Changes for 2008

Long-term Capital Gains: The 5% tax rate on long-term capital gains is reduced to 0.  Yes, you read that right.  Zero.  This special rate is available to taxpayers in the 10 or 15% tax brackets.  (This is taxable income (after deductions) of $32,550 or less, $65,100 or less on Married Filing Joint returns.)  This rate will continue to apply through 2010.  For taxpayers in higher tax brackets, the long-term capital gain rate is still 15%.

Kiddie Tax: If you have kids with investment income, this one’s for you.  If a child has investment income greater than $1,800, some of their income is taxable at their parent’s tax rate.  The definition of ‘child’ for this tax was formerly ‘under 14’.  Now it applies to kids under the age of 19 and kids under the age of 24 that are full time students at least 5 months of the year.

Charitable Donations: This was new for 2007, but it’s worth repeating.  All charitable donations MUST be supported by bank records (cancelled checks) or receipts from the charity.  Logs to track cash donations are no longer sufficient.  For non-cash contributions (clothing, household goods, etc.), items must be in “good or better” condition in order to be deductible.

IRA Contributions: In 2008, the maximum IRA contribution has risen to $5,000.  If you are interested in making a contribution, please ask how it will affect your tax situation and whether Traditional or Roth contributions would be more beneficial.

If you have any questions about how these or other tax law changes affect you, please contact us for a complimentary planning appointment.

New location!

We’ve moved!  Come see us in our new office in the Creative Workspace building at 168th and 48th Ave W in Lynnwood.  Our office is open by appointment, and we typically have day, evening, and weekend appointments available.  The new address is 16825 48th Ave W #230, Lynnwood 98037.

We are also happy to hold consultations and bookkeeping meetings at your location if that is easier for you.  We travel throughout King and Snohomish counties.

Give us a call any time, (425) 743-9250, for tax preparation and planning, bookkeeping help including consulting, training, catchup and/or ongoing work, or all of the above.

Our Mission:

To help small business owners focus on generating revenue and setting the vision for their companies.  Let our team of experts take over some or all of the following:
 

• Bookkeeping and Payroll
• Tax planning and preparation
• Administrative services
• Marketing campaigns
• Web design and hosting
• Goal setting and planning

Give us a call, (425) 743-9250, to schedule your free initial consultation.

Micro to Millions!

Seattle, WA – June 11, 2008 – Non-profit business program, Make Mine A Million $ Business has selected Jesica Abella of Abella Tax Services, Inc. as one of 5 business women awardees to win the Micro to Millions awards package at the Seattle event on June 11, 2008 at the Seattle Center Fisher Pavillion. The exciting event will feature female entrepreneurs from Seattle and other regions of the country who compete for business development packages that include $5,000 in financing, coaching, and membership in a nation-wide community of women business owners providing assistance to help their businesses grow to million-dollar enterprises. The event will also include educational and network opportunities in addition to keynote speeches by Washington State Governor Christine Gregoire and Renee Scholfield, Founder of Tongass Substance Screening.

Abella Tax Services focuses on providing continual bookkeeping, payroll, tax preparation, and planning services to small businesses.  Small business owners leave the stress and tedium of number crunching and deadlines to their friendly business advisors, and they regain peace of mind and time to pursue the activities they love.

More than one thousand women applied for the packages being awarded at this event. The Micro to Millions program is an offshoot of the Make Mine a Millon $ Business program, which began in 2005 to provide packages of support to women who had been in business for over two years and had reached $200,000 in annual revenue. The Micro to Millions program was created to provide the right help to women who had not yet achieved that level of growth, but were determined to reach the million-dollar mark.

Described as a cross between “The Apprentice” and “American Idol,” the Make Mine a Million $ Business competition provides twenty women whose businesses have hit $200,000 in annual revenue the opportunity to present their business in a 3 minute “elevator pitch” to a panel of business experts and a live audience. Ten Make Mine a Million $ Business winners will be chosen by the audience and judges who collaborate on the selection process.

Launched in 2005 by Count Me In for Women’s Economic Independence and founding partner OPEN from American Express®, the Make Mine a Million $ Business program was created to help post-start up, women-owned businesses grow to one million dollars in annual revenue. Since the inception, the program has hosted 12 competitions in cities around the country and grown into a nationwide movement. For the Los Angeles event, 1,222 applications were submitted in hopes of securing being awarded a package.

“We are excited to launch our first Make Mine a Million $ Business in Seattle,” said Nell Merlino, founder and president of Count Me In. “The number of applicants mirrors the growth of our entrepreneurs’ businesses and their desire to take them to the million dollar level.”

The Make Mine a Million $ Business program has garnered support from organizations who are all joining hands in order to make an impact in women’s lives and strengthening the US economy. The impressive list of blue-chip national sponsors include OPEN from American Express, Cisco, FedEx, QVC, Jet Blue, Marriot, and Dell. Sponsors provide an array of products and services that serve as invaluable tools for growth.

For more information about how women can grow their businesses please visit www.makemineamillion.org.

About Count Me In
Count Me In for Women’s Economic Independence is the leading national not-for-profit provider of on-line business loans and resources for women to grow their micro businesses into $million enterprises.  Find us at www.countmein.org or call 212-245-1245.