In This Issue:
ICLUBcentral at the 2009 AAII Investor Conference
ICLUBcentral is proud to be part of the AAII Conference this November 12-14 in Orlando, FL, and will be hosting a booth in the Smart Investor Exhibit Hall. AAII invites only quality companies and services to participate in the Exhibit Hall and hand-picks those products and services that offer investors an advantage to efficiently manage and improve their investments.
In addition to hosting the Toolkit 6 Booth at the show, Doug Gerlach will teach an educational workshop, "A Fundamental Approach to Individual Stock Analysis" on Friday, November 13 from 2:15-3:30 pm.
There's something for everyone at the AAII conference, from fine-tuning your strategies and mastering the latest concepts to simply learning more about investing from some of the best names in the industry.
To learn more about the conference and to register, visit http://www.aaii.com/programs/conference/.
Join the Club!
by Amy Rauch Neilson
Remember the license plate and the alphabet games — those now old-fashioned ways of keeping kids occupied on long road trips — before the introduction of the in-car DVD? Rather than thinking of these activities as leftovers of an era gone by, I prefer to think that parents and kids alike have, well, evolved.
Take Kishan Lalla and his father, Bakul, for example. This pair may not keep themselves occupied by counting Volkswagen Beetles or spotting a license plate from every state. But what they do when they're traveling together not only helps to pass the time, it teaches a valuable lesson as well. A lesson like, you know, appreciating and depreciating assets . . .
"My Dad would point to a car and ask me whether it was an appreciating or depreciating asset," says Kishan, 15, of Norwalk, Calif. "I'd answer him, then we'd talk about why."
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Getting Ready for Tax Season
Year end is fast approaching and that means tax season is right around the corner! Tax season does not have to be a confusing time for club members and treasurers — ICLUBcentral's Tax Printer is designed to make filing club taxes as easy and painless as possible for both federal and state tax returns — although it will be several weeks before you can pre-order your 2009 Tax Printer, the ICLUB support team has put together the following document to help you better understand what to expect and when to start your preparation for filing your 2009 club taxes.
Understanding Tax Season
Final forms: forms that have been approved by the legislature and officially released by the IRS, and can be used to file your club's taxes.
Draft forms: placeholder forms that have not yet been officially approved and cannot be used to file your club's taxes.
Why do we ship the Tax Printers before the Final forms are released? Why is there such a delay in releasing them?
Every year, Treasurers go through the same song and dance — the Tax Season Tango. Though the music may change, the steps of the dance never do.
The Overture
Some time near July, the IRS releases the Federal taxes in Draft form. This is enough for software companies and accountants to get a general feel for the new forms. We use them as a placeholder until the Final forms arrive. ICLUBcentral starts work on the Tax Printer software for the new year.
November: Pre-order your Tax Printers as soon as they become available
ICLUBcentral will soon be starting pre-sales on the 2009 Tax Printer software. You will be notified by email when the Tax Printers are available and you can order your 2009 copy. The software is generally in the testing phase at this point, so nothing is shipped yet. Pre-sales help ICLUBcentral spread out the orders so they don't come in all at once and also helps clubs by getting their order approved while any year-end discounts still apply.
What to do: Clear the purchase with your club and purchase the Tax Printers. Tell the club members to expect their tax forms in February.
December: Be patient.
ICLUBcentral starts shipping the Tax Printer software. At this time, the software is complete, but the tax forms are still in draft. The IRS would love to publish the final forms, but there are always delays, usually due to last-minute legislation. For example, in 2005, tax forms were delayed because after the forms had gone to the printers, Congress added a checkbox for taxpayers to donate $3 for Hurricane Katrina relief. In 2006, a similar delay occurred because Congress renewed a clause that had just run out. If there were no last-minute changes, there would be no delays, but this is seldom the case.
What to do: Put together an audit committee and review the books for the year. Tell the club members to expect their tax forms in February.
January: Audit your books.
You're waiting for the draft forms to be finalized. You're waiting for your brokerage firm's 1099 forms, which they don't have to send to you until January 31. The tension builds as your club's members decide that now is the time they should start asking you for their K-1's — in some cases, every single day. Hand them a copy of this message so they know why they don't have their tax forms yet.
What to do: Check the ICLUB.com home page for the status of the tax forms. Tell the club members to expect their tax forms in February.
February: Run your taxes (Congress and the IRS willing).
You've got your 1099s. You've recorded every transaction and closed the books for the previous year. You check iclub.com for the status of the tax forms. When Congress and the IRS finalize the forms, ICLUBcentral makes any necessary changes, tests them, and releases the final forms to you. ICLUBcentral shouts from the rooftops that the final forms have arrived, updating the main web page, sending out emails, and automatically updating Club Accounting. Folks with Club Accounting Online see the finalized forms under the Taxes tab. Treasurers with Club Accounting 3 for the desktop get a message that there's an update.
What to do: Complete the tax forms for your club members. Remind the club members that they owe you dinner, and the person who called you the most for the forms from November through January should be picking up the tab.
We hope this will help serve as your guideline on what to expect as you prepare for the 2009 tax season. Don't forget to pre-order your federal and state tax printers as soon as they become available on ICLUB.com.
And if you want more information — You can view last year's webinar (12/23/08) Preparing for Investment Club Tax Season with Dan Abraham and Ira Smilovitz as they discuss the details of Investment Club Tax preparation.
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