KNWA Highlights TEAM Talent!

Check out the link below to view the TEAM Talent story by KNWA.  We are so proud of our actors!

http://nwahomepage.com/fulltext-news/?nxd_id=291437&shr=addthis

TEAM Christmas Party!

Mark your calendars! TEAM Talent will host a Holiday Performance on Thursday, December 8th at 6:00 at the Jones Center. There will be snacks, fun activities for the kids and even a Santa appearance!

Please join us for a great night!

TEAM Fall Carnival

TEAM’s Community Outreach Committee hosted a Fall Carnival for clients and community members complete with pony rides, carnival food, face painting and much more. Thank you to the over 30 TEAM staffers who volunteered to help make the event a success!

TEAM Works Ukraine - Oct 2011

TEAM Therapists Kati, Kelly, Allison, Danielle, Kara, Abby, Amy and Mike made it to Ukraine with 15 pieces of luggage, 14 carry-ons, 4 wheelchairs and 5 walkers! They safely returned after an intense schedule of travel. They had opportunities to see hundreds of children with special needs, to teach courses to care providers, to build equipment and to develop home programs!

Tax Facts for Parents of Special Needs Children

Parents of a disabled or special needs child spend money on that child.  It is important to list these expenses throughout the year.  The common tax breaks for parents of a special needs child are:

1.      Dependent Exemptions.  Parents of a permanently and totally disabled child may claim a dependency exemption for the child no matter how old the child is.

2.      Medical Deductions.  Special needs children often have large medical expenses. Sometimes these medical expenses are large enough to make them deductible on the parent’s tax return. When these medical expenses are more than the standard deduction, the parents can deduct them on their return.

a.        Only those family medical expenses which exceed 7.5% of adjusted gross income are deductible. For example, if you make $10,000 per year with $751 in medical expenses, $1 would be deductible.

b.      Most taxpayers have these deductions: home mortgage interest, medical expenses, charitable deductions, and personal property tax. When these together are more than the standard deduction, the taxpayer chooses to take the itemized deduction.

c.       Items that may be deducted include; private school tuition, tutoring, specialized educational materials like books.

d.      Diagnostic evaluations and therapy

e.       Necessary transportation expenses.

3.      Child Care Credit.  Normally, child care credit is available only for care of children under age 13.    Credit can be claimed for special needs children who are your dependents and who cannot care for themselves no matter how old they are.

 4.      Earned Income Credit.  The credit may be claimed by parents of special needs children who are otherwise eligible to claim earned income credit no matter how old the children are.

Legal Aid of Arkansas Low-Income Taxpayer Clinic staff members are available to meet with you individually to discuss your tax related questions.