don't forget to drop off your tax information!

If we do not receive your tax information by March 15, 2008, we may need to file an extension.  You must write, fax, or email our office if you want us to file an extension for you.  Please keep in mind, the extension is good for late filing penalty only.  Late payment penalties and interest charges will be assessed if monies are owed with the tax returns.

FEDERAL TAX REBATES

The Administration and Congress have agreed to an economic growth package that would provide advance payments to many Americans.  More details will be available soon, but here are some highlights:

· Starting in May, the Treasury will begin sending stimulus payments, known informally as “rebates” to many Americans, to more than 130 million individuals.  The stimulus payments will go out through the late spring and summer.

· The vast majority of people receiving a payment only need to file a 2007 tax return as they normally would.  The IRS will then do all the rest, including determining eligibility and payment amounts.

· The Treasury will work to quickly implement this important stimulus package.  Additional details on timing of check mail-outs will be available soon.

· The IRS.gov website will be the best source of information for all stimulus questions.  This web page will contain all the latest information as it becomes available.

· The IRS and Treasury will be working closely with the Department of Veterans Affairs and Social Security Administration, along with beneficiary organizations, to ensure that all eligible individuals know what to do to receive a stimulus payment.

Log onto http://www.irs.gov/irs/article/0,,id=177937,00.html for more information on economic stimulus payments.

Information on Rebate scams: 

Taxpayers should be aware that there are identity theft scams involving the proposed advance payment checks.  The IRS knows of at least one telephone scam making the rounds which uses the proposed rebates as bait.  Log on to www.irs.gov for more information about known and potential scams.

Source:  www.irs.gov

american cancer society fundraiser

Attention Lottery fans, your favorite fundraiser is BACK!  Help Stortz & Associates in their continued efforts to raise money for the American Cancer Society by participating in this year’s lottery fundraiser.

It’s a three-month lottery that will run on the PA Evening Lottery Numbers in April, May and June 2008.

Tickets are $10 each and will pay out cash to the winners:
Friday, Saturday & Sunday - $25.00
Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, & Thursday - $10.00

Tickets are on sale now BUT ONLY FOR A LIMITED TIME!

Call us at 610-967-4711!!

Thank you for your continued support!

Macungie relay for life

Here’s a great way to get some exercise AND do something for a good cause.  Join the Stortz team at the 2008 Macungie Relay for Life!  This 24-hour walk-a-thon benefits the American Cancer Society and is ALWAYS a ton of fun!  There’s music, food & games for the whole family to enjoy – in addition to walking for a cure!

Date:  4:00 pm on Friday, May 2nd, 2008 – 4:00 pm on Saturday, May 3rd, 2008 

Log onto http://main.acsevents.org/site/TR/RelayForLife/RelayForLifePennsylvaniaDivision?team_id=185238&pg=team&fr_id=7044 to sign up to join our team for the Relay or to make an online donation – OR BOTH!

See you at the Relay!

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Weekly Tax Tips

September 6, 2010
August 30, 2010
August 23, 2010
August 16, 2010

Monthly Tips

Business September 2010
Financial September 2010

bank reconciliations

When you are writing checks or making deposits into your software, it is important to know how much cash you have on hand.  One easy way to make sure you have accurate bank balances is by doing monthly bank reconciliations in your software.  Follow the simple steps below to make sure that you are doing your bank reconciliation properly.

If you have Peachtree:

• Go to TASKS
• Select ACCOUNT RECONCILIATION
• Verify at the top that you are looking at the appropriate cash account number.
• On the right-hand side of the screen, enter your statement ending balance, and now you are ready to begin your reconciliation.
• Check off each item that you see clearing the bank; check off each check that clears, each automatic withdrawal, point of sale debit purchase, and all of your deposits.
• When you have completed the reconciliation, look at the bottom of the screen and make sure you have an unreconciled difference of ZERO “0”.
• Click SAVE – you have finished your reconciliation!

If you have Quickbooks:

• Go to the BANKING drop-down list.
• Select RECONCILE.
• Choose the bank account that you wish to reconcile, enter the statement ending date and the statement ending balance.
• Verify your beginning balance matches the bank statement as well.
• Click CONTINUE.
• On the left-hand side of the screen, click off all the withdrawals that clear your bank account; all the checks, automatic withdrawals, and debit purchases.
• On the right-hand side of the screen, click off all the deposits that clear your bank account.
• Once you are done, verify that there is a difference of ZERO “0”.
• If the difference is zero, click on the RECONCILE NOW button to complete your reconciliation.

employers understand need for pa health care reform

Since 2006, health care costs have risen 76 percent, while inflation rose at 17 percent and median wages in Pennsylvania by 13 percent.  PA businesses, consumers and taxpayers pay at least $6.2 billion every year for unnecessary and avoidable health care costs such as hospital acquired infections, avoidable mistakes and ineffective treatment of chronic disease.

Those who are insured pay another $1.4 billion to help cover the costs of treating people who are uninsured and underinsured because someone must pay for their care.  That means $277 per year is tacked onto the cost of an individual insurance policy and $681 per year is added to a policy which covers a family.

These statistics confirm that whether Pennsylvania can afford to act is no longer a question.  The cost of inaction is far greater in terms of the growing financial burden on state taxpayers and business.

Governor Rendell’s Prescription for Pennsylvania targets three key issues – affordability, availability and quality – to solve the problem.  The Governor has proposed Cover All Pennsylvanians (CAP) as a way to offer affordable basic health coverage to low-wage small businesses without insurance and the uninsured through the private insurance market.

Three of every four uninsured Pennsylvanians work – and many of them are low-wage earners in small companies (50 employees or less).   With a contribution of $130 per month per employee, small businesses of 50 or less whose average wage is at or below the state median wage, could offer CAP to their employees.  Depending on their family income, employees would pay between $10 and $60 per month for the coverage.  Legislation creating CAP is currently before the legislature.

Insurance reform legislation has also been introduced to reduce the high cost of health care insurance currently being paid by small businesses and individuals.  Pennsylvania is one of only two states that does not limit the factors insurance companies can use when setting rates for small group and individual coverage.  The Governor’s proposals would eliminate medical underwriting and other unfair rating practices to reduce price differences among groups and protect everyone against rate spikes; require that 85 cents of every dollar collected by health insurers be used to provide coverage; and require each insurer offer standard benefit packages to make it easier for small business to compare costs.

Prescription for Pennsylvania includes many other proposals critical to expanding access to affordable health care coverage, improving the health of Pennsylvanians, improving quality and reducing health care costs.  Learn more about them at www.RXforPA.com.

Source:  “UC Issues Update”, Winter 2007, Vol. 10, No. 4