Dear Clients and friends:

The staff of Airline Crew Taxes hopes you have an enjoyable Holiday Season with your family and loved ones.
We would like to wish a Happy New Year and hope it brings you good health, happiness and prosperity.

We know that without your loyalty and support, we would not be here to provide the tax services that you, as our clients, and we as business people value. As true with all successful companies, the customers and employees are the organization’s greatest assets. Once again, we would like to thank you for allowing us to serve your needs. We ask and encourage you to take advantage of our referral program and keep the referrals coming. We promise to do our absolute best to maintain your confidence, and meet or exceed the expectations of the clients you refer.

We are acutely aware of the need to provide the best possible service in preparing your taxes accurately and in a timely manner, ultimately offering you the best possible result on your 2011 tax filing. We will continue to partner with each one of you to keep you informed of tax rules and regulations that may affect your tax returns; as well as any other related information that may assist you with your current as well as future tax and financial decisions.

Beginning in July of 2010, we partnered with The O’Hagan Group to assist our clients with retirement, 401(K) and wealth management planning. The O’Hagan Group is owned and managed by a group of current and retired pilots from United Airlines (formerly Continental). Last year we welcomed Captain Kaye Riggs as our local office Financial Advisor. We are glad to announce that Kaye will be available with extended business hours throughout our 2012 tax season to offer his expertise to clients seeking ways to maximize the growth potential of their investment and retirement funds. Just as in the previous year, Kaye will offer a no obligation consultation to include an analysis of your 401(K), retirement accounts, personal investment portfolio and your beneficiary information to make sure all is in order and properly designated. This partnership has proven to be very successful and beneficial for our clients and we recommend that all clients take advantage of a consultation and analysis to confirm that you are on the right path.

The airline industry continues on its way to recovery as profits rise with higher passenger load factors and revenue per passenger mile. There have been more mergers and acquisitions and American Airlines (AMR) declared bankruptcy (its effects remain to be seen). Like in prior years, furloughs, substandard contracts and mediocre compensation continue to plague our industry. Our clients in other industries and fields in both the public and private sectors are suffering from similar downturns. With our economy in disarray, we promise to do our part by committing to maximizing your tax refund while maintaining our low fee structure which is practically unchanged.

TAX TOPICS

ENERGY CREDITS: Energy credits are available on 2011 tax returns for residential improvements that include installation of insulation, energy efficient windows and doors, energy efficient heating and air conditioning systems and/or solar and geothermal systems. The value of the credit may be affected by the type of improvement made. New energy star appliances, light bulb changes are not eligible for this credit on federal tax return.

CHARITABLE CONTRIBUTIONS:  Donations of non cash items such as clothing, household items, furniture, electronics etc., and cash donations will reduce your taxable income. When donating, remember to make your contribution to an organization recognized by the IRS as charitable, make notes of items donated and obtain a receipt or keep canceled check. Donations given directly to a needy individual are not considered a deductible donation for income tax purposes.

OTHER TAX NEWS: At the time of this printing, it appears as though there will not be any dramatic changes to tax rules that affect most of our clients “Individual Tax Returns”.

Child Tax Credit - Remains at $1,000.00 per child under the age of 17. However actual amount per return may be affected by income.

Personal Exemption Amount - Increases to $3,700, up from $3,650

Capital Gains and Dividend Rates – Remains at 15% for long term investments

Education Credits / Student Loan Interest – American Opportunities Credit remains in place and the student loan interest deduction also remains in place. Credits to include tuition, qualified school materials and books were mostly unchanged but still come with income limitations.

Business Mileage Allowance - .51 per mile Jan. – June 2011;    .55.5 per mile July – Dec 2011

Standard Deduction Increases for the following filing status:
Single                                                                     $  5,800.00
Married Filing Joint Return                                $11,600.00
Head of Household                                            $  8,500.00
Married Filing Separate                                      $  5,800.00

As we prepare for the 2012 tax season, please tell your friends and co-workers about our services. We have enclosed some business cards for you to use when referring us. Please write your name on the back of the card to help identify your referral, this will enable us to credit you $15.00 for each referral up to a maximum of $75.00.

WE WOULD LIKE TO BE YOUR CHOICE FOR TAX PREPARATION IN 2012! THE FOLLOWING OPTIONS ARE OUTLINED TO MAKE THE PROCESS AS EFFICIENT AND EASY AS POSSIBLE.

1. Visit our office. An appointment is recommended. Walk – ins are welcome!

(If in Houston, this is the fastest way to get your taxes done)

1. Fill out organizer as complete as possible and mail it with all tax related documents

2. Fax your tax organizer and tax related documents to our office (unlimited toll free fax)

3. Visit our website and complete our paperless forms (recommended if you do not have numerous tax forms:  i.e. W2’s 1098’s 1099’s etc).

4. Fill out online organizer, scan and e-mail documents as a PDF attachment.

In an effort to prevent any possible tax refund delays, please make your best effort to provide us with all necessary documents and a complete tax organizer.
Please include W-2 forms, 1099’s and supplementary forms, 1098’s, all property tax information, childcare information, social security numbers, dates of birth. Please submit any documents that you receive in the mail that are labeled “Important Tax Document”, if in doubt, send it or bring it in.

Footnote: If you are a prior year client, we ask that you please still fill out an organizer completely so that our client information will be current and accurate. *Social security numbers and dates of birth for your spouse and dependents that are already on file are not necessary.*

We all sincerely thank you for your business and look forward to seeing you and/or talking to you soon.