Last Minute Tax Tips For 2013

Yes, it is the last day of the year — even for the taxman — which leads us to some simple tax tips to help you prepare for next year.

Liz Boscacci with Bartlett, Pringle & Wolf has been in the business for more than 30 years. She offered up some last minute advice for 2013: Taxpayers have until midnight to make a charitable contribution, and doing it online with a credit card is a good as cash and will be an additional deduction for next year.

Another option, fund your IRA if you quality for an IRA deduction.

Boscacci says like it or not, the Affordable Care Act (PPACA) will make tax time trickier for many of us. “A lot of taxpayers will be faced with a larger tax bill, even though their income is very similar. Rather than panic, you can pay your state taxes (now) or second installment of property taxes.”

For those who are self-employed, Boscacci says you can pre-pay some of your business expenses, unless you think you’ll be in a higher tax bracket next year. In that case, wait until next year.

Boscacci says there are many new and different things for the next tax year but the main one is linked to Obamacare. “The big one is the new 3.8% medicare hospital insurance tax that comes into effect. And that affects taxpayers with an adjusted gross income over certain levels,” said Boscacci.

The new tax will be applied to what’s called “investment income.” The adjusted gross income for singles would be more than $200,000. For married couples filing jointly, Boscacci said it would be $250,000.