Is 2012 Really Done Yet? Maybe Not!

Almost all of your tax return is already decided in 2012 when you are making your money and incurring and documenting your expenses. It always takes a while to figure out how much you really made and how much you spent, but really it was all decided by December 31, 2012. Did you know that there are still a few things you can do in 2013 to affect those 2012 taxes?

Did you know that if you have an IRA, SEP, or a Roth, you can still make contributions through April 15, 2013 and have them count on your 2012 tax return? While that doesn’t work for 401(k) plan I would say that is pretty nice option for many people. The same goes for Health Savings Accounts. How the HAS program with fare under the Affordable Care Act (ACA, Obamacare) we still aren’t sure but you can “re-characterize” your IRA conversions up to the date the return is filed.
There are lots of tax elections you can make with your return. You can elect the 10% or less method for construction contractors. You could elect the accrual or the cash method for businesses. You could elect out of bonus depreciation or you can elect to claim Section 179 depreciation on fixed asset acquisitions. You can elect to use the installment method or you can elect out of the installment method for sales of property with the payout over multiple years. You can elect to defer the gain on insurance proceeds from a casualty loss. You can make elections to group your passive activities together.
While you can’t solve every problem or take every deduction now that 2013 is here there are still plenty of things you can do to affect your 2012 taxes here in 2013, this is just the tip of the iceberg and the iceberg can be very deep and wide! If you want to figure out what else is possible, call me! My name is Michael Boehrer and I am the founder of YOUR Accounting, Tax and Payroll and I can be reached at 916-773-6454 or at http://www.youratp.com I Can Help!