ANALYZE YOUR CUSTOMERS FOR A BETTER BUSINESS

If your business is like most, you put a lot of effort into attracting new customers. After all, that's an essential part of growing the business. But sometimes it's more productive to step back and review your existing customers, and perhaps even get rid of a few.

GIVE YOUR CHILDREN SOME LESSONS ABOUT MONEY

There's one important subject that your children may not learn in school: personal finance. If you want your kids to pick up good money skills and become financially responsible adults, you should give them some training yourself.

BEWARE OF TAX SCAMS

It's likely to be a daily occurrence: Your e-mail inbox contains at least one message touting a too-good-to-be-true offer. 

DECIDE WHEN TO PAY TAX ON U.S. SAVINGS BONDS

When you own Series EE or Series I savings bonds, you have a tax decision to make.

IDENTIFY SHARES YOU'RE SELLING

You can often manage the size of your gain or loss when you decide to sell some, but not all, of a particular stock or mutual fund. To do this, you must have kept good records of the date and the price for each share purchase. By selling the highest cost shares first, you'll minimize your taxable gain or maximize your loss. You must specify the particular shares you are selling at the time you sell.

CMJ, LLP ONCE AGAIN VOTED BEST PLACES TO WORK

ONCE AGAIN

VOTED

BEST PLACES TO WORK

in the capital region!

2006

2011

2012

For 24 years CMJ has been successful

by ensuring clients pay no more tax than the law requires.

Our highly trained staff monitors changes in tax laws affecting clients, recommends tax saving strategies, files

tax returns and serves as client advocate on all tax matters.

Whether starting a business or operating a going concern, CMJ helps clients select the proper organizational structure. We partner with your advisors to solve unique business problems. We can assist your business with financing, internal controls, and performance management systems

that can help you to increase the profitability

and value of your business.

(518) 798-3330

www.cmjllp.com or info@cmjllp.com

DON'T BE TRIPPED UP BY THE WASH SALE RULES

If you sell a security before the end of 2012 to take advantage of a capital loss, be aware of the wash sale rules. To make sure the loss is deductible, refrain from buying the same security or a substantially identical security during the 61-day period that begins 30 days before you sell and ends 30 days after.

BASIS REPORTING REQUIREMENT DELAYED

A law passed in 2008 requires brokers to report an investor's basis in stocks and mutual fund shares when these investments are sold. The final step in these new reporting requirements was to become effective for debt instruments and options on January 1, 2013.

The IRS has announced a delay in the effective date, moving it to January 1, 2014. This one-year delay is in response to complaints that the earlier deadline did not give brokers and other financial institutions time to build and test systems to handle the complicated basis reporting requirements.

ROTH CONVERSIONS ARE TAXABLE

If you convert a traditional IRA to a Roth, there's a price to pay. Converted amounts attributable to tax-deductible contributions, plus all of the earnings, are taxable at ordinary income rates. To lessen the tax hit, you may choose to convert only a part of your IRA to a Roth. You can convert as much as you like, or you can convert some each year if that seems advisable.