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SUNSHINE STATE REPORTER

YOUR FLORIDA CHAPTER NEWSLETTER

December 2016

FY 2016/17 BOARD

OF DIRECTORS

JOHN RUDESTEDT

President

jobirudestedt@msn.com

LAURA WOOD, EA

Vice President

laura@namsinc.net

BIBI RUDESTEDT, EA

Secretary

b.rudestedt@gmail.com

SANDRA TORRENCE, EA

Treasurer

Newsletter Editor

confidential1227@aol.com

AMY BROSNAN , EA

Director

sweetd@tampabay.rr.com

DORIS E. DIMON, EA

Director

ddimon@tampabay.rr.com

KENNETH DOWDALL, EA

Director

Nominations Committee Chair

dowdalltax@gmail.com

STUART J. MILLER

Director

studebjeni@aol.com

BARBARA L. WEART

Director

blweart@gmail.com

CONTENTS

Advertising and a new business 1, 3

Ocala “mug” shots 2

Scholarship Fund Application (Free CPE—check it out) 4

Daytona Beach Workshop-January 5, 2017 (6 CPE) 5-8

To Tax or Not to Tax: Tuition issues 9-10

Christmas recipe 10

Odds ’n Ends 11

IT’S TIME FOR THE HOLIDAYS…..

WISHING YOU ALL A WONDERFUL CHRISTMAS AND

PROSPEROUS NEW YEAR

JOHN, LAURA, BIBI, SANDI, AMY, DORIS, KEN, STUART,

BARBARA, OWEN, GREG AND HEMENDRA

ADVERTISING AND A NEW BUSINESS

By Amy Brosnan, EA

I’m still new to being a business owner and since there aren’t any

books on it and I’m probably a little naïve about the world of business, I’ll

share my experiences in advertising with you.

I’m from Generation X and Generation Y (yes, you can be in both ap-

parently). I love reading a newspaper and I love reading all the online news

as well. I can’t get enough information. My Facebook page follows all sorts

of news including the local news blogs. My newspaper has discontinued its

section of the local area news and just uses the national news feeds and re-

ally has nothing to do with my general area. So what do I do—how can I

advertise in my area? I could advertise in the newspaper, however reader-

Continued on page 3

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FACES GO WITH NAMES—AT THE OCALA CONFERENCE—

NATIONAL & CHAPTER BOARD MEMBERS

FROM LEFT: STUART MILLER, BARBARA WEART, AMY BROSNAN, JOHN RUDESTEDT (PRES),

OUR GUEST, JEAN MILLERCHIP (NATIONAL VP), BIBI RUDESTEDT (SECY), LAURA WOOD (VP),

AND SANDRA TORRENCE, (TRES). NOT PRESENT: DORIS DIMON AND KEN DOWDALL

JEAN MILLERCHIP (NATIONAL VP), BIBI & JOHN RUDESTEDT

(SECRETARY & PRESIDENT OF YOUR CHAPTER) SHARE A

HAPPY MOMENT AT THE OCALA CONFERENCE IN OCTOBER.

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Advertising and a New Business, continued from page 1

ship is almost non-existent for our papers, so that’s a no-go and what advertising they offer is in the thou-

sands of dollars. I know a few owners of the local blogs and can advertise there, but the cost is astronomi-

cal for a monthly spot and I have no guarantee of a return rate. There is this little couponing book that cir-

culates, but again it’s a few hundred dollars to advertise per month. When and where does advertising be-

come affordable? I can’t seem to find it.

Recently, I got a phone call from a company handling a perks program for a very large local hospital

chain about an hour away from my house. They said they were interviewing 15 CPA and EA businesses in

the area. I was so excited because nurses and paramedics are my specialty. This was my chance to grow

my business. Can you imagine the exposure of being an exclusive recommendation for a hospital with

1,100 employees and potential for the rest of the chain? For the first time, I felt like I was a real business

and I was going to grow in 2016 in a big way. This gentleman found me and solicited me! I am totally legit

now and this was the proof. He gave me all the details and I asked questions about it. It would give me

web access to every employee, my logo would be on their badges and they would only recommend me as a

perk of their employment.,. I was overjoyed. This could help my business grow in leaps and bounds. I have-

n't been able to advertise, so this was a dream come true for me. How could this go wrong?

Well, the nice man tells me because of all we talked about, they wanted me! This was it. I asked the

question “what is the average usage rate” and it was 2-3%. That’s about 22 new returns for me and maybe

referrals if they liked me. I can’t believe this opportunity fell in my lap. And then he burst my bubble. How

did he do that you may wonder? This was not a free opportunity. Seriously, nothing in life is free. When

will I ever learn? The cost for all this fabulousness? $2,995. Um...no. He tells me I can put it on my credit

card, pay it off over time and it will pay for itself. At maybe 22 tax returns and all the traveling and expens-

es because this hospital is over an hour away and I don't have an office— it defeats itself. I worked my self

up because this was such a huge opportunity and then the hammer came down. Is it a great idea? Abso-

lutely. As a new business, can I afford it? Heck, no. I wish.

My lesson from this: Don't be so desperate to grow that you fall for anything. We talk to our clients

about this and here I just fell right into it. If I want to advertise, I need to find out the most cost effective

way to do it with something that will bring in a good return. This wasn’t an option for me, but it was nice

that I got the call. I might be down in the dumps about not being able to take advantage of the opportunity,

but when you start up a business you have to think about more than growth; you have to be able to afford

the items your business really needs, like software and portals and computers. Sometimes, it means you

sacrifice. I’ll stick with my business Facebook page for now and look for other opportunities. Growth will

come. I have to remember that you don’t judge the success of your business by its size. I have a small prac-

tice—too small for me and I want to grow but the success comes from my desire to grow and my desire to

get education so that my clients see how knowledgeable I am and tell all their friends. Referrals will be the

true test of my practice not how and where I advertise. Tough lesson, but I’m glad I learned it early on.

Speaking of education, I’ll be speaking at the Daytona January workshop on the 5th. Sign up today.

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DAYTONA BEACH WORKSHOP

THURSDAY, JANUARY 5, 2017

AGENDA

TOPICS AND INSTRUCTORS

8:10—8:30 AM Check in and Registration

8:30—9:20 AM New & Unusual Ways the Florida Dept. of Revenue

Is Calculating Sales Tax; New Developments (1 hr.)

Sam Eckhardt, Jr., EA

(CE credit unavailable from the IRS for state topics)

9:20—9:30AM Break

9:30—11:10AM Casualty Theft & Disaster Losses (2 hrs.)

Owen Oatley, EA

11:10—11:30AM Break

11:30—12:20PM Foreign Investment Reporting (2 hrs.)

Laura Wood, EA

12:20—1:30PM Lunch (on your own) The DSC cafeteria is open.

1:30—2:20PM Foreign Investment Reporting, continued

Laura Wood, EA

2:20—2:30PM Break

2:30—3:20PM K-1’s for 1041

Amy Brosnan, EA

3:20—3:30PM Break

3:30—4:20PM K-1’s for 1041, continued

Amy Brosnan, EA

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REGISTRATION FORM

DAYTONA WORKSHOP

THURSDAY, JANUARY 5, 2017

DAYTONA STATE COLLEGE BUILDING 150 ROOM 101

NOTE NEW LOCATION: Building 150 is located on White Street, which is the east boundary street for DSC .

Turn at the light just to the east of the main campus entrance on International Speedway Blvd. The building

is the first on your left. Take the first left before the building to access the parking lot.

DSC is located at 1200 W. International Speedway Blvd., Daytona Beach, FL 32114

Name: ____________________________________________________________________________

PTIN (required)___________________________ NATP Member # (required for discount)_______________________

Address:___________________________________________________________________________

City:_____________________________________State____________________ZIP_______________

EMAIL: __________________________________ Phone_____________________________________

Emergency Contact Name & Number:____________________________________________________

REGISTRATION FEE $ 80 Non NATP Member: $85 After December 30 $90. Non member $95

Class materials will be delivered via PDF by December 30. Printed materials fee: $20

No “at the door” registration will be available due to material costs.

PAYMENT METHOD

We accept: Visa, MC, AMEX and Discover cards. Checks made payable to Florida Chapter NATP.

Be advised that e-mailed registrations do not go to a secure site.

Name as it appears on cc: ______________________________________________________________

CC #___________________________________Exp Date: ______________Security Code_____________

Signature: ____________________________________________________________________________

HOW TO REGISTER

Mail to: Florida Chapter NATP, 13001 Spring Hill Drive, Spring Hill, FL 34609-5048

Phone: 352-686-0220 FAX: 352-686-0215 EMAIL: b.rudestedt@gmail.com

Cancellation Policy: To cancel your registration, please notify Sandra Torrence, Treasurer at confiden-

tial1227@aol.com no later than January 2, 2017 to receive a refund. Cancellation fee is $15.

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FLORIDA NATP JANUARY

WORKSHOP SPEAKERS

AMY BROSNAN, EA Amy has her own tax business called Sweet Deduc-

tions. She became an EA in 2016 and joined NATP in 2005. She has been

very active in our chapter, serving as Secretary and President. She has be-

come an established member of our chapter teaching staff. Other than bak-

ing and quilting, her newest hobby is boxing.

SAMUEL B. ECKHARDT, JR. , EA Sam operates the Business Tax Insti-

tute located in Deland and was formerly the Tax Audit Supervisor at the Day-

tona Beach office of the Florida Department of Revenue. We can always turn

to Sam for the “ins and outs” of the DOR.

OWEN R. OATLEY, EA Owen has his practice in Daytona Beach. He is a

past president of our Chapter and now serves on the Chapter’s Advisory

Board. He is a past member of the Taxpayer Advocacy Panel which is a Fed-

eral Advisory Board. Before he started his own practice he was employed by

the IRS. Owen has a Master’s Degree in political science from FSU. In May,

2006 he was the NATP Member of the Month.

LAURA WOOD, EA Laura received her EA in 1998. She and her husband,

who is a CFP, co-own a business accounting, tax preparation, representation

and financial services firm in Altamonte Springs. She serves as our chapter

Vice President. Her regular passion and distraction is doing aerial photog-

raphy while flying her Powered Parachute aircraft. In March, 2007 Laura be-

came the first Florida woman FAA-licensed Sport Pilot in Powered Parachute

aircraft. We are happy to say another of her passions is teaching for our

chapter.

All instructors have been certified to teach by the National Association of

Tax Professionals, except Mr. Eckhardt.

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JANUARY WORKSHOP COURSE DESCRIPTIONS

CASUALTY, THEFT & DISASTER LOSSES: After taxpayers suffer a casualty, theft or

disaster (can you say Hurricane Matthew) taxes are probably the last thing on their minds.

Tax laws can offer some help for loss victims and victims of a presidentially declared disas-

ter could use their tax filing to obtain much needed cash. This course helps a tax profes-

sional identify and report casualty, theft and disaster losses. Additionally, the tax provi-

sions of insurance reimbursements, disaster assistance, disaster payments, reconstruction

of records and calculation of losses are covered.

FOREIGN INVESTMENT REPORTING: United States citizens and residents are taxed

on their worldwide income, regardless of where they live or earn the income. To alleviate

double taxation, taxpayers are allowed to claim a foreign tax credit for foreign taxes paid.

This course examines the application and computation of the foreign tax credit. The IRS

is making a very proactive attempt to uncover hidden offshore accounts by requiring tax-

payers owning foreign assets and accounts to file certain disclosure forms with their tax

returns when foreign holdings exceed a specific value. The penalties for non compliance can

be substantial. This course identifies forms you need to file and what conditions trigger a

filing requirement. Forms discussed are 1116, 8938 and FinCEN 114 (formerly FBAR).

K-1’s FOR 1041: Taxpayers who are beneficiaries of an estate or trust will receive a

Schedule K-1 (Form 1041). This course examines what you need to know to properly report

the information provided to the beneficiary on a Schedule K-1 on their individual tax return.

NATIONAL BOARD MEMBER ELECTIONS

While there were only four open board positions and four candidates and therefore, some-

what of a foregone conclusion, your chapter Board wants our members to know that we

take our voting responsibilities seriously and we did not let this election pass unnoticed.

Your Board did vote. New National members are: Sally Achord, EA, Gerard Cannito, CPA,

CFP, Jaimee Hammer, EA and Brett Rosser, EA. Once the officer positions have been an-

nounced we will put them in the newsletter.

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HOW A BIT OF TAX PLANNING CAN MAKE YOUR CLIENT HAPPY

OR CHOOSING TO PAY TAX ON A SCHOLARSHIP OR GRANT

AND STILL GET THE EDUCATION CREDIT

As presented by David Mellem, with permission

Sometimes a student receives enough scholarships and grants to totally cover the

amount of tuition paid during the year and it appears the education credits are not available

since there is no tuition left after applying the scholarships and grants. However, there is

an option that can result in the student paying tax on some or all of these leaving some or all

of the tuition to be used for the education credits.

This provision has been available for many years, but every time we present it at a

seminar we find many tax professionals don’t know about this option. Recently, the US Dept.

of the Treasury released a 5-page Fact Sheet basically saying many taxpayers are not tak-

ing advantage of this option.

1) Scholarships and grants, such as the Pell Grant, are not taxable to the extent they are

used to pay for tuition. They are taxable to the extent they are used to pay most other

college related expenses, such as room and board.

2) Some scholarships and grants are very specific as to how they must be used. This is

found in their paperwork. These scholarships and grants MUST be used for the speci-

fied purpose..

3) Now the option to tax scholarships and grants: Those scholarships and grants that do

NOT specifically state how they must be used can be treated by the student as used for

any education related expense the student paid that year. If the student treats any of

these as used for tuition, that amount of the scholarships and grants are nontaxable. If

the student treats any of these scholarships and grants as used for other expenses,

they are taxable, but this would leave the tuition paid during the year available for the

education credits. (Since the scholarships and grants belong to the student, any amount

that is taxable is taxable to the student.)

Of course there are other items on the tax return that could be affected by this option

as well as nontax issues that may need to be considered. For example, increasing the income

by taxing some or all of a scholarship or grant means the student has higher income and a

higher tax. Therefore, it is important to look at the overall picture of the tax returns of

both the student and the parents, as well as nontax issues before choosing to tax scholar-

ships or grants. Continued on page 10

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TAXING SCHOLARSHIPS & GRANTS, continued from page 9

The Fact Sheet has two examples: one situation where the best results come from

taxing all of a Pell Grant and another situation where the best results come from only taxing

part of the Pell Grant.

You can find this Fact Sheet by going to www.treasury.gov and entering “Pell Grant” in

the Search box.

HOLIDAY STUFFED PEPPERS

KISSED WITH CREAMY HORSERADISH

WITH A HOLIDAY RED AND GREEN MOTIF THIS DISH IS EXCELLENT WITH

PRIME RIB OR PASTA

WHAT’S IN IT? SERVES 4

4 MEDIUM RED BELL PEPPERS (DON’T USE GREEN ONES), 2 BUNCHES FRESH SPIN-

ACH, WASHED AND LONG STEMS REMOVED, 1/2 TSP OLIVE OIL, 3 TABLESPOONS

RED ONION, MINCED, 1/4 TSP FRESHLY GROUND NUTMEG, 1/2 CUP DRAINED NON-

FAT PLAIN YOGURT, 2 TABLESPOONS PREPARED HORSERADISH.

WHAT DO I DO?

WASH AND DRY WHOLE RED BELL PEPPERS AND PLACE IN LIGHTLY OILED BAKING

PAN. ROAST WHOLE PEPPERS AT 400 DEGREEES FOR 12 MINUTES TURNING AS THEY

BROWN. IN A LARGE PAN, SAUTE RED ONION IN OIL WITH A BIT OF SALT AND

PEPPER FOR 3 MINUTES. ADD SPINACH AND COOK UNTIL JUST WILTED, ADDING

SALT AND PEPPER TO TASTE. REMOVE PEPPERS FROM OVEN AND ALLOW TO COOL

FOR 10 MINUTES. USING A SHARP KNIFE, GENTLY CUT ALONG TOP RIM OF PEPPERS

AND REMOVE TOP WITH STEM AND SEEDS ATTACHED. PILE SPINACH INTO PEP-

PERS AND BAKE AT 350 DEGREES FOR 10 MINUTES. MAKE A MIXTURE OF DRAINED

YOGURT AND HORSERADISH AND ADJUST TO TASTE. DOLLOP HORSERADISH MIX-

TURE ON TOP OF SPINACH—IN THE CENTER SO THAT SOME OF THE SPINACH

SHOWS FOR THE COLOR EFFECT. DUST WITH THE NUTMEG AND SERVE IMMEDI-

ATELY.

FROM SANDI’S KITCHEN

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FL NATP DEALS AND DISCOUNTS

QUICKFINDER –code Q680 THE TAX BOOK-code 433

Each of these companies are offering a discount to all FL NATP members. Ac-

cess the websites below to see the complete list of books offered and order

forms. You can order online, print out the form and mail it in or just phone

them. Quickfinder: 800.510.8997; Tax Book: 866.919.5277

http://tax.thompsonreuters.com/products/brands/checkpoint/quickfinder

www.thetaxbook.com

TWO NETWORKING MEETINGS AND A CONFERENCE

JANUARY 2: Networking in Palm Coast. The Perkins Restaurant at 6:30.

Located at 2375 Curlew Rd/Hwy 19. RSVP to Doris at

ddimon@tampabay.rr.com.

JANUARY 9: Networking in Port Richey. The Olive Garden Restaurant at

6:30. Located at 9690 Hwy 19. RSVP to Bibi at b.rudestedt@gmail.com.

MAY 18/19: Spring conference. Shores Resort and Spa, Daytona Beach.

Our speaker will be the incomparable Beanna Whitlock. 16 CE. More details in

the February newsletter. Don’t miss this one!

MISCELLANEOUS BUT IMPORTANT STUFF

FORMS 1095-B, 1095-C: The IRS has granted insurance companies and

businesses which are required to send out these forms an extension of time

until March 2 (it was January 31) . Taxpayers who may be affected by these

forms and who file before receiving them and who rely on other information

from their employers need not amend their returns. The forms, when re-

ceived, should be retained with the taxpayer’s return.

IRS & CE HOURS: The IRS advises that CE hours on their web site are not

up to date—this would impact hours obtained at our Ocala conference.