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Stamps were 32 cents. DVDs launched in Japan. Dolly the sheep was cloned and Tickle me Elmo was the holiday toy sensation. 

The year was 1996, the same year that two young professionals decided to go into business for themselves. Little did they know their decision would benefit thousands of businesses, families and individuals, and better our community as a whole.

In March of 1996, Adele Jasion and Kevin Gilmore were both working in the accounting industry in northwest Ohio. They decided to team up and break out on their own, establishing their own firm called Gilmore & Jasion. With only 11 employees, they launched their new business just a month before the April 15 tax deadline, a bold move in the accounting business.

”I was always confident that we could become the alternative to what is now the Big Four,” says Gilmore, referring to the top national firms. “I just wanted to be the best. I wanted to be the firm that people wanted to go to. That was my vision.” 

Partner Adele Jasion says there was a need at the time for a high quality local firm with diverse resources that provided personal attention to clients.  She says Gilmore & Jasion was able to meet that need.

“The timing was actually good. The big firms were shedding clients, reinventing themselves, more interested in the very large public company work, not so much in the privately-held companies. Right place, right time,” she says. “We had the skillset to service those clients.”

In the fall of 1996, Andy Mahler came on board as a partner, giving the firm its current name Gilmore Jasion Mahler, LTD. Mahler retired in 2008. Five years later, Pry Professional Group in Findlay merged into Gilmore Jasion Mahler. Now, with two offices and over a hundred employees, GJM is northwest Ohio’s largest public accounting firm.  

The last 20 years have brought remarkable change to the industry and to client service. There was no email when GJM was established. Tax returns were printed out and mailed. Now, technology has catapulted the Firm forward with cloud-based accounting services. Sharing information and documents with clients has never been faster, more convenient or as secure.  

Those choosing the profession have also changed. Adele Jasion says it wasn’t common to have a woman co-owner of a CPA firm in the mid 1990’s. She describes the accounting industry as a typically male-dominated field for decades. But, she says, that has changed slowly over time.  

“I’m very proud to say that of the fourteen partners we have today at GJM, six of them are women. We’re providing a good example for young women choosing our profession.”

“GJM is far from a “stuffy accounting firm” to say the least,” says one such young woman, Audit Associate Lauren Grana. “It is not an everyman for themselves environment where no one communicates and keeps to themselves. Everyone is encouraged to ask questions when they don’t understand, share discoveries that others may benefit from, and share victories together.”

Gilmore Jasion Mahler has challenged the typical CPA firm model from the very start, working closely with clients, getting to know their businesses and building a responsive, friendly relationship. The firm has developed expertise in particular industries, including healthcare, construction & real estate, utilities and manufacturing & distribution. Services cover a broad range from business advisory to tax to business valuation. The Firm has exceled as a community partner as well, supporting charitable causes in both the Toledo area and Findlay-Hancock County region. Many employees sit on the boards of local nonprofits and the Firm is involved in events year-round to support many organizations and causes.

Gilmore Jasion Mahler, LTD is ever evolving to meet client needs and attract new talent, but one thing that hasn’t changed is the supportive nature of a business that started twenty years ago with nothing more than a vision.

“Add good people, add good clients,” says Gilmore. “It wasn’t about being big, it was about being the best quality and with that would come success and growth. We have a great deal to be proud of.”

Mary Jo Pitzen is a senior manager in the Gilmore Jasion Mahler tax department. She works with clients across many industries, but has a focus on the construction industry. Mary Jo is also a board member for the Toledo chapter of the National Association of Women in Construction (NAWIC).

Established in 1996, Gilmore Jasion Mahler, LTD (GJM) is the largest public accounting firm in Northwest Ohio, with offices in Maumee and Findlay. Locally owned, GJM offers cloud-based accounting services and provides comprehensive services including assurance, business advisory, tax, risk advisory and healthcare management. The Firm’s professionals specialize in industries including construction & real estate, healthcare, manufacturing & distribution and utilities.

Want to save money on your 2018 tax bill? Sure you do! Things have changed dramatically with tax reform, but there are still ways to save.

Many taxpayers will benefit from the reduced tax rates and expanded tax brackets included in the new tax law. The law’s changes also make it less likely that as many taxpayers will itemize deductions. They will opt to use the higher standard deduction, which nearly doubled for individuals to $12,000 with the passage of the new law. The Married Filing Jointly standard deduction increased to $24,000 and the Head of Household standard deduction went up to $18,000.

If you’re among those who will wind up taking the increased standard deduction, be aware that payments for taxes, mortgage interest, and charitable donations will no longer yield any tax savings. But, there are still strategies for some taxpayers to reduce their tax liability while taking the standard deduction and making charitable deductions.

One way to save is using something called a Qualified Charitable Distribution (QCD) when donating to a favorite charity. A QCD allows a transfer of up to $100,000 per year from an IRA directly to a qualified charity. Here’s the catch: it is only available to those who have reached Required Minimum Distribution (RMD) age which is 70½. Any amount processed as a QCD counts towards the Required Minimum Distribution requirement while at the same time reducing the taxable portion of the distribution. By lowering both adjusted gross income and taxable income, the taxpayer has a lower federal tax liability and potentially a lower state tax liability and the charitable organization receives a contribution. 

Some important things to remember when choosing to use a QCD:

• Notify your tax preparer that this has been done since the custodian of the IRA is not required to specially identify the QCD on form 1099-R. Otherwise the QCD may be accidentally reported as taxable income
• If RMD payments are set up to be paid automatically, the payment may need to be halted or adjusted to leave funds available for a QCD

Another strategy that applies to taxpayers of any age is so-called “bunching” of tax deductions, or grouping them together to get the most tax benefit. If the total of your eligible medical expenses, allowed state and local tax payments, mortgage interest and charitable contributions is close to the standard deduction, it might be beneficial to bunch itemized deductions every other year so that the total exceeds the standard deduction.

Some other thoughts on “bunching”:

• Consider getting elective surgeries and expensive dental procedures or buying new glasses all in the same year
• Prepay real estate taxes to reach the new $10,000 limitation on state and local tax deductions
• Double up on regular charitable donations every other year

By bunching as many deductions into one year as possible, the total may surpass the standard deduction. On the off years you can take advantage of the standard deduction.

Tax Supervisor Marie Saner, EA contributed this blog. With Gilmore Jasion Mahler for 14 years, Marie works with individuals and businesses across many industries. She is a member of the Firm’s Construction Specialist Team.

 If you’re interested in receiving more tax planning ideas right to your inbox, click here to sign up for GJM’s free quarterly tax newsletter Focus.

Established in 1996, Gilmore Jasion Mahler, LTD (GJM) is the largest public accounting firm in Northwest Ohio, with offices in Maumee and Findlay. Locally owned, GJM offers cloud-based accounting services and provides comprehensive services including assurance, business advisory, tax, risk advisory and healthcare management. The Firm’s professionals specialize in industries including construction & real estate, healthcare, manufacturing & distribution and utilities.

The new school year brings some welcome news for teachers. A popular and well-deserved deduction of $250 allowed for those who spend their personal money on classroom supplies was advantageously updated by the 2015 PATH Act.  The Act made the deduction permanent, tied it to inflation, and it now also covers personal money paid for professional development.

Married taxpayers filing jointly who are both eligible educators may each claim up to the maximum deduction of $500.

Keep those receipts! The rest of the unreimbursed educator expenses that exceed the $250/teacher ceiling may possibly be claimed as miscellaneous itemized deductions subject to the 2%-of-adjusted-gross-income (AGI) floor.

Of course there are rules and restrictions: An eligible educator must be a kindergarten through 12th-grade "teacher, instructor, counselor, principal, or aide" in a public or private elementary or secondary school. For more information, consult with your tax provider.

Guest blogger Amy Sigurdson contributed this article. Amy is a Tax Associate at Gilmore Jasion Mahler.

Late last month Congress passed the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015 (the Act) which provided the funding the government needed to avoid a shutdown.  Part of that bill, however, closed two prominent “loopholes” in social security benefits that will require some individuals in or near retirement to act fast or risk forfeiting a substantial amount of benefits.

The first and more prominent loophole eliminated was the File and Suspend Method.  This method allows a lower-earning spouse to claim benefits based on the higher earning spouse’s earning record (i.e. spousal benefits) even though that spouse is not currently receiving any benefits.  Since spousal benefits can be as much as one-half of the higher-earning spouse’s benefits, they are typically more than the benefits based on that lower-earnings spouse’s records. This method works by having the higher-earning spouse claim benefits at full retirement age (currently age 66), but then immediately suspend taking those benefits until a later date (at age 70 or earlier).  Since suspending the benefits allows you to increase your benefits by 8% each year, the file and suspend method allows both spouses to receive maximum benefits.

As a result of the Act, after April 30, 2016 an individual can only receive benefits based on the higher-earning spouse’s earnings records if that spouse is actually receiving benefits.  Fortunately, those individuals who have already been using the file and suspend method are not affected as they are grandfathered under the Act.  However, those higher-earning spouses that will be at their full retirement age or are past their full retirement age must act by April 30, 2016 to take advantage of this method.

The second loophole closed by the Act is the elimination of the Restricted Application Method (also known as the Claim Some Now, Claim More Later Method).  This method allows lower-earning spouses eligible for both spousal benefits and retirement benefits (based on own earnings) to claim spousal benefits at full retirement age, but delay taking benefits under his or her earnings record until a later date (at age 70 or earlier).  By suspending the benefits, the lower-earning spouse can receive spousal benefits while still allowing his or her own retirement benefit to earn delayed credits until as late as age 70. At that time, the spouse can then switch over to their own higher benefit.

For those individuals who turn 62 after 2015, the Act eliminates the ability to file a restricted application for only spousal benefits.  Those individuals who are age 62 or older in 2015, however, should still be able to use this method. Spouses who are already collecting benefits on their partners earnings record can also continue to do so and switch to their own larger retirement benefit at a later date —up to age 70. Kathi Iott is a partner in the tax services area of the firm with over 15 years of public accounting experience. Learn more about Kathi's expertise.