Goodness knows you have more than enough to organize when you’re preparing for a marriage. Not only is it a time filled with excitement and happiness – it’s also a hectic busy time. All too often the financial implications of marriage (and of divorce and re-marriage) are overlooked, or not considered fully in the excitement.
People who have recently changed their marital status or who are planning such a change may have important financial and legal decisions to make. These decisions might deal with property ownership, providing for children’s welfare, postmortem planning and day-to-day finances. You should always consult with your financial advisor to discuss the financial steps appropriate to a change in marital status.
If, at the other end of the scale, you are considering a divorce, it’s imperative that you take appropriate action to plan for the dissolution of the financial partnership in your marriage. Such dissolution involves dividing the financial assets you have accumulated during the years of marriage. If there are children involved, future support given to the custodial parent must be planned for. If you take the time and the correct measures now to prepare and plan for all eventualities, it will pay off later on. As always, you should seek the advice of your professional advisors to ensure you take the steps that are appropriate to your individual situation.
We have developed services to help you manage your personal finances. Our staff can assist you with budgeting, cash flow analysis and developing a personal balance sheet. Members of our firm are knowledgeable in a variety of personal accounting software, including Quicken, Financial Navigator, Quickbooks and Money Works.
We are available for consultations on a variety of financial services such as: insurance needs, including life, disability and long term care, rollover of pension and IRA, qualifying for a home mortgage and other loans, exercising stock options, early retirement packages, estate administration, and home inventory video.
In addition, we have developed a unique financial service tailored to senior citizens. We offer a service which allows you to remain in charge and independent, yet have the security of knowing that all financial details have been addressed each month. On a regular basis a member of our staff will meet with you and family members to review your financial needs. Within our personal affairs division we offer the following services: Bill paying with regular visits to you for check signing. Periodic reconciliation of your checkbook. Administration of medical claim forms. Monthly accounting of all income and expenses with a summary report each period.
Welcome to 2024. Let’s look at what’s new for IRS mileage rates, your form W4, and the minimum wage.
IRS Mileage Updates for 2024
The IRS issued new standard mileage rates taking effect starting January 1, 2024:
- 67 cents for every mile driven for business use (an increase of 1.5 cents from 2023)
- 21 cents for every mile driven for medical or moving purposes for qualified active-duty members of the Armed Forces (a one-cent decrease from 2023)
- 14 cents for every mile driven in service of charitable organizations (rate is unchanged from 2023)
Avoid the guessing game and consider using an app like MileIQ to keep track of your mileage throughout the year.
Check Your W4
It’s always a good idea to start each new year with a Paycheck Check-up to make sure your withholdings are set at the appropriate level. Doing so will help avoid any unpleasant surprises at tax time. Download the 2024 form W4 here.
Minimum Wage Updates for People Employed in New Jersey and Delaware
The minimum wage for qualifying employees in New Jersey will increase from $14.13 to $15.13 per hour. Consult this resource from the New Jersey Department of Labor for further information.
The minimum hourly wage in Delaware continues its incremental increase, with the 2024 amount increasing from $11.75 to $13.25, with continued exemptions for employees working in the following areas:
- Agriculture
- Domestic service in private households
- United States Government employees
- Sales personnel receiving outside commission
- Executives, Administrators, and Professionals
- Employees in fishing and fish processing (while at sea)
- Volunteer workers for educational, religious, or non-profit organizations
- Junior Camp Counselors working for non-profit summer camps
- Inmates in Department of Correction work programs
The protocol for tipped employees also remains as follows:
“The minimum cash wage payable to employees who receive tips is $2.23 per hour. Tips may not be taken or retained by an employer except as required by law. Tip pooling is permitted (under certain circumstances) in an amount not to exceed 15% of the actual tips received by the employee.”
We’re Here to Help
If you have any questions about these updates or any other payroll or accounting matter, please don’t hesitate to call 215-723-4881 or contact us online.
At Canon Capital Investment Advisory we believe a successful financial program develops over months and years and is constantly evolving to adjust to changes in family circumstances and changes in tax law.
Whether planning for your retirement, devising an estate plan or planning for your children’s education, we can help you obtain your goals by assisting you through the financial planning process.
This process includes an analysis of your: assets and liabilities, monthly cash flow, life and disability insurance contracts, employee benefits, retirement plans, and wills and trusts.
From this data, we will provide you with a current balance sheet, income tax statement, estate tax analysis, and cash flow analysis. These statements will be a starting point to begin planning for your future and reveal any immediate actions which may be necessary before proceeding to other steps. Based on your financial knowledge, we will develop a plan to meet your goals.
Our plans will include recommendations for: Income and estate tax planning, Retirement planning, Cash flow management, Education funding, Investment strategies, Life and disability insurance planning, Family/generational planning, and Trust administration.
Once a plan is developed, it must be implemented. We look forward to developing and implementing strategies for you to meet your financial goals. We will work closely with your attorney, accountant, insurance agent, and other advisors. Our ongoing monitoring is designed to assure you that we will be available and prepared to meet your ever-changing financial needs.
As the holiday season unfolds, please take note of our upcoming schedule:
- Friday, December 15: Office closing at noon for our staff luncheon
- Friday, December 22: Office closing at Noon
- Monday, December 25: Office closed for Christmas Day
- Friday, December 29: Office closing at Noon
- Monday, January 1: Office closed for New Year’s Day holiday
Thank you and we wish you and your loved ones safe, happy, and healthy holidays.
Members of our staff have successfully completed the Uniform Investment Advisor Law Examination and the General Securities Examination administered by the National Association of Securities Dealers.
When designing an investment portfolio, we review a number of factors with our clients. Some of these factors include risk tolerance, income taxes, retirement needs, and educational needs. From this information we develop a model portfolio for you. Based on the model portfolio, we select investments that are appropriate for your needs. Some of the investment vehicles we use include no-load mutual funds, stocks and bonds.
‘Tis the season for our annual Operation Christmas Child project. Members of our Canon team spent their lunch breaks participating in a shoebox stuffing party. We packed 48 total boxes of toys, necessities, and other surprises to delight children in need this holiday season. Special thanks to Linda Covel from our Payroll and CPA business units who not only set up our project, but she also serves year-round as a volunteer for Operation Christmas Child.
Intuit, the owner of QuickBooks, is accelerating the sunset of QuickBooks Desktop versions. This will have a major impact over the coming year on anyone using these desktop versions of the software.
Please plan to join us Thursday, January 11, 2024, when Canon Capital team members Brent Thompson, Craig Covington, and Cherie Strozzieri will present QuickBooks Desktop users with options for this transition, including:
- Making the move from QuickBooks Desktop to QuickBooks Online.
- The transition, functionality, and integration of QuickBooks Online and the future of efficient, automated, accounting services.
- Latest trends in accounting program integration and automated accounting services.
- The broader technical implications of online security, acceptable use policies, and business continuity issues that come with utilizing online programs.
This presentation is not exclusive to Canon Capital clients. Please feel free to share this opportunity with those who you feel will benefit from this information.
If you are a Canon Capital client, we ask that you please consult with a member of our Canon Capital team prior to making any changes to your current QuickBooks set-up so we can ensure a smooth transition.
Register for the webinar here. The registration deadline is Tuesday, January 9, 2024. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.
To assist our Clients in achieving their goals and in obtaining satisfaction by providing innovative, high-quality, personalized service; to provide an environment that will allow the members of our firm to grow individually recognizing the importance of family to each member; to be giving members in our profession and community; to maintain the highest level of professional ethics and independence; and to recognize that success is not necessarily defined by money or status, but by happiness in our daily lives.
To ensure that the client ultimately obtains the greatest benefit, we look at all aspects of our clients’ financial position. Our firm is strictly fee-only which means we do not have the potential bias of having to make commission sales, therefore we can always be objective and keep the clients’ best interests first and foremost. We are our clients’ greatest advocate and realize that our growth and well-being is dependent upon how well we assist our clients’ growth and well-being.
We stress the right of privacy and confidentiality regarding our clients’ personal and business information. Our relationships are built on trust and we will do everything in our power to earn and ensure that trust.
How we take advantage of the Internet
By giving our clients the ability to access information concerning their accounts. We use the internet to gather investment information which we pass along to our clients. We also use the internet to individually communicate with our clients.
These tools help in our search for sound investment opportunities, as well as in our effort to track them. Not only is the Net a useful tool when we are initially looking for a new company to invest in, but it is also useful for tracking news and earnings changes for the companies we have already bought, or identified as a potential buy.
This tracking is done automatically and electronically so that we do not have to rely on memory, or manual systems to do it. Each day our electronic mail-boxes are filled with press releases, earnings changes, and key stories effecting the stocks and industries that we own or are considering the purchase of.
