News

Hello everyone, The IRS has published some new rules if you  turned 73 in 2024. Below is an excerpt from a recent IRS publication. You may click on the hyperlink at the bottom of the page to read the full transcript. Required minimum distributions (RMDs) are the minimum amounts you must withdraw from your retirement accounts each year. You generally must start taking withdrawals from your traditional IRA, SEP IRA, SIMPLE IRA, and retirement plan accounts when you reach age 73. Participants in a workplace retirement plan (for example, 401(k) or profit-sharing plan) can delay taking their RMDs until the year [...]

WHAT’S NEW Source: GA DOR – 2024 GA Individual Income Tax – page 9 2024 Income Tax Changes: Effective January 1, 2024, the income tax rate is 5.39%. Additionally, personal exemptions have been repealed except for the $4,000 dependent exemption. Finally, Georgia standard deductions have increased to $24,000 for Married filing jointly returns and $12,000 for Single, Head of household, and Married filing separately returns. The Department encourages taxpayers to review their estimated tax payments and wage withholdings for 2024. Georgia Resident Itemizer Tax Credit: Full-year and part-year residents who itemize their deductions shall be entitled to a credit up to [...]

Tis the season for giving, including end of year gifts to family, charity, and friends. In fact, your mailbox may be getting full from charities requesting funding. Hello again, Judy Bernhard, CPA, and Resident Tax Manager at Killingsworth Spencer CPAs. The first question to ask yourself is what is the purpose of the gift and how much do you want to give away? If your intent is to unload some cash to family or friends, the Annual Exclusion (AE) Gift is $18,000 per person in 2024 and is unlimited as to the number of gifts per Donor. No gift tax return [...]

January 1, 2026, is an important date to remember. On that day the tax saving mechanisms from TCJA in 2017 revert to pre-2018 levels, including the federal estate tax lifetime exemption, unless Congress takes action. Currently, the lifetime exemption for federal estate tax is $13.61 million per person. The new lifetime exemption amount is projected to be reduced to $7M beginning on January 1, 2026. Granted, this is not something most Americans will need to concern themselves with, but if you a own a business, significant investable assets, or valuable real estate….. Hello again, Judy Bernhard, CPA and Resident Tax Manager [...]