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Pamela Avraham

File now for your NJ ANCHOR Property Tax Rebate

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Be Thankful for the NJ ANCHOR Property Tax Rebate

New Jersey recently launched the ANCHOR program to help homeowners and renters save on property taxes. It is an expansion of the Homestead Benefit Program. ANCHOR stands for Affordable NJ Communities for Homeowners and Renters. The current year ANCHOR program covers 2019.

Who is eligible for the 2019 Anchor program?

  • Homeowners with income of $150,000 or less will receive $1,500
  • Homeowners with income over $150,000 and up to $250,000 will receive $1,000
  • Renters with income of $150,000 or less will receive $450

You are considered a homeowner if you owned a house or condominium on Oct. 1, 2019 and paid property taxes. You are a renter if on Oct. 1, 2019 you rented an apartment, condominium or house.
How do I apply?
Homeowners need an ANCHOR ID and PIN to apply online on the NJ Division of Taxation website or by phone at 877-658-2972. Informational mailers with the ID and PIN numbers were sent the first week of Oct. 2022. If you didn’t receive the form, call the ANCHOR hotline at 888-238-1233. If you applied for the Homestead Rebate last year, you can get your ID and PIN online at ANCHOR ID and PIN .
Tenants can and should apply online at Tenant Online Filing. Tenants do not have an ID and PIN.
Owned a home in 2019 but recently moved?
If you did not receive a mailer, access the online ID and PIN Inquiry System   to retrieve your ID and PIN. Or call the ANCHOR hotline.

Paper applications
Some homeowners must file paper ANCHOR applications. They include:

  • You shared ownership of your home with someone who was not your spouse
  • You are a widow(er) and the deed lists both your name and the name of the deceased spouse
  • You are the executor filing on behalf of a deceased homeowner
  • You are filing for property held in trust
  • You are divorced- you should report your percentage of ownership

When will I receive the ANCHOR payment?
Payments will be sent out in late Spring 2023. ANCHOR payments will be paid in the form of a direct deposit or check, not as a credit to your property tax bill.
When is the ANCHOR application deadline?
The initial deadline was December 30, 2022. The new extended deadline is Feb. 28, 2023!
Eligible homeowners and tenants should file as soon as possible to anchor in their 2019 rebate. You’ll be happy when the rebate floats into your bank account in the Spring of 2023.

 

 

Living, Working or Investing in Multiple States

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Taxpayers on the Go!

NY Filers Taxpayers who live, work or have real-estate in NY must file a NY resident or non-resident return. They may benefit from itemizing deductions for NY even if they can’t itemize for the IRS. The NY threshold to itemize is substantially lower than the federal threshold, making it easier to itemize for NY. The US standard deduction in 2021 for married filing joint was $25,100 and $27,800 for married seniors. In contrast, the 2021 NY standard deduction for married couples and married seniors was only $16,050.

Additionally, several deductions are allowed on the NY return which are disallowed or limited on the federal return. Your steep NJ real estate taxes are limited to a $10,000 deduction on the US return but are not limited on the NY return! A deduction up to $10,000 is allowed for college tuition for each eligible student.

These deductions are allowed for NY subject to 2% of your federal adjusted gross income:

  1. Unreimbursed employee expenses
  2. Tax preparation fees
  3. Investment/brokerage fees

Real estate in other states? Have a loss from real estate in other states? There are several reasons why one should file a non-resident return even when there is a loss in that state.

  1. The non-resident state may require that a return be filed based on gross receipts of the real estate investments, even when there is a net loss.
  2. The non-resident state may allow loss carryforwards. These losses will offset future rental income from the property. Upon the sale of the property, the losses will reduce the capital gain.

Credit on the resident return for taxes paid to other states Frequently overlooked!

  1. Make sure that sources of income/loss are correctly grouped on the resident return which may differ greatly from the IRS. This determines the credit for taxes paid to other states.
  2. The credit on the resident return for other jurisdictions should also include taxes paid to other cities, such as Philadelphia.

When filing in non-resident states, review the tax saving options which could be substantial. Your Google search isn’t a substitute for our years of experience with multi-state tax returns. Contact one of our tax professionals for guidance at (732) 777-1158 or  info@ua-cpas.com.

 

NJ Medical Expense Deduction

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The NJ Medical Expense Deduction- Nothing to Sneeze at!

Taxpayers who don’t itemize on their federal tax return frequently overlook the NJ medical expense deduction. It is usually easier to reach the NJ income threshold for the medical deduction of 2%, compared to the federal income threshold of 7.5%. Both retirees as well as employed individuals can benefit from this deduction.

Retirees tend to have lower NJ income than federal income for two main reasons. Social Security is not taxable for NJ and NJ allows a pension income exclusion for taxpayers whose income is less than $150,000. Retirees also tend to have more medical expenses as they age. As a result, retirees should make an effort to take advantage of the considerable NJ medical expense deduction.

Taxpayers who are still receiving compensation have two frequently missed sources of deductible medical expenses for NJ. If you are self-employed or you received wages in 2021 from an S corporation in which you were a more-than-2% shareholder, you can deduct the amount you paid during the year for health insurance for yourself, your spouse, and your dependents. If you are employed and you contribute to your employer-provided health insurance coverage, you can deduct the amount of your contribution. Your federal wages may have been reduced by your contribution to your employer-provided health insurance. However, if your NJ wages were not reduced by the contribution than you may deduct the contribution as a medical expense on your NJ tax return.

Some examples of allowable medical expenses are: payments for doctor’s visits, dental care, hospital care, eye examinations, eyeglasses, medicine, and x-rays or other diagnostic services directed by your physician or dentist. Insurance premiums, including amounts paid under Social Security for Medicare, can be used as medical deductions. You also can deduct transportation costs.

Now that you have reduced your NJ taxes by the medical expense deduction, you probably feel healthier already.

 

Increased NJ Child Care Credit for 2021!

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More NJ families will benefit in 2021 from the 

Child and Dependent Care Credit.

The taxable income threshold has increased to $150,000, from $60,000 in 2020. Resident taxpayers who are allowed a federal child tax credit are eligible for a credit against their NJ gross income tax

The credit will reduce the amount of New Jersey Gross Income Tax a taxpayer owes and may result in a refund even if no taxes are owed. Taxpayers may be able to claim the New Jersey Child and Dependent Care Credit if they:

  • Paid expenses for the care of one or more qualifying individuals so that they are able to work or actively look for work;
  • Are allowed the federal child and dependent care credit; and
  • Have New Jersey taxable income of $150,000 or less.

The amount of the NJ credit is a percentage of the taxpayer’s federal child and dependent care credit and varies according to the amount of the taxpayer’s NJ taxable income.

                                                        Tax Year 2021
        NJ taxable income                  NJ Credit
            0 to $30,000  50% of federal credit
         $30,001  to   $60,000 40% of federal credit
         $60,001  to   $90,000 30% of federal credit
          $90,000  to   $120,000 20% of federal credit
         $120,001 to $150,000 10% of federal credit

This increased child care credit provides more relief to working families and is only for 2021.

 

NJ Increases 2021 Pension Exclusion

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NJ Retirement Income Exclusions 

Grandfather and grandson at the Jersey Shore

For 2021, NJ increased the retirement income exclusion to encourage seniors to stay in the Garden State. You can exclude all or part of your pension income for 2021 if you meet the following:

  • You were 62 or older or disabled on the last day of the tax year.
  • Your 2021 total income was $150,000 or less (increased from $100,000 in 2020)

If you and your spouse file a joint return and only one of you is 62 or older or disabled, you can still claim the maximum pension exclusion. However, you can only exclude the pension income of the qualified spouse.

Total Income of $100,000 or Less

If your total income is $100,000 or less, you can exclude taxable pension, annuity and IRA withdrawals up to the maximum amount per your filing status as below:

Married Filing Joint               Married Filing Separate         Single or Head of Household

$100,000                                      $50,000                                              $75,000

Total Income of $100,001 – $150,000

If your total income is $100,001, but not more than $150,000, you can exclude a percentage of your taxable pension income. The chart below indicates your exclusion amount. 

Total Income Filing Status % of Taxable                 Pension
$100,001- $125,000 Married Filing Joint 50%
Single/head of household 37.50%
$125,001- $150,000 Married Filing Joint 25%
Single/head of household 18.75%

 Beware of the cliff!

If you file married filing joint and your taxable income is $100,000, your maximum pension exclusion could be as high as $100,000. If you earn an additional $1 and have taxable income of $100,001 you could lose $50,000 of the pension exclusion.

Any planning ideas?

When planning to sell securities at a gain at year-end, taxpayers whose income is approaching the $100,000 cliff should be careful not to add a small amount of income pushing them over the cliff. This additional income could increase your NJ taxes by $1,000. An additional year-end IRA distribution could also put your income over the $100,000 cliff and cause you to lose up to 50% of the exclusion.

With a little bit of planning, New Jerseyans can maximize the pension exclusion. This may keep more seniors in the Garden State to enjoy the Jersey Shore with their grandchildren.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Year-End Tax Tips for Charitable Donations

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Charitable Deductions Strategies 

The deduction for charitable contributions is normally an itemized deduction. The standard deductions for every filing status are significantly higher under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017. And since there are new limits on some itemized deductions — e.g., the deduction for state and local taxes — and others have been outright eliminated, many taxpayers are less likely to benefit from itemizing. Here are several strategies that could help taxpayers get better tax mileage from their donations.

Timing Donations With a Donor-Advised Fund

With a donor-advised fund, you make a contribution (or series of contributions) to the fund and recommend how you would like your gifts to be disbursed. Contributions to a donor-advised fund are generally tax deductible in the year they are made. By funding a donor-advised fund in a year you expect to itemize your deductions could provide a tax advantage. If desired, you could then put those dollars to use over several years by supporting your favorite charities through your donor-advised fund. You can itemize in years in which you make the contribution to a donor-advised and take advantage of the high standard deductions in the years in which you don’t contribute.

Donating Appreciated Securities

Many donor-advised funds and other public charities accept contributions of publicly traded stock or other securities. A donation of highly appreciated securities held more than one year provides a potential tax deduction for the securities’ fair market value while also avoiding the capital gains tax that would be due if the securities were sold. Note that itemized deductions for contributions of appreciated securities are generally limited to 30% of AGI.

Making Qualified Charitable Distributions After Age 70½

A qualified charitable distribution (QCD), also known as an IRA charitable rollover, allows you to donate to qualified charities directly from your individual retirement account (IRA). While there is no tax deduction allowed for the donated assets, they don’t count as income either. What’s more, a QCD can help satisfy your annual required minimum distribution (RMD).

To make a QCD you must be at least 70½ years of age. Gifts must be made directly from your traditional or Roth IRA to a public charity. (Contributions to donor-advised funds are not eligible.) Up to $100,000 may be transferred annually per spouse.

New for 2021!  Charitable Deduction for individuals who don’t itemize

The law now permits individuals who don’t itemize to claim a limited deduction on their 2021 federal income tax returns for cash contributions. These individuals can claim a deduction of up to $600 for cash contributions make to charities in 2021. Cash contributions include those made by check, credit card or debit card as well as amounts incurred by an individual for unreimbursed out-of-pocket expenses in connection with the individual’s volunteer services.

Each individual’s tax situation is different. Please consult with a tax professional at Urbach & Avraham, CPAs to help you analyze the impact on your personal situation.