SafetyCare

Good Morning my loyal readers,

I just recently came across this article online from a woman named Jane Hampton and I could not have written the article better myself and I wanted to share it with you. The information containing in this article is very important to all of your clients who are thinking of staying in their homes and therefore doing accessible construction to make it more accessible as they grow old. The Tax breaks offered by the federal government could mean the difference between doing a project or not.

John Natale

Tax Deductions for Accessible Home modifications

by Jane Hamptong - Adapted by Natale

Have you spent money during the last year on home modifications or installing special equipment in your home to accommodate a medical condition or disability?  You will be pleased to know that you may be able to recoup some, if not all, of the costs.  Both the Federal Government and many states offer tax incentives for individuals making accessibility modifications to their home.

Medical Deductions

Costs incurred to implement accessibility modifications in your home are an eligible medical deduction on your Federal Income Tax under “Medical and Dental Expenses”. You can deduct only the amount of eligible medical and dental expenses that is more than 7.5 percent of your adjusted gross income.

As part of your medical expenses, you can include amounts you paid for special equipment installed in a home, or for improvements, if their main purpose was medical care for you, your spouse, or a dependent.

The cost of permanent improvements (such as an elevator) that increase the value of your property may be partly included as a medical expense.  The cost of the improvement is reduced by the increase in the value of your property--the difference is a medical expense.

If the value of your property is not increased by the improvement, the entire cost is included as a medical expense.  Certain improvements made to your home for accessibility and to accommodate a disability do not usually increase the value of the home and the entire cost can be included as a medical expense. These improvements include, but are not limited to, the following items:

· Constructing an accessible entrance or exit wheelchair ramps for your home.

· Widening doorways at entrances or exits to your home for accessibility.

· Widening or otherwise modifying hallways and interior doorways.

· Installing railings, support bars, or other modifications to bathrooms.

· Lowering or modifying kitchen cabinets and equipment.

· Moving or modifying electrical outlets and fixtures.

· Installing porch lifts and other forms of lifts (but elevators generally add value to the house).

· Modifying fire alarms, smoke detectors, and other warning systems.

· Modifying stairways.

· Adding handrails or grab bars anywhere (whether or not in bathrooms).

· Modifying hardware on doors.

· Modifying areas in front of entrance and exit doorways.

· Grading the ground to provide wheelchair access to the residence.

Only reasonable costs to make a home accessible are considered medical expenses.   Additional costs for personal motives, such as for architectural or aesthetic reasons, are not eligible medical expenses.
Amounts you pay for operation and upkeep of a capital asset qualify as medical expenses, as long as the main reason for them is medical care.  This rule applies even if none or only part of the original cost of the capital asset qualified as a medical care expense.

Improvements to property rented by a person with a disability are also an eligible medical expense.   IRS Publication 502 indicates that “amounts paid by a renter to buy and install special plumbing fixtures in a rented house for a person with a disability, mainly for medical reasons, are medical expenses.”

As written, it appears that qualifying expenses are limited to special plumbing fixtures, yet upon further discussion with the IRS, it is intended that conditions which apply to an owner occupied property (listed above), also apply to rental property.

Example:  John has arthritis and a heart condition. He cannot climb stairs or get into a bathtub. On his doctor's advice, he installs a bathroom with a shower stall on the first floor of his two-story rented house. The landlord did not pay any of the cost of buying and installing the special plumbing and did not lower the rent. John can include the entire amount he paid as medical expenses.

In regards to State taxes, it is recommended you look into your State tax laws to see if they offer any local tax incentives for individuals making accessibility modifications to their home.

Finally, as always, it is recommended you check with your tax accountant if you have any additional questions.

Please, visit our website for more info www.safety-care.com

Good Morning my loyal readers!

I came across this article and found interesting, especially because I can relate to it deeply. Here at Natale Company and SafetyCare we want to run the extra mile and provide all information necessary to make our client's decisions easier. Our company is applying all resources available to reach out to you. Whether you are our Facebook fan, our twitter follower or a linkedin member.  Beside, you know, we keep on working hard to update our blog at least once a week. Please, read over and let me know your thought.

Thank you again and enjoy your reading.

How small business is using Social Media. - Original available at mashable.com

The University of Maryland’s Smith School of Business looked at the relationship between social media and small businesses and found that the technology adoption rates in the U.S. have doubled in the past year from 12% to 24%.

The data comes straight from the university’s third installment to its Small Business Success Index report and is based on a December 2009 telephone survey of 500 small business owners. Adoption rate calculations are compared against a baseline report conducted in December 2008.

The study concludes that nearly one in five small business owners are integrating social media into their business processes — Facebook and LinkedIn were the most popular sites. In fact, 45% of surveyed respondents even believe their social media initiatives will pay off financially in 12 months or less.

As the graphic below details, the small business owners who are using social media are primarily engaging in social media through company pages (75%) and status updates (69%) on Facebook or LinkedIn. What’s especially intriguing is that a much smaller percentage of respondents — just 16% — are using Twitter as a customer service channel.

Another interesting notion is that small business owners now believe social media can help them on the lead generation front, and that is the primary motivating factor for engaging in these new customer service channels. So while half of surveyed respondents found the time it takes to use social media sites more daunting than expected, 61% are still putting in the hours and making active efforts to identify new customers.

Clearly social media has become a valuable tool for small businesses, but we’re especially curious to see how Twitter adoption rates fluctuate over the time. While we expect more small businesses to use Twitter as a customer service channel in the year ahead, as it stands, Facebook and LinkedIn have become the predominant platforms for small business owners.

Do you want to learn more about Social Media.

Visit www.nunesmarketing.com