Tech Tip: Keyboard shortcuts and Mouse Keys

Have you ever been at home (or even at work) and had your mouse quit working?  For most folks this would result in an eventual “hard power off” of the computer because they aren't able to navigate at all without the mouse!  Admittedly, it’s a challenge in Windows to live without it.

Shortcut keys are handy to know – they can save time in your everyday computer use and can also help in case your mouse ever stops working.  The most important shortcut in the case of a non-functioning mouse is Alt+F4.  This is the universal “Exit” or “Close” shortcut, and you can use it (and any other keyboard shortcut) even if your mouse is working.  Just press Alt+F4 and the current program will behave as if you had clicked the “X” or selected File | Exit.  If your file hasn't been saved, you’ll get the standard prompt to save your work before exiting.  In the situation where your mouse quits working and you want to try restarting your computer, start pressing Alt+F4 to close your programs one by one.  Eventually you’ll get to your Windows desktop, and when you press Alt+F4 Windows will get the message that you want to close, and you’ll then see the prompts about shutting down the computer!

One feature to know in the event of a non-functional mouse is called Mouse Keys.  It’s not something you’d want to use to do all your work, but in a pinch (like when your mouse stops working after you've typed three pages of your best writing but haven’t saved the file yet) it can be a lifesaver.  Once activated you’ll use your numeric keypad to move the mouse cursor around the screen.  It can be slow and tedious, but remember that the alternative is losing your work!  On a full-size keyboard’s numeric keypad*, the “8” button moves the mouse cursor up, the “4” moves it left, the “6” moves it right, and the “2” moves it down.  Once you've positioned your cursor use the “5” button for a mouse click.

To activate the Mouse Keys feature, press Alt+LeftShift+NumLock*. This action will produce a prompt asking you to confirm that you want to turn on this feature.  You can press Enter to accept the default “Yes” answer, or press Alt+Y (since the “Y” in “Yes” is underlined).  Now you've activated Mouse Keys.  To navigate using Mouse Keys as described above, press NumLock and then begin using the keys on your numeric keypad*!  To turn off mouse keys (if your mouse suddenly begins working again) you can press Alt+LeftShift+NumLock again.  You won’t see a prompt this time, but Mouse Keys will be turned off.

*On a laptop, this can be a little tricky, because just pressing NumLock can be a bit of a challenge.  It usually involves pressing a “Function” key and the NumLock key (which doubles as a different key when the Function key isn’t pressed) simultaneously.  Also, since there isn't a numeric keypad on most laptop keyboards, you’ll have to look for the arrow buttons as alternate labels on “regular” keys.

Craig Rhinehart, Director of IT Services

80th anniversary fun facts (1972)

In the year 1972 (forty years after our founding):

1. The following people were born: Shaquille O’Neal, Jennie Garth
2. Richard Nixon defeated George McGovern for President
3. George Wallace was shot by Arthur Bremer
4. Federal Express was started
5. Summer Olympics in Munich was marred by terrorists
6. Bobby Fisher won the world chess championship
7. First major league baseball strike occurred
8. The average cost of a new car was $3,853, a house was $27,600, and annual income was $11,859
9. Hit songs were “American Pie” (Don McLean), “Lean on Me” (Bill Withers), and “Ben” ( Michael Jackson)
10. “The Godfather” was an Academy Award winner.  Also at the theatres were “Deliverance” and “The Poseidon Adventure”.

Meanwhile, back in Columbus… Otis LeMay and Sam Wellborn’s successors, Ross Robinson and Keith Grimes, have grown their accounting practices with the addition of partners Mims Oliver, Lev Norman, Ken Deaton and David Snipes. We are eight years away from a merger that will change the landscape of public accounting in Columbus.

More to come – hope you enjoy!!

Jay Pease - Audit Partner and Firm Historian

Wash Sales – A Clean Explanation

More and more people are trying their hand at trading securities through online websites.  If you are one of those people, the wash sale rule is something you may want to be aware of.

A wash sale occurs when a taxpayer sells a stock or security for a realized loss, and within 30 days before or after the day of the sale (a 61-day period), the taxpayer purchases “substantially identical” stocks or securities.  For example, let’s say I am a stockholder of a popular retail chain named Small-Mart. Small-Mart has had a slow year and their stock is down, so I decide to dump it.  A few weeks later I read they are acquiring a competitor named Jay-Mart.  Jay-Mart is a large, well-managed competitor, so I think the future of the new consolidated company is bright and I decide to look into adding the stock back into my portfolio.  If I repurchase the stock within 30 days of previously selling it at a loss, a wash sale has occurred.

When a wash sale occurs the loss on the original sale is disallowed.  Rather, the amount of the would-be “loss” is added to the basis of the newly purchased stock – essentially deferring it for future recognition.  The acquisition date for the subsequent purchase is adjusted back to the acquisition date of the original stock purchase.   It’s as if the sale and repurchase of the stock never even occurred!

In order for the sale to be considered a wash sale the stock or securities must be substantially the same, which usually means from the same corporation.  Therefore selling off a stock of one computer manufacturer for a loss and subsequently purchasing the stock of another computer manufacturer within 30 days does not result in a wash sale.  However, in cases such as acquisitions or reorganizations (as in the example above) the stocks may be considered substantially identical, depending on the facts and circumstances.  Usually bonds or preferred stock are not considered substantially identical to the common stock of the same corporation – unless the bond or preferred stock is convertible into common stock of that same corporation.

There are some exceptions to the rule that you should be mindful of.  Specifically, stock or securities acquired as a result of a nontaxable exchange, like-kind exchange, inheritance, or divorce settlement do not fall under wash sale rules.

Brad Williamson

Interesting historical tax timeline

Electronic filing of tax returns has been around since 1986.  If you like history, here are a few highlights of our tax timeline.

1862 – 1^st income tax signed into law by President Lincoln to help pay for Civil War expenses.

1868-1913 – 90% of all tax revenue came from taxes on liquor, beer, wine and tobacco.

1894 – The Wilson Tariff Act revived the Income Tax and the Bureau of Internal Revenue was formed.

1909 – Congress levied a 1% tax on corporate incomes greater than $5,000.

1913 – The first Form 1040 was introduced.

1918 – During WWI, the Revenue Act of 1918 imposed a progressive income-tax rate structure of up to 77% to help finance the war effort.

1929 – The income tax rate dropped sharply in post-war years, down to 24% in 1929. 

1932 – During the Great Depression, income tax rates reached 94% on all income over $200,000 in 1945.

1935 – President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Social Security Act into law.  This law provided retirement benefits to the primary worker. 

1942 – The Revenue Act of 1942, hailed by President Roosevelt as “the greatest tax bill in American history,” was passed by Congress.  It increased taxes and the number of Americans subject to the income tax.  It also created deductions for medical and investment expenses.

1944 – Congress passed the Individual Income Tax Act, which created standard deductions on Form 1040.

1939-1945 – During WWII, Congress introduced payroll withholding and quarterly tax payments.

1954 – The filing deadline for individual tax returns changed from March 15 to April 15.

1961 – The Computer Age began at the IRS with the dedication of the National Computer Center at Martinsburg, West Virginia.

1965 – The IRS instituted its first toll-free telephone site.

1974 – Congress passed the Employee Retirement and Income Security Act, which gave regulatory responsibilities for employee benefit plans to the IRS.

1986 – Limited electronic filing began. President Reagan signed the Tax Reform Act, the most significant piece of tax legislation in 30 years.  The Act codified the federal tax laws for the third time since the Revenue Act of 1918.

1992 – Taxpayers who owed money were allowed to file their returns electronically.

2003 – Electronic filing reached a high of 52.9 million tax returns, more than 40% of all individual returns.

Source:  IRS website

Rhonda Machalk, CPA

Georgia Goal: How student scholarship organizations can change the way you pay taxes

In the face of overcrowding and severe budget concerns, Georgia had to find a way to reduce the number of students in its public schools. In order to do this, the Georgia Goal Scholarship Program was instituted.  The state has set aside $51 million annually in state tax credits to allow taxpayers to redirect a portion of their own state taxes to support scholarships at private schools of their choosing through the use of qualified education expense credits.  Any Georgia taxpayer, C-corporation, or trust can participate and contribute their tax dollars and receive a 100% state tax credit up to $2,500 for a married couple filing jointly, or up to 75% of the C-corporation or trust's tax liability, to fund scholarships at the school of their choosing.  Once the cap is reached each year, no further contributions will be accepted.  If you have a school you wish to support and would like to redirect your state tax dollars, you can visit the link here to learn more.  Contact your school administrator to find out if they are involved.

Steven Voynich, CPA

80th anniversary fun facts (1962)

In the year, 1962 (thirty years after our founding)...

1. The following people are born – Jim Carrey, Demi Moore, Roger Clemens
2. Cuban Missile Crisis is averted
3. John Glenn is 1^st American to orbit the Earth – 3 times in 5 hours, 17,000 mph (wow!)
4. K-Mart and Wal-Mart open their first stores
5. First “pop-top” is test-marketed
6. Marilyn Monroe is found dead of suicide
7. 4 Brits record music for the first time, under the name “The Beatles”
8. Johnny Carson hosts the “Tonight Show” for the first time
9. Wilt Chamberlain scores 100 points in a basketball game
10. Richard Nixon loses the California governor’s race, proclaiming “You won’t have me to kick around anymore, because, gentleman, this is my last press conference”
11. The average cost of a new car is $2,924, a house is $12,550, annual income is $5,556
12. Hit songs are “Big Girls Don’t Cry” (4 Seasons) and “Good Luck Charm” (Elvis Presley)
13. Academy Award winner is “Lawrence of Arabia”

Meanwhile, back in Columbus… Otis LeMay and Sam Wellborn continue their separate accounting practices, with recent new partners Ross Robinson and Keith Grimes, respectively.

More to come – hope you enjoy!!

Jay Pease, Audit Partner (and Firm Historian)

Time running out on “Reduced User Fee” for applications for reinstatement of tax exempt status

DEADLINE APPROACHING:

Small tax-exempt organizations still have time to pay the reduced use fee with an application for reinstatement of tax-exempt status with the IRS, but the deadline is approaching.  According to IRS Revenue Procedure 2011-36, applications must be postmarked no later than December 31, 2012.

WHY DOES THE IRS AUTOMATICALLY REVOKE TAX-EXEMPT STATUS? 

The IRS automatically revokes the tax-exempt status of organizations required to file an annual return for failure to file the required annual return for three consecutive years.  

WHAT IS THE DEFINITION OF A SMALL TAX-EXEMPT ORGANIZATION?

The reduced user fee is only available to small organizations that normally have annual gross receipts of not more than $50,000 in their most recently completed taxable year.

WHAT IS THE USER FEE?

For an eligible organization, the amount of the user fee that must be submitted with an application for reinstatement of tax-exempt status postmarked by December 31, 2012 is $100.

WHAT HAPPENS IF TAX-EXEMPT STATUS IS NOT REINSTATED BY DECEMBER 31, 2012?

The IRS will no longer recognize the organization as tax exempt.  After the December 31, 2012 deadline, the organization must submit an application to the IRS and apply for tax-exempt status (Form 1023 or Form 1024) and pay the applicable user fee ($400) and wait for the IRS to issue a new Determination Letter on the exempt status of the organization.

This information was adapted from the Rev. Proc. 2011-36 on the Internal Revenue website at www.irs.gov.    

Rhonda Machalk, CPA