The Thursday Report 8.9.2012
Providing updates and comments on Florida estate planning and creditor protection developments and insight for lawyers, CPAs, and other planning professionals
1. ARE YOU READY FOR 2013 INCOME TAX PLANNING?
2. WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT DEDUCTING HOME LIVING ASSISTANCE EXPENSES
3. WHAT CITIZENS INSURANCE IS DOING TO OUR CITIZENS(AND YOU!)
Welcome to this week’s Thursday Report, profiling the deductibility of home living assistance expenses.
Each week we will provide a recent case or other development in summary form with analysis and ideas associated therewith. Please send us your ideas for future topics!
These reports are also posted on our website at gassmanlaw.com.
ARE YOU READY FOR 2013 INCOME TAX PLANNING?
Advisors working with clients who have adjusted gross income exceeding $200,000 for single individuals and $250,000 for married individuals will want to at least begin looking at what the 2013 income tax regime holds in store. The elimination of the Bush tax cuts is going to have a horrendous effect upon high earner taxpayers.
We have attached the first chapter of our book entitled The Essential Planning Guide to the 2013 Income & Estate Tax Increases for your possible interest. The book is available though Haddon Hall Publishing, LLP on Amazon.com (click here to be directed to that page), in print and ebook format or you can contact the publisher at agassman@gassmanpa.com. The cost of the book is $29.95. To view the first chapter of the book please click here.
We welcome all questions, comments, and suggestions and thank Stetson Law students Kacie Hohnadell and Allison Wallrapp for their efforts and dedication this week with research and analysis.
What You Need to Know About Deducting Home Living Assistance Expenses by Christopher Denicolo, Esq. and Alan Gassman, Esq.
While many taxpayers know they can deduct their own medical expenses to the extent they exceed 7.5% of their adjusted gross income, they may not know they can also deduct certain home living assistance expenses, including those of their dependent parents. Expenses that may be deducted include lodging, home nurses and other assistants, meals, specially outfitted vans, and even hotel rooms. (Click to view full report).
NEWS AND UPCOMING EVENTS
August 13, 2012, 5:00 p.m. – 5:15 p.m. What Citizens Insurance Is Doing To Our Citizens (And You!). Please join Chuck Wasson of Wasson Insurance and Alan Gassman, Esq. in a 15 minute webinar on Citizens Insurance Reduced Limits of Coverage. To register please click here.
August 17, 2012, 8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. Nature Coast PAHCOM Chapter’s Hot Topics Seminar. Details and registration information can be found online at
www.naturecoastahcom.com/pahcom-events.html
August 23, 2012, 4:00 p.m. – 4:50 p.m. Please join us for The 4-4-4 Show, a monthly webinar series that qualifies for 1 hour of continuing education credit. This month’s topic is “Tax Planning in an Election Year” with Ann Paxton, CPA of PDR Certified Public Accountants. To register please visit: www.clearwaterbar.org
August 28, 2012, 12:30 p.m. – 2:00 p.m. Alan S. Gassman, Esq., Kenneth J. Crotty, Esq. and Christopher Denicolo, Esq. are speaking on Avoiding Disaster for Affluent Floridians for Bloomberg BNA Tax & Accounting. To register for the webinar please visit www.BNA.com
For details about each event, please visit us online at gassmanlaw.com/newsandevents.html
Christopher Denicolo, J.D., LL.M. is a partner at the Clearwater, Florida law firm of Gassman, Crotty & Denicolo, P.A., where he practices in the areas of estate tax and trust planning, taxation, physician representation, and corporate and business law. He has co-authored several handbooks that have been featured in Bloomberg BNA Tax & Accounting, Steve Leimberg’s Estate Planning and Asset Protection Planning Newsletters and the Florida Bar Journal. Mr. Denicolo received his B.A. and B.S. degrees from Florida State University, his J.D. from Stetson University College of Law and his LL.M. (Estate Planning) from the University of Miami.
Thank you to our law clerks who assisted us in preparing this report:
Allison Wallrapp graduated summa cum laude from Rollins College and is currently a third-year student at Stetson University College of Law. Allison serves as a representative in the Student Bar Association and is on the executive board of Stetson Republicans. Her interests in the law include business law, employment law, and taxation. Her email address is Allison@gassmanpa.com.
Kacie Hohnadell is a third-year law student at Stetson University College of Law and is considering pursuing an LL.M. in taxation upon graduation. Kacie is also the Executive Editor of Stetson Law Review and is actively involved in Stetson’s chapter of the Student Animal Legal Defense Fund. In 2010, she received her B.A. from the University of Central Florida in Advertising and Public Relations with a minor in Marketing, and moved to St. Petersburg shortly after graduation to pursue her Juris Doctor. Her email address is kacie@gassmanpa.com