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Youth Newz&
SR. HIGH BASKETBALL
Sunday afternoons
Jan 7--Feb 18
Registration Deadline: Dec. 12
Get your friends together and sign up to be in this league! The cost is $10/person and includes a team t-shirt. All games will be at St. John's. Teams are 8 people. You may create your own team or sign up to join a team. A schedule will be sent to all players in December. All players need to turn in $10 and permission slip to Rick Craig at the parish center by deadline. (Please specify shirt size and number on the permission slip. No digit larger than 5.) Friends welcome. If you are in a high school league, you may endanger your eligibility by playing on this league. Call Rick Craig with questions (763) 754-7666.
Stewardship&
MORE ON TIMING OF YEAR END GIVING
Changes in our lives often changes our tax situations. Your changing tax situation is another thing to consider in planning your financial support to St. John's. In last week's bulletin, we discussed the implications of year-to-year tax bracket changes on year-end giving considerations. Your itemized deduction for charitable giving is worth more in higher tax bracket years so it makes more sense to accelerate (or defer) your giving into higher bracket years.
It is important to remember though that your gift will be deductible in a particular year only if all of your itemized deductions (charitable contributions, state income taxes, real estate taxes, home mortgage interest, etc.) in that year exceed the standard deduction amount. For 2000, the standard deduction amount is $4,400 for single taxpayers; $6,450 for heads of households; $7,350 for taxpayers married and filing jointly and $3,675 for taxpayer married and filing separately. The amounts will increase slightly in 2001.
Changes in your life such as a change in marital status, a move from a rented home to an owned home or retirement can impact the amount of your itemized deductions. For example, a move into a home that you own from one that you rented will likely enable you to itemize your deductions because of the real estate taxes and the interest on your mortgage. As a renter, you may not have been able to itemize. Similarly, a move from a home that you own into a rented home likely will have the reverse implications. Therefore, as you plan your financial support of our parish for 2000 and 2001, if you foresee utilizing the standard deduction in one year but itemizing your deductions in the other year, you should consider accelerating or deferring your giving into the year in which you expect to itemize.
Remember it's a good idea to consult your tax advisor in connection with such planning.
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