way that protects your interests in case of a default.

Graduation Season - Here's How to Help Grads Handle Money

Reprint from Financial Engines
by: Jennifer Carole

With Memorial Day 2015 in the books, we are right in the middle of graduation season. While most students are focused on reading, writing and arithmetic, one thing kids may not have learned in school is how to manage money. We’ve pulled together some tips for helping your new grad, regardless of their age.

For college grads

Money magazine offers a comprehensive article for college grads to help them understand topics like budgeting, housing, credit cards, student loans (and how to repay them), working, health insurance, emergencies and last, but not least, saving. There’s something for everyone here, as it covers the basics with tips, apps, and more for setting up a solid financial future. Read the story.

For high school grads

The folks at U.S. News Money provide a list of skills that are appropriate for high school students. – High school is a great time to get grounded in the fundamentals and upon graduation, high school students should know how to do things like track spending, create and follow a budget and make sound buying decisions. Read the story.

For middle school grads (and younger)

You’re never too young to start learning about how money works. For the gaming generation, otherwise known as digital natives, Edutopia has collected a number of online tools that can help your youngster start to play with money and understand how it works. Read the stories – middle schoolers and kids of all ages.

Best of luck to you and your new grad – and congratulations!

25 Jokes That Only Accountants Will Find Funny

Rreprint from Business Insider
by: Libby Kane

Today is National Accounting Day, and it's the perfect time to celebrate the brave souls who balance our books, sort out our files, and lead the way through tax season.

To thank the pros who crunch the numbers so we don't have to, we polled accountants and auditors and scoured the web to round up 25 jokes that only accountants will love.

1. Welcome to the accounting department, where everybody counts.
2. What does CPA stand for? Can't Pass Again.
3. It's accrual world.
4. It's 4:04. Do you know where your auditor is?
5. Where do homeless accountants live? In a tax shelter.
6. A fine is a tax for doing wrong. A tax is a fine for doing well.
7. How do you know you have a great CPA? He has a tax loophole named after him.
8. What do you call an accountant with an opinion? An auditor.
9. An accountant is someone who solves a problem you didn't know you had in a way you don’t understand.
10. Why did the accountant cross the road? Because she looked in the files and did what they did last year.
11. How does Santa's accountant value his sleigh? Net Present Value.
12. What do accountants suffer from that ordinary people don’t? Depreciation.
13. Why are accountants always so calm, composed, and methodical? They have strong internal controls.
14. Be audit you can be.
15. What do you call a financial controller who always works through lunch, takes two days holiday every two years, is in the office every weekend, and leaves every night after 10 p.m.? Lazy.
16. What do you call a trial balance that doesn't balance? A late night.
17. An economist is someone who didn't have enough personality to become an accountant.
18. Why do economists exist? So accountants have someone to laugh at.

19. What's the difference between an accountant and a lawyer? The accountant knows he's boring.

20. What do you call a group financial controller who's lost his job? Bob.
21. How can you tell when the chief accountant is getting soft? When he actually listens to marketing before saying no.
22. There are just two rules for creating a successful accountancy business: 1. Don't tell them everything you know. 2. [Redacted]
23. What's an actuary? An accountant without the sense of humor.
24. What do actuaries do to liven up their office party? Invite an accountant.
25. Four Laws of Accounting:
      1. Trial balances don't.
      2. Bank reconciliations never do.
      3. Working capital does not.
      4. Return on investments never will.

Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/jokes-for-accountants-2014-5#ixzz3ac7RPoWz

Deducting Summer Camp

Summer is almost here and the kids are excited and counting down the days.  But for parents, summer can bring stress and worry as they scramble about looking for childcare once school is out.

Fortunately, the IRS allows for tax credits for day camp for the pre-teen and younger set under the "Child and Dependent Care Credit."  Of course there are some stipulations. This is a short rundown of what the IRS has to say about deducting day camp expenses from your taxes.  

• The expense for day camp is eligible for the child and dependent-care tax credit if your child is under the age of 13. However, the credit is also available for older children, your spouse, and any other dependents of any age, who are not able to care for themselves.
• If your 12-year-old child turns 13 while in day camp you can claim the amount that applies before the birthday after prorating the expenses. 
• Specialized day camps can still be considered for the credit. So if the day camp focuses on soccer, golf, science or art, the expense still counts.
• The credit does depend on your income and the number of kids you have.
• If you participate in a "flexible spending account" at work, you're able to use the cash for day camp.
• Every camp should have an employer identification number (EIN). The name and EIN needs to be put on your tax forms. For church or school-based camps, you will only need to specify that they're a tax-exempt organization. No tax identification number is needed.
• Sleep-away camp expenses are not eligible for the credit. These camps are treated as an option, while day camp is treated as needed childcare.
• Next tax season may seem very far away but make sure to get the EIN when you use the camp, and hold onto receipts for camp costs you have paid.

Of course, with the IRS, there are always other exceptions to the rule, so talk with your KOS Advisor is you have any questions or concerns on these issues.  IRS Publication 503 provides details regarding income and the limits of the credit as well.