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Know when you should ask for professional help.  Before taking action, talk to your tax adviser. How many times have you seen this legal disclaimer? Unfortunately, all too often taxpayers do not follow this advice and then must pay the price with an unnecessarily high tax bill.
Here are some of the most common situations that can save you money by seeking advice before you act:
In advance of any of these events, or when in doubt, please ask for assistance. There are too many stories that include the words “If only they had talked to someone first!” "Tax Tips" are published to provide current tax information, tax-cutting suggestions, and tax reminders. If you would like more information on anything in "Tax Tips," or if you'd like to be on our mailing list to receive other tax information from time to time, please contact our office. The tax information contained in this site is of a general nature and should not be acted upon in your specific situation without further details and/or professional assistance. We are trusted CPA advisors servicing Burr Ridge, Hinsdale, Willowbrook, Darien, Naperville, and all Chicagoland area. Do you need assistance with your business and/or personal tax returns? Would you like to have a trusted source for your accounting, allowing you additional time to focus on increasing your business? Do you use QuickBooks, or plan to in the future, for your accounting? We include these in all our service packages, customized to fit your personal or business needs. We are currently accepting new clients. Your initial consultation is free, so you have nothing to lose and everything to gain. Our experienced staff is available to help you streamline your accounting, giving you more free time for yourself. Set up an appointment today by calling (630) 320-3720 or email us at [email protected]. For more free resources, such as Tax Organizers, and Record Retention Schedules, access our website www.monarchaccountinggroup.com. Mia Verc, CPA; Janice Papais, CPA
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 Your grandson needs a car, but cannot afford the payments. As a favor, you provide the $25,000 to purchase the car. You tell your grandson to pay you back when he can, but there is no loan document. The IRS sees this payment during an audit and asks where your interest income is for this loan. Should this happen, you will quickly understand the meaning of AFRs.
AFRs Defined AFRs stand for Applicable Federal Rates. They are minimum interest rates that the IRS applies to a transaction when no rate is stated or implied. In other words, you may have a transaction that the IRS believes has an interest income/expense element to it, but none has been claimed by you. These minimum interest rates are published each month by the IRS for three different loan terms: Short-term (0 to 3 years); Mid-term (4 to 9 years); and Long-term (over 9 years). When does the AFR apply? You may think that money you gave to a friend or that car sale to your cousin with repayment over time has no interest rate, but the IRS may see it differently. If no interest rate is stated, the IRS will apply the applicable AFR. This means you might be in for a tax surprise. Here are some common examples when the AFR rates can come into play:
How to use the AFR knowledge to your advantage
Should you wish to see the published AFR rates, they are available on the IRS website at www.irs.gov/AFRs. "Tax Tips" are published to provide current tax information, tax-cutting suggestions, and tax reminders. If you would like more information on anything in "Tax Tips," or if you'd like to be on our mailing list to receive other tax information from time to time, please contact our office. The tax information contained in this site is of a general nature and should not be acted upon in your specific situation without further details and/or professional assistance. We are trusted CPA advisors servicing Burr Ridge, Hinsdale, Willowbrook, Darien, Naperville, and all Chicagoland area. Do you need assistance with your business and/or personal tax returns? Would you like to have a trusted source for your accounting, allowing you additional time to focus on increasing your business? Do you use QuickBooks, or plan to in the future, for your accounting? We include these in all our service packages, customized to fit your personal or business needs. We are currently accepting new clients. Your initial consultation is free, so you have nothing to lose and everything to gain. Our experienced staff is available to help you streamline your accounting, giving you more free time for yourself. Set up an appointment today by calling (630) 320-3720 or email us at [email protected]. For more free resources, such as Tax Organizers, and Record Retention Schedules, access our website www.monarchaccountinggroup.com. Mia Verc, CPA; Janice Papais, CPA Now is the time to make your estimated tax payment If you have not already done so, now is the time to review your tax situation and make an estimated quarterly tax payment using Form 1040-ES. With the passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), forecasting your tax obligation is now more important than ever. You have two quarterly estimated tax payments due dates available to you after the passage of the bill in July: one payment due by September 15th and another due in January 2026. Spend some time adjusting your tax obligation and reforecasting your estimated tax obligation.
3rd Quarter Due Date: Monday, Sept. 15, 2025 You are required to withhold at least 90 percent of your 2025 tax obligation or 100 percent of your 2024 obligation.* A quick look at last year’s tax return and a projection of this year’s obligation can help determine if a payment is necessary. Here are some other things to consider:
So spend some time now to calculate your estimated tax liability. And remember that to avoid any underpayment penalties, simply use last year's tax as a baseline. *If your income is more than $150,000 ($75,000 if married filing separately), you must pay 110 percent of your 2024 tax obligation to be safe from an underpayment penalty. "Tax Tips" are published to provide current tax information, tax-cutting suggestions, and tax reminders. If you would like more information on anything in "Tax Tips," or if you'd like to be on our mailing list to receive other tax information from time to time, please contact our office. The tax information contained in this site is of a general nature and should not be acted upon in your specific situation without further details and/or professional assistance. We are trusted CPA advisors servicing Burr Ridge, Hinsdale, Willowbrook, Darien, Naperville, and all Chicagoland area. Do you need assistance with your business and/or personal tax returns? Would you like to have a trusted source for your accounting, allowing you additional time to focus on increasing your business? Do you use QuickBooks, or plan to in the future, for your accounting? We include these in all our service packages, customized to fit your personal or business needs. We are currently accepting new clients. Your initial consultation is free, so you have nothing to lose and everything to gain. Our experienced staff is available to help you streamline your accounting, giving you more free time for yourself. Set up an appointment today by calling (630) 320-3720 or email us at [email protected]. For more free resources, such as Tax Organizers, and Record Retention Schedules, access our website www.monarchaccountinggroup.com. Mia Verc, CPA; Janice Papais, CPA  With the uncertainty in the marketplace, now is a good time to review the rules surrounding investment losses. This knowledge can help minimize your tax obligation next year. This is because investment gains and income can be subject to a variety of federal tax rates as high as 37%. This, plus the 3.8% net investment income tax, makes planning around when to take investment losses an important tax subject this year.
Know the meaningful rules What makes investment losses such an important tax planning subject? Here are the relevant tax ramifications surrounding investment losses.
So given these rules, here are some tips. Maximizing the impact of investment losses
Remember, investment losses can be used to offset investment gains and a limited amount of your ordinary income. Since the tax rates vary so greatly, proper planning to match losses against higher taxed items can make these losers a real winner on next year's tax return. "Tax Tips" are published to provide current tax information, tax-cutting suggestions, and tax reminders. If you would like more information on anything in "Tax Tips," or if you'd like to be on our mailing list to receive other tax information from time to time, please contact our office. The tax information contained in this site is of a general nature and should not be acted upon in your specific situation without further details and/or professional assistance. We are trusted CPA advisors servicing Burr Ridge, Hinsdale, Willowbrook, Darien, Naperville, and all Chicagoland area. Do you need assistance with your business and/or personal tax returns? Would you like to have a trusted source for your accounting, allowing you additional time to focus on increasing your business? Do you use QuickBooks, or plan to in the future, for your accounting? We include these in all our service packages, customized to fit your personal or business needs. We are currently accepting new clients. Your initial consultation is free, so you have nothing to lose and everything to gain. Our experienced staff is available to help you streamline your accounting, giving you more free time for yourself. Set up an appointment today by calling (630) 320-3720 or email us at [email protected]. For more free resources, such as Tax Organizers, and Record Retention Schedules, access our website www.monarchaccountinggroup.com. Mia Verc, CPA; Janice Papais, CPA Multiple changes make this more important than ever  With the passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) of 2025, there's the ability to receive a deduction for overtime pay from your federal tax obligation. Here's a recap of the rule and several tax tips to ensure you receive the full benefit of the deduction.
The Tax Law Change From 2025 through 2028, there is a new above-the-line tax deduction of up to $12,500 ($25,000 for joint filers) for qualified overtime compensation. Overtime is the half portion of being paid time-and-a-half as defined by the Fair Labor Standards Act. The benefit begins to phase out when your modified adjusted gross income exceeds $150,000 ($300,000 for joint filers). It phases out by $100 for every $1,000 you exceed the amount. So the phaseout ranges are: Single: $150,000 – $275,000 Joint filer: $300,000 – $550,000 Example: Ima Working, a single taxpayer with $10,000 of overtime pay and MAGI of $170,000 can deduct $8,000 of her overtime pay. $10,000 overtime pay minus $2,000 or ($170,000 – $150,000)/1,000*$100). To receive the benefit:
Some tips
"Tax Tips" are published to provide current tax information, tax-cutting suggestions, and tax reminders. If you would like more information on anything in "Tax Tips," or if you'd like to be on our mailing list to receive other tax information from time to time, please contact our office. The tax information contained in this site is of a general nature and should not be acted upon in your specific situation without further details and/or professional assistance. We are trusted CPA advisors servicing Burr Ridge, Hinsdale, Willowbrook, Darien, Naperville, and all Chicagoland area. Do you need assistance with your business and/or personal tax returns? Would you like to have a trusted source for your accounting, allowing you additional time to focus on increasing your business? Do you use QuickBooks, or plan to in the future, for your accounting? We include these in all our service packages, customized to fit your personal or business needs. We are currently accepting new clients. Your initial consultation is free, so you have nothing to lose and everything to gain. Our experienced staff is available to help you streamline your accounting, giving you more free time for yourself. Set up an appointment today by calling (630) 320-3720 or email us at [email protected]. For more free resources, such as Tax Organizers, and Record Retention Schedules, access our website www.monarchaccountinggroup.com. Mia Verc, CPA; Janice Papais, CPA |
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Phone: (630) 320-3720
Monarch Accounting Group Inc 145 Tower Drive, Suite 10 Burr Ridge, IL 60527-7836 Email: [email protected] |
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