December 2009

Member News & Events

Greater Richmond Red Cross Chapter Offers Holiday Gift Catalog

Why give your employees, clients or vendors a corny coffee cup or ho-hum ham when you can give the gift of peace of mind?

From a first aid kit or emergency radio, to a LED Flashlight Glow Stick, your purchase supports your local Red Cross and our community. Browse our 2009 Red Cross Holiday Product Catalog and place your order online at www.redcrossstore.org

As a gift from the Red Cross, use the promo code HOLIDAY for a 10% discount.

For more about safety training and products for your workplace, or if you can’t find an item from the catalog at theOn Line Store please contact the Red Cross at (804) 780-2286.

Have a Happy and Safe Holiday Season!

Jingle on the James at Rocketts Landing

Saturday-Sunday, December 12-13

Rocketts Landing, 5000 Old Osborne Turnpike, Sat. 12pm-9pm, Sun. 12pm-5pm A new Richmond holiday tradition. Immerse yourself in the holiday spirit as you admire and shop for stunning fine arts & crafts from over 100 artists in a truly festive atmosphere. See holiday lights, listen to music and bell choirs, enjoy delicious seasonal food and watch Richmond's very own "Parade of Lights" on the James. Presented by: Rocketts Landing & One smART Gallery. Sponsored by: The Salvation Army, Richmond Magazine, Fox Richmond, The Boathouse at Rocketts Landing, Currant: A New American Bistro, The James River Ringers. For more details, click here.

Seeing is Believing Downtown's Transformation

Wednesday, December 16

Morning Edition: 7:30-9:00 a.m   Evening Edition: 5:30-7:00 p.m.

Richmond CenterStage  In the Carpenter Theatre 6th and Grace Streets Hear from 20 developers about more than 40 Downtown Developments at the Annual Downtown Real Estate Review - Join Venture Richmond, the City of Richmond, and Richmond CenterStage  The event is FREE, but registration is required.  Reserve your space today

Virginia Historical Society Offering Free Admission in 2010

In a bold move at the November board meeting, Virginia Historical Society (VHS) trustees voted to waive admission fees next year.  This decision comes as part of a long-term strategy to promote access to the society’s collections and remove obstacles to sharing history.  Effective January 2, 2010, it will not cost guests any money to visit the VHS museum or research library. For more than 178 years, the Virginia Historical Society (VHS) has been the steward of our state—and often national—history.  Hours: Tuesday–Saturday 10 a.m.–5 p.m. and Sunday 1 p.m.–5 p.m. (shop and museum galleries only). For group tour information, call (804) 342-9652. For more information, call (804) 358-4901 or visit www.vahistorical.org.

IRS Reminds Taxpayers that Keeping Good Records Reduces Stress at Tax Time

The tax filing season is just around the corner, so if you haven’t already done so, it’s time to organize your records. 

Whether you are a business owner or an individual taxpayer, you can avoid headaches at tax time with good records because they will help you remember transactions you made during the year.

Keeping well-organized records also ensures you can answer questions if your return is selected for examination or prepare a response if you are billed for additional tax. In most cases, the IRS does not require you to keep records in any special manner. Generally speaking, you should keep any and all documents that may have an impact on your federal tax return.

Small Business Owners

If you are a small business owner, you must keep all your employment tax records for at least four years after the tax becomes due or is paid, whichever is later. Examples of important documents business owners should keep Include:

• Gross receipts: Cash register tapes, bank deposit slips, receipt books, invoices, credit card charge slips and Forms 1099-MISC
• Proof of purchases: Canceled checks, cash register tape receipts, credit card sales slips and invoices
• Expense documents: Canceled checks, cash register tapes, account statements, credit card sales slips, invoices and petty cash slips for small cash payments
• Documents to verify your assets: Purchase and sales invoices, real estate closing statements and canceled checks

Individuals

Individual taxpayers should usually keep the following records supporting items on their tax returns for at least three years:

• Bills
• Credit card and other receipts
• Invoices
• Mileage logs
• Canceled, imaged or substitute checks or any other proof of payment
• Any other records to support deductions or credits you claim on your return

For more information about recordkeeping, check out IRS Publications:

• Pub 552 at http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p552.pdf, Recordkeeping for Individuals;
• Pub 583 at http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p583.pdf, Starting a Business and Keeping Records;
• Pub 463 at http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p463.pdf, Travel, Entertainment, Gift, and Car Expenses

These publications are available on the IRS Web site, IRS.gov or by calling 800-TAX-FORM (800-829-3676).

To get the latest IRS news and products and services subscribe to our FREE e-News at IRS.gov; click “Subscribe Now” at the bottom of the page and enter your e-mail address.

2010 Census Cautions & Other Tips to Keep Your Identity Safe

With the U.S. Census process beginning, you should be cautious, so as not to become a victim of fraud or identity theft.
How do you tell the difference between a U.S. Census worker and a con artist?
A) If a U.S. Census worker knocks on your door, they will have a badge, a handheld device, a Census Bureau canvas bag, and a confidentiality notice. Ask to see their identification and their badge before answering their questions. However, you should never invite anyone you don't know into your home.
B) Census workers are currently only knocking on doors to verify address information. Do not give your Social Security number, credit card or banking information to anyone, even if they claim they need it for the U.S. Census. While the Census Bureau might ask for basic financial information, such as a salary range, the Census Bureau will not ask for Social Security, bank account, or credit card numbers nor will employees solicit donations.

Eventually, Census workers may contact you by telephone, mail, or in person at home. However, the Census Bureau will not contact you by Email, so be on the lookout for Email scams impersonating the Census.

Never click on a link or open any attachments in an Email that are supposedly from the U.S. Census Bureau.

This information was sourced from the following BBB article: http://www.bbb.org/us/article/10306

Snopes also has some information on Census Fraud: http://www.snopes.com/fraud/identity/census.asp

Additionally, you should use caution when providing ANY sensitive personal information by e-mail or on the internet.  

Things to Remember:

1. Practically any real U.S. Federal Government website will be on a .gov domain (Pay attention to your URL/Location bar.)
2. State and County Governments are uncommon but possible targets for the same type of deceit that bank and PayPal sites are.  Before providing any personal or sensitive information on any government's website, ensure the URL is correct in your URL/Location bar.
3. If you receive an e-mail from a bank, credit union, PayPal, etc, requesting ANY information whatsoever, make SURE that you confirm in the URL/Location bar that you ARE at your bank's website.
4. Personally, to date, I have NEVER received a legitimate e-mail from ANY financial institution asking for any information.  Think about it, any information they might be asking you for, they already have.  You already gave it to them.  They didn't loose it.  They don't ask for periodic "updates" to your information either.
5. Most financial institutions ONLY send alert or news type notifications by e-mail.  This is usually to confirm online activity such as a transfer, online account change, online payment, etc.  This is done to alert you of any activity performed online in the event your account was compromised.  In such e-mails, they usually do not ask you to login to confirm any information.  They advise you to contact the institution directly if you did not authorize that transaction.  If they do ask you to login to a site for some reason ENSURE that you are at your institutions actual website by paying close attention to the URL/Location bar.
6. WHEN IN DOUBT DO NOT SUBMIT ANY INFORMATION ONLINE.  It is better to call your institution directly to confirm any information, account activity, or correspondence you are sent.