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For many years now, the IRS has been continually warning the public about the ever-changing tax scams used by individuals to take advantage of unsuspecting taxpayers. These schemes can take place by mail, email, or over the phone and most often involve tricking the taxpayer into giving up personal financial information or intimidating the taxpayer into making fake tax payments directly to the scammer. 
On August 6, 2015, the IRS released yet another warning to taxpayers alerting them to new variations of these scams.
One of the most common schemes is deception over the phone by impersonating an agent of the IRS or another governmental agency. The new variation of this scheme involves the use of technology. Nowadays, scammers have the ability to change what shows up on a taxpayer’s caller ID to make it appear as if it is a legitimate call from the IRS or another agency, such as the DMV. In addition, to make the call seem genuine, they will gather as much of the taxpayer’s online personal information as possible. Finally, they will use false names, titles, and badge numbers to try to establish their fraudulent identities.
Another way to deceive taxpayers is by mail. In some circumstances, scammers will duplicate official IRS letterhead and direct taxpayers to the nearest bank or business at which they can make payments. Some fraudsters will even provide an actual IRS address to which the victim can send his or her proof of payment.
The IRS stresses that the underlying factor of these scams is fear. Scammers will often use threats of arrest, deportation, or license revocation. In addition, they will emphasize that the matter is urgent and requires immediate attention. The IRS also highlights that while scammers used to only target vulnerable individuals, such as elderly taxpayers or taxpayers whose first language is not English, this is no longer the case. Today, any taxpayer is at risk. 
In fact, according to the IRS, the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration has received approximately 600,000 complaints since October 2013. In addition, there have been over 4,000 victims with a combined total of $20 million in financial losses due to these scams.
In order to protect yourself, here are a few of the tips that the IRS has listed on its website. The IRS will never:
For more information on how to protect yourself or what to do if you find yourself a target, go to the IRS website.
I was intrigued by the article “High Performers and High-Potential Employees Are Not One in the Same” , by Andre Lavoie. So I did a bit more investigation and found some other references out there. The consensus was:
High Performers achieve your goals today.
High Potentials help you achieve your future.
High-potentials have the ability and aspiration to be successful leaders within an organization. A high-performer may also have high potential but not necessarily. They may be great at their job and take pride in their work and accomplishments, but don’t have the potential (or desire) to assume a leadership role. Lavoie lined out four traits of high potentials vs. high performers:
1. Proactive vs. reactive – High potentials take a proactive approach to problem-solving, planning for the future versus waiting until a problem occurs and reacting.
2. Leaders vs. followers – High-potentials are characterized by their ability to go above and beyond. 
They don’t leave the office the second the clock strikes five. They don’t focus on themselves but on the team as a whole.
3. Receptive vs. unreceptive to feedback – Employees who are truly receptive to feedback will take immediate action, not to save their own skin, but to become an all-around better worker. Employees with high potential will avoid making the same mistake twice.
4. Knowing the business vs. knowing the job – High performers and high potentials both strive to reach peak performance, but high potentials aim above that peak. 
They can clearly see how their work contributes to overall success and set out to achieve the company vision through achieving their individual work goals. Whereas high performers seek to do well as individuals, high potentials desire to do well as a company. High potentials have that entrepreneurial spirit.
So what should companies be looking to retain? High performers for today. But high potentials for tomorrow. And we need those future leaders. These are the high potentials you should be identifying and sending to leadership development programs. Everyone need not apply.
The housing market is beginning to turn around in Nevada over the last couple years. Data provided by Trulia.com indicates that twice as many home sales occurred in 2015 when compared to the bottom of the market in 2009. 
Many home owners who either lost, or liquidated, their homes over the past several years are finally in a stable financial position to get back into the market.
Many of the homes that are being purchased during this period of growth are those that have either been left vacant for years, require some refurbishing, or need massive upgrades and overhauls to qualify for lending, or to even be livable! Even new homes require additional capital influx in order to complete the front or backyard landscaping.
When we purchase a house, many of us use this required influx of capital to negotiate down the current selling price. But how many of us keep track how much actual additional capital we put back into the house after the sale has been completed? Improvements and substantial repairs such as landscaping, a new roof, fencing, etc., should be accounted for and included in your basis (capital costs) of your home. 
Keeping track of and having the appropriate record keeping of, these improvements can save you thousands of dollars in capital gains, and possibly net investment income tax, when you decide to sell the home in the future. Even if you decide that renting the home is a better course of action, having an accurate recordkeeping of the basis will allow you to depreciate the maximum allowable amount in order to reduce the rental income created from the business use of the property.
Keeping track of your basis in real property is an important part of homeownership that many of us forget about until it is time to sell. Twenty years from now, will you remember how much you paid the landscaper to put in a sprinkler system? Probably not. So help your future self out of a headache, and probably save a couple bucks, and keep track of those expenditures that you put into your new home. 
And after you are done, sit down on that new patio with a cold drink and relax, you’ve earned it.
Like almost all presidential candidates trying to be transparent to their voters, Jeb Bush recently released tax returns dating back to 1981 and going through 2013.
I could write the standard blog on how Mr. Bush’s income went from nothing in the 1980’s to topping $1,000,000 for many years in the 90’s, becoming in the low six figures in the 2000’s while he was governor to ballooning to over $2,000,000 for almost every year after 2007. How his income went above $6,000,000 for 2011 & 2013 while he was getting rich from speaking fees and consulting for banks. Or I could write about how his net worth has gone up 14 times since he left the governor’s mansion in Florida in 2007 or question how he got in excess of $1,000,000 consulting for Lehman Bros and over $10,000,000 in speaking fees since 2007.
But as a Reno CPA that wasn’t practicing during the 1980s & 1990s, I found it interesting how much the tax code has changed just from reviewing Mr. Bush’s return. For instance, when Mr. Bush sold his first home in 1981 he wasn’t allowed to exclude from income up to $500,000 from the sale of his primary residence as taxpayers can now. His gain of $34,980 decreased the basis in his new residence he purchased to give him a higher gain and tax in the future when that home was sold.
I also found it interesting how in the 1980s political contributions were allowed to be deducted and up until 1986 charitable contributions were deducted without having to itemize on Schedule A. This was the same in 1983 when employee business expenses were an above the line deduction; today they must be on Schedule A and less than 2% of adjusted gross income. There was also the deduction for married couples that both worked that was present in the tax code in 1982, which Mr. Bush and his wife did not utilize. In the 1980s it was also possible to deduct interest expense on credit cards and car loans as a personal interest expense. With the somewhat new tax regulations associated with the Affordable Care Act and constant bickering and promises by Congress about changing the tax code I’m sure in 20 years the tax code will again be drastically different.
If you are looking for cheap ways to enjoy the beautiful terrain in and around the Lake Tahoe Basin, hiking will be your best bet. There are relatively few locations on the Nevada side of the lake that require paid parking, whereas if you generally hike anywhere in California around Lake Tahoe, you are likely to be assessed a fee ranging from $5 – $20 to park your vehicle. 
Personally I choose to purchase the National Parks and Federal Recreational Lands Pass which will run you $80, but comes with great benefits. This $80 pass gains you free entry to Yosemite which can run you $20 with a proposed price increase to $30 in near the future. Not only does this pass allow you to park at any Federal recreation site, but this pass will also save you money on overnight camping fees and amenity fees at all Federal sites. As I have said in my previous blogs, when analyzing whether an annual pass is worth it or not, plan out your hikes and camping trips before purchasing your pass and purchase the pass as close to the date of your first hike as possible. At $80, only hiking a place that costs $5 to park would take you 16 trips to that place before your pass has paid for itself, so make sure to research where you will be hiking or camping. Personally I purchase the pass because I do not want to deal with finding the pay station and depositing my money, plus I hike most weekends all summer and early fall.
Some of my favorite hikes to undertake in the Tahoe area are Angora Lake, Marlette Lake via the flume trail, and anywhere on the Pacific Crest Trail. 
All of my favorite hikes involve ending up close to a body of water, as there is no better way to rest on a hike than taking a dip in the clean lakes around Tahoe. The Marlette Lake hike via the flume trail is a great hike for looking out over Lake Tahoe from 7500’ up on the east side of the lake. The hike begins in Incline Village and is 14 miles round trip, but well worth every step taken. Being 7500’ up on the east side of the Lake you get a great overhead view of Sand Harbor and can even see the entrance to Emerald Bay on clear days. Angora Lake is a beautiful lake that does not tend to get the crowds that you find around Lake Tahoe. The hike is a mild 3 miles round trip and is on a very well paved path as there are also lake cabins that may be rented by the lake and thus the hiking trail doubles as a road. 
The Pacific Crest Trail runs down the west side of the lake and takes you by Squaw Valley ski area, directly through the Desolation Wilderness, and down through the Carson Pass. This hike can be easy or difficult depending on the section of the trail you decide to hike, but no matter what section you hike, you are going to see all sorts of beautiful landscapes.
Any one of these hikes as well as many others that can be found in the Lake Tahoe area are some of the best hikes I have been on in the continental United States. Lake Tahoe does not contain all the poisonous plants and animals that most other regions have to deal with and so while hiking you can spend your time looking at the landscape as opposed to worrying about running into poison oak. My biggest piece of advice before hiking is to make sure you do some research on the area before starting out on your hike; as you want to be sure to know the area you will be hiking very well. Websites such as everytrail.com and summitpost.org provide great details on many different hiking trails all throughout the United States. Not only do these sites describe the hikes in great detail, but they all give great suggestions on what to bring and what to watch out for while hiking. Happy exploring!!!
Harvard Business Review OnPoint’s Summer 2015 issue includes an article on “How Star Women Build Portable Skills” suggesting that women, in their efforts to maneuver in a male oriented environment, actually build skills that are more portable than men. 
The research study was conducted on stock analysts starting several years back.
Strategy #1 – Build an external network
Female star analysts take their work environment more seriously yet rely on it less than male stars do. 
Their decision to maintain an external focus rested on four main factors:
Strategy #2 – Scrutinize prospective employers
Men tend to concentrate on compensation. Women are more likely to weigh multiple considerations such as attitudes of the research director and the existence of female colleagues and role models. Women look at the culture of a department in terms of how women fit in along with its value, atmosphere, and tone.
Have things changed much? Awareness, maybe, resulting in a more concerted effort to develop and implement women’s initiatives within organizations. The HBR story line emphasized what can be learned from this study:
For employees, the decision to change jobs should be made strategically, not only with an eye toward promotions and raises, but also from an informed awareness of the new firm’s resources and culture.
For organizations, the focus should be on building talent from within and taking measures to retain the stars they create.
Balance internal and external relationships. Your life changes as you move up the ladder. To succeed you must develop peer relationships at the firm. That’s how things get done. That’s how trust evolves. Whether they are internal or external “trusted relationships” are the key.
On June 22, 2015, Washoe County announced that it was the first in Nevada, along with the Nevada Humane Society, to team up with Finding Rover, an app that uses facial recognition to help identify lost dogs. Finding Rover consists of a free mobile app and website and is very easy to use. It has been extremely beneficial in assisting dog owners reunite with their lost pets in a timely manner. Here is how it works:
The app and website use a lost and found dog notification system that sends out push notifications to users within a 10-mile area. When a potentially lost dog is identified, the user takes a picture of the dog, either within the app or uploads the picture from his or her device’s photo album, and Finding Rover’s facial recognition software determines whether or not the uploaded picture matches one of the lost pets on file. Once a dog has been identified through the software, the finder receives information on how to contact the dog’s owner.
Washoe County Regional Animal Services and the Nevada Humane Society are now using the Finding Rover app to help Washoe County residents find their lost dogs. 
Both shelters now upload pictures of all newly found or admitted dogs to Finding Rover, which not only matches up found dogs with lost dogs submitted by users, but also allows users to browse the shelters’ listings of found dogs right from their phones or computers. In addition, the Nevada Humane Society now registers all newly adopted dogs with Finding Rover at the time of adoption, which could prove to be an extremely valuable resource in the event that a dog goes missing.
For more information on the app, visit Finding Rover’s website at www.findingrover.com
According to an article on CNBC this week, this year millennials will surpass baby boomers and GenXers to become the largest generation in the American workforce. Adults age 18 to 34 now make up 1 in 3 American workers. There have been numerous articles, seminars and training sessions built around how to effectively lead and work with different generations in the work force. At every conference I’ve gone to in the past 3 to 5 years, there has been at least one session on the issue and at each of those sessions, there is always at least one person in the room that seems frustrated with their millennial generation employees and trying to “figure them out”.
So what are the current issues important to millennials? 
According to the Hartford’s 2014 Millennial Leadership Survey, millennials noted that work-life balance (or more importantly work-life integration) stood as one of the top issues of importance. Millennials also want to know that their work is a place of growth and development, and they are accustomed to open communication and accessibility.
As a millennial myself, I happen to agree with the above survey results, and I have witnessed the impact of my generation within the company I work for. When career and advancement paths were not clearly defined or established within my firm, I personally asked for that clarification so I could understand my opportunities for advancement and how I could go about getting there. Now, career paths are defined and documented for everyone to see. 
What was once mandatory Saturdays during tax season turned into a flexible work schedule where the staff could work which days and hours they pleased as long as the hours were met.
Not every millennial meets the stereotype of a millennial, and the best way to find out what is important to your employees of any generation is to simply ask. I have found that my generation is usually more than willing to be honest and open with what priorities are important to us.
The IRS has announced that it will issue estate tax closing letters only on request for estate tax returns filed on or after June 1, 2015.
Prior to this change, CPAs and clients anxiously awaited the closing letter for filed estate tax returns. A very large portion of returns are audited. Receiving the closing letter meant that the IRS had accepted the return (Form 706, United States Estate Tax Return) as filed and it would not be audited.
The IRS recommends waiting at least four months after filing your Form 706 return before requesting a closing letter.
If you filed your estate tax return before June 1, 2015, the IRS will continue its policy of issuing closing letters provided the return is accepted as filed and has no other errors or special circumstances. Expect to wait four to six months to receive the letter.
Not all returns filed before June 1, 2015, will receive a closing letter. The IRS will not issue a closing letter for any return that was filed after Jan. 1, 2015, but before June 1, 2015, that did not meet the filing threshold for an estate tax return and whose taxpayer portability election was rejected by the IRS.
The filing threshold simply means the gross value of the estate. Those numbers are indexed for inflation and are as follows:
2015 – $5,430,000
2014 – $5,340,000
2013 – $5,250,000
A portability election allows a deceased spouse to transfer the estate’s unused exclusion amount to the surviving spouse.
The IRS gives a great deal of attention to the estate tax return when a portability election is made, so the election must be made properly.
For returns filed after Jan.1, 2015, and before June 1, 2015, the IRS will still issue a closing letter if the estate met the filing threshold. In addition, if the filing threshold was not met, but no portability election was made, you will still receive a closing letter.
If you have any questions about estate tax closing letters, please contact your CPA. ■
The Supreme Court, in a 5-4 decision delivered by Justice Kennedy, has held, in a case involving four state-wide bans on same-sex marriage, that the Fourteenth Amendment requires a State to license a marriage between two people of the same sex. And, since same-sex couples may now exercise the fundamental right to marry in all States, there is no lawful basis for a State to refuse to recognize a lawful same-sex marriage performed in another State. 
Although the decision made only passing reference to tax implications, the wide-reaching social, political, and economic ramifications inherent in this decision include a number of significant tax issues.
Some brief background – If you will recall, in 2013, in a 5-4 opinion, the Supreme Court, in Windsor, struck down section 3 of DOMA as an unconstitutional deprivation of equal protection.
Following Windsor, the IRS issued a Revenue Ruling which provided that a same-sex couple that was legally married in a domestic or foreign jurisdiction that recognized their marriage would be treated as married for federal tax purposes, regardless of where they currently live. Further, it provided that lawfully married same-sex couples must file as married couples for federal income tax purposes.
In response, many States issued guidance after the IRS ruling that required same-sex couples married in other states to file separate state income tax returns, even if their filing status was married filing jointly for federal income tax purposes.
Implications of the Court’s recent ruling – In addition to the many and varied social, political, economic, etc. ramifications of the Court’s decision, there are also several tax implications. Just a few are noted below.
Same-sex married couples will now enjoy a simplified tax filing environment. Since the Windsor decision and the Revenue Ruling which followed, same-sex married couples must generally file their federal tax returns as married (starting with the 2013 tax year, as well as for earlier years where the original return is filed on or after Sept. 16, 2013). However, for married same-sex couples who live in a State that didn’t recognize same-sex marriage, they had to file their State returns as unmarried taxpayers. 
This conflict caused couples in these States to incur added time, effort, and expense. Many State tax returns used the federal return as a starting point of sorts, and some States that didn’t recognize same-sex marriage required taxpayers to prepare a “dummy” federal return for purposes of completing their State return.
In this regard, the Court’s recent decision essentially makes Windsor applicable not only for federal tax returns but for State returns as well. Thus, those in a same-sex marriage will be considered married for State and federal return purposes, eliminating the need for “dummy” forms.
The reverse problem may arise for same-sex couples who aren’t married, but are in a State-sanctioned domestic partnership or civil union or similar arrangement—they can’t file a joint federal return, but may be able to file a joint State return.
Same-sex couples who reside in States that didn’t previously allow same-sex marriages can now marry. Same-sex couples who were married in States that allowed such but moved to States that didn’t recognize same-sex marriages are now married for State purposes. Some significant provisions common to all states include, among other things:
In addition, in States that impose estate and gift taxes (or inheritance taxes), many have favorable provisions for transfers to or involving a spouse similar to the federal rules, such as a marital deduction or the ability to make split gifts.
A unique problem may arise for same-sex couples who are in a State-sanctioned domestic partnership or civil union or similar arrangement. Presumably, with all States now required to provide same-sex marriages, there is likelihood that in many (if not all) cases, these marriage “substitutes” may eventually fade away. If that’s the case, such same-sex individuals may have to choose if they want to be married for federal tax purposes—a consideration that needs to take into account many factors.
© Checkpoint Newsstand – June 29, 2015
