April 15th Could Bring You an Unwelcome Surprise

For many of you, it’s probably too early to think about Tax Day. But in 2014, you may want to plan ahead since April 15 could be an unhappy day for more taxpayers than usual due to the impact of two new tax laws that went into effect on 1/1/2014 — the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) and the American Taxpayer Relief Act (ATRA) passed on 1/2/13.

Most of you have not felt the impact of these changes because of the tax payment rules, which allow you to base your estimated payments on last year’s tax. As a result, many of you have been making “safe estimates” and the financial impact of these law changes will be felt all at once on April 15. As well, your first quarter estimate will be based upon the new law. So April 15 date may be unhappy day for all of us. Upon request, we have been providing projections for many of our Cover & Rossiter clients to make them aware of what they will owe. And we have been communicating the tax law changes through seminars in the summer of 2013. So our best advice is for you to submit your tax information to us as early as possible. If this note alarms you, consider it a “friendly reminder” that it is not too late for us to help you understand the impact of the new tax laws.

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