Blog posts from: 2014

Mortgage interest deduction is limited to interest paid during the year

As our clients prepare for year-end, we like to remind them that the mortgage interest deduction is limited to the amount of interest actually paid on the loan during the year. Here’s an example from a recent tax court case: A...

IRS sets direct deposit limits

In an effort to combat fraud and identity theft, new IRS procedures effective January 2015 will limit the number of refunds electronically deposited into a single financial account or pre-paid debit card to three. The fourth and subsequent refunds automatically...

How donor-advised funds can help with year-end planning

Donor-advised funds (DAFs) have increasingly become the charitable vehicle of choice over the last 10 years for both advisors and clients. DAFs can be established very quickly, are easy to explain, simple to use, have many tax benefits, appeal to a...

Year-end tax tips for individuals

New legislation has brought greater certainty to year-end planning but also created new challenges. Be sure to meet with your ShindelRock tax professional if you have had any major changes during 2014 or are expecting major financial changes such as retirement or inheritances....

Guest Authors Mark Neithercut and Jennifer Miller Oertel: Tax benefits of charitable giving

Regardless of whether you regularly contribute to charity, it is useful to be aware of the unique charitable giving tax benefits available to entrepreneurs. We suspect that even the most knowledgeable, charitably-minded individual may not be aware of all of...

Charitable tax deduction guidelines for “#GivingTuesday”

It's Tuesday after Thanksgiving, the recently dubbed "Giving Tuesday" for charitable organizations. If you're one of the millions of #GivingTuesday givers, or if you're planning to donate money to any charity in the next few weeks to get your contributions...

IRS increases 401(k) contributions for 2015

The Internal Revenue Service recently announced cost-of-living adjustments affecting dollar limitations for pension plans and other retirement-related items for tax year 2015. This includes an increase in the elective deferral limits for 401(k) contributions and catch up contribution limits. Below...

Protecting yourself from tax return fraud

According to a report by the Government Accountability Office, the U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS) estimates that it mistakenly paid $5.2 billion in tax returns to identity thieves in 2013—and the IRS did not catch the scheme until well after...

Five fraud tips every business leader should act on

A single instance of fraud can be devastating. According to a report conducted by the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE), the median loss per fraud case was $145,000 and more than a fifth of the cases involved losses of...

SR in the News: Crain’s Detroit Business “Software upgrade improves numbers for Novi accounting firm”

Crain's Detroit Business: Software upgrade improves numbers for Novi accounting firm Nov. 9, 2014--Accounting firms don't always get speedy access to the latest technological toys that other industries do. "The accounting industry is a bunch of Luddites when it comes...