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The rate will increase to 55.5 cents a mile for all business miles driven from July 1, 2011, through Dec. 31, 2011. This is an increase of 4.5 cents from the 51 cent rate in effect for the first six months of 2011.

The real question is whether this rate is realistic for the increasing costs we face while using our vehicles for business.  The only way to know for sure is to keep track of your expenses and see which method works best.

If you need help in setting up a daily system to keep track of your expenses, let us know, we can help.

Gifting

1. If you are giving securities away, endorse them over to the donee.  On year-end gifts, companies may not be able to retitle the certificates in the donee’s name by December 31st.

2. If you’re making a gift by check, be sure the donee deposits it in 2010 if you want the money to be included as a 2010 gift for gift tax purposes.

Otherwise, give a certified check to the recipient this year.  That will count as a 2010 gift, even if the donee does not deposit the check into his or her account until next year.

General

1.  Mail checks for deductible items before year-end to make sure of a 2010 write-off. You get to claim the deduction this year even if the checks don’t clear until January.

2.  If you are charging deductible items, make sure you know these rules:

Charges that you make with a retail store credit-card are only allowed as a deduction in the year you pay the bill.

Charges that you make with a bank credit card are allowed as a deduction in the year you charge the items, even if you pay the bill next year.

Here are some links to some more articles

Related articles

• Year-end giving moves, December 2010 (dontmesswithtaxes.typepad.com)
• Sometimes it’s better to give right now (iowabiz.com)

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As the economy keeps sputtering, you need to find ways to keep your household costs down. Below is a great article on finding help on paying for prescriptions that are not covered by your health insurance.  As with everything, it helps to look for ways to shop the costs and finding strategies to save. This is one Tax deduction you don’t need.  Enjoy and let me know if I should be looking for more user friendly articles.

Help for prescriptions is available if you qualify. Prescription medication could be awfully pricey and maybe more so if you don’t have health care insurance. Help with prescriptions can make your recovery go a lot faster. For those patients with cancer, this is especially true.

Let’s say you have been receiving chemotherapy, however it causes an upset tummy, therefore you are given a anti-nausea medicines to go along with it. You will perhaps need an iron supplement too since the chemo will cause you to become anemic. This list could go on and on. What it amounts to is that a cancer patient can very easy be spending more for prescription medicine than their house payment! At this point you need to turn to a prescription program assistance.

What are you to do when you need help paying for your medicine?

The one thing you don’t want to do is stop taking your medicine. There are quite a lot of programs accessible which offer free and reduced cost patient assistance.

• Social Worker- Most hospitals boast a social worker that may help you acquire grants and other plans aimed at assisting you with your health care needs. This can be your initial stop in searching for assistance. Always enlighten your doctor if you cannot pay for medicine or treatment. He or she possibly will know of a package firsthand to support you, also.

• PPA- The Partnership for Prescription Assistance is a society intended at serving those that can’t find the money for their medications. They have produced a database of over 200  programs and over 5000 prescription medicine offered for reduced or no cost aid. They help in determining what you are entitled for and applying for the assistance. The assistance is free and accessible online.

• Drug Companies- A lot of patients wouldn’t think drug companies provide assistance, on the contrary many will. Johnson and Johnson provides a prescription medication plan for persons taking their prescription medicine and can’t manage to pay for them. Locate the maker of your drugs by asking your doctor of medicine or pharmacist and check the website for medicines assistance programs.

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