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April Tax Deadline Inspires Record-Keeping
Our People Make A Difference
Your Trusted Advisors
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To learn more about the tax changes anticipated for 2014, please call us at 630-653-1616. Our partners and staff are ready to help you with your tax planning.
 
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Wheaton, IL 60187
630-653-1616


Record-Keeping 101

From "Managing Household Records," here is more information for filing and discarding household records:
 
Keep forever if the documents are: birth certificates, marriage licenses, divorce decrees, passports (upon renewal), education records, military service records. Also keep your household inventory list (update as needed), your life insurance documents and your Social Security card.
 
Bank statements only need to be kept for a year, unless they'll be needed to support tax filings. Credit card records only need to be kept until they are paid, unless you'll need them to support your tax filings.
 
Insurance documents for your car and home only need to be kept until you renew the policy. Investment statements can be shred monthly but keep annual statements until you sell the investments. Investment certificates should be kept until you cash or sell the item--ditto for loan documents, keep until you sell the item the loan was for.
 
Real estate deeds should be kept as long as you own the property. Receipts for large purchases should be kept until you sell or discard the item, as well as the service contracts and warranties you may have. 
 
Once you receive your new Social Security statement online, you can shred the old paper ones. Tax records should be kept for seven (7) years from the filing date. Vehicle titles should be kept until you sell or dispose of the car and a copy of your will should be kept and updated periodically. Typically your attorney keeps an original, too.
 

Photo Gallery

We enjoyed being part of the Wheaton Chamber of Commerce "Best of Wheaton" awards and especially appreciated being nominated in the "Large Business" category.



 

"Our gang" at the Best of Wheaton Awards... (L to R) Sean LaFortune, Hao Tran, Talyr Guerrero and Brett Mathieson. 
Photo credit: Wheaton Chamber of Commerce

 

Client Bill Schneider Honored with Lifetime Achievement Award

Bill Schneider accepts his award in New Orleans

At Mathieson, Moyski, Celer & Co., we're known by the company we keep. And so it's with great pride that we share that one of our long-time clients, Bill Schneider, was recently honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award by the Interlocking Concrete Pavement Institute (ICPI) at its 20th anniversary celebration held in March in New Orleans.

 

Mr. Schneider is a charter member of the Institute which was established to increase awareness, acceptance and use of segmental concrete pavement systems in North America. This award recognizes noteworthy public service activities that bring honor to the industry and to ICPI.

 

"Bill in many ways exceeds the challenging requirements and expectations for this award," said ICPI Chairman-Elect David Pitre. "There is no one better fitting to be the first recipient of such a prestigious award," added Dave Carter, ICPI Chairman of the Board.

 

Among Mr. Schneider's many projects are a 173,000 square-foot parking lot at the Morton Arboretum, the Williamsburg Village Project and Port of Oakland, CA, a five-million-square-foot project that is the largest pavement project of its type in the western hemisphere. His many pioneering efforts include the creation of a company specializing in permeable interlocking concrete pavement installations. And Mr. Schneider says MMC & Co. helped contribute to his success throughout his evolution as a business owner.

 

"I've been with them since I started my business," said Mr. Schneider, "and they really helped me more than anything learn how to run a business." Mr. Schneider is the owner of several businesses, including LPS Pavement Company and Aqua Paving Construction based in Yorkville, Illinois.

 

We offer our congratulations to Mr. Schneider and his family!

 

Editor's note: We love to brag about our clients' successes, so if you have a story you'd like to share, please send it to us at raustin@mmcadvisors.com. 

April Tax Deadlines Remind Us of Importance of Record-Keeping

  

Filing If you're like some people, getting prepared to bring your tax information in or sending it to us over our client portal may cause you a little bit of indigestion, especially if your records aren't in order. If that cartoon of a couple bringing all their receipts to their accountant in an over-flowing shoebox reminds you of someone you know, here are some tips for record-keeping that may help you in the weeks and years to come.

 

There are many benefits to having an orderly filing system, according to an article called "Organize a Home Filing System" by the Cooperative Extension Service of the College of Agriculture and Home Economics of New Mexico State University:

  • Other family members can find documents
  • Records are available for tax preparation
  • Time is saved in processing any insurance claims
  • Records may be needed for legal issues or for accidents or other emergencies
  • Systematic record-keeping aids in financial planning

Setting up a filing system doesn't have to be elaborate but it does have to make sense to you and others who will be using it. Some items should go into a safety deposit box, items like mortgages, deeds, stock certificates and an inventory of your household goods. Keep a list at home of the contents of the safety deposit box.

 

Your home filing system can be set up to include files for your automobiles, bank records, employment records, equipment and appliances, financial records, housing, income tax, insurance policies, investments and personal records such as education records, medical records and wills. For information on storing documents such as bank statements and tax records, see sidebar, "Record-Keeping 101" (left) or visit "Managing Household Records."

 

And of course, if we can be a resource to you, please let us know. We're here to serve. 

 

Our People Make a Difference
 
We're delighted to introduce two new staff members who have joined the Mathieson, Moyski, Celer & Co. team. 

Anna Kreminska, C.P.A., will be working on both the taxation and the audit sides of the business. She received her master's degree in philosophy and religion from Odessa National University in Ukraine and then studied accounting at College of DuPage and Northern Illinois University. She was certified as a public accountant in 2013.

Hao Tran also will have general accounting responsibilities in both taxation and audit. Hao holds a bachelor's degree in accounting with a minor in management information systems from the University of Illinois at Chicago. 

We welcome both of these talented individuals to our staff and appreciate the contribution they make in helping us serve our clients.

And once again, we'd like to thank those of you who voted for us as the "Large Business of the Year" in this year's Best of Wheaton Awards Program. Our friends and colleagues at the Wheaton Park District won the award, and we're happy for them and their success. As they say at the Academy Awards "It's an honor just to be nominated!"  
Your Trusted Advisors 
 
Finally, the snow has melted and it looks like spring really is on the way. We are pleased to report that, like spring, things are blooming here at MMC & Co. Not only have we added to our team (see story, above) but our business continues to grow, too. Referrals are up and we're honored to serve those new clients who recommend us to their families, friends and business associates. 

We're also pleased that long-time clients like Bill Schneider continue to return to us throughout the years. Bill's vote of confidence reminds us of the trust he and all our clients place in us with their families and their businesses. We appreciate your vote of confidence and we strive to meet and exceed your expectations. Please let us know how we can continue to serve you best. 
The Team at Mathieson, Moyski, Celer & Co., LLP
 
Jim Mathieson, CPA, Partner
Mike Moyski, CPA, Partner
Mike Celer, CPA, Partner
Ron Austin, CPA, MST, Partner

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CIRCULAR 230 NOTICE: IRS regulations require us to advise you that, unless otherwise specifically noted, any federal tax advice in this communication (including any attachments, enclosures, or other accompanying materials) was not intended or written to be used, and it cannot be used, by any taxpayer for the purpose of avoiding penalties; furthermore, this communication was not intended or written to support the promotion or marketing of any of the transactions or matters it addresses.