Things To Do In SW Florida

It is no secret that the federal income regulations are complex. As a result, there are many deductions missed by individuals when they file their tax returns.

Because of the increase in standard deductions, almost 88% of tax filers used the standard deduction on their 2020 tax return, according to the IRS. For your 2023 tax return, the standard deduction was increased by 7% from last year. For individuals the standard deduction is $13,850; for joint filers, the deduction is $27,700.

Additional retirement contributions after age 50: If you contribute to retirement accounts such as IRAs or a 401(k), and have reached age 50, you should take advantage of the extra contributions you can make to these accounts. On your 2023 or 2024 tax return, you are allowed to make the following additional contributions: For IRAs, you can contribute $1,000 in addition to the upper limits ($6,500 for 2023; $7,000 for 2024). For 401(k) plans you can contribute an additional $7,500 in 2024 above the $22,500 maximum for individuals under 50. read more

Florida’s largest utility made a record-breaking land buy this year in Osceola County while the nation’s second-largest homebuilder was busy scooping up property all over Lake County in what ultimately ended as a banner year for land sales.

Florida Power & Light Company paid $212 million on Nov. 10 for the 40,000-acre El Maximo Ranch in south Osceola County’s Kissimmee River Valley. The utility company has not confirmed the future use of the property, but it’s expected to house what could become a solar farm. And it’s large enough to accommodate the largest solar array in the U.S.

The ranch, which stretches from State Road 60 to the Osceola-Okeechobee county line, was once part of a 150,000-acre cattle operation run by the iconic Florida rancher Latt Maxcy. The land was sold over two transactions in 2018 to the Investment Corporation of Dubai in 2018 for $144.4 million and was operated by its subsidiary, Generation Farms.

The previous owners kept the “El Maximo” name to honor the history of the ranch that had been run by the same family for four generations and added new crops such as potato, broccoli, tomato and watermelon while also planning for the possibility of a solar farm on the property. read more

After a record 2023, SpaceX didn’t slow down its plans for 2024 with the first launch of the year from Florida on Wednesday evening.

A Falcon 9 rocket carrying a telecom satellite for private Swedish company Ovzon lifted off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station’s Space Launch Complex 40 at 6:04 p.m.

The first-stage booster flew for the 10th time making another successful return to Canaveral’s Landing Zone 1, generating a double sonic boom on the Space Coast.

Liftoff! pic.twitter.com/2j6x0NkQuM

— SpaceX (@SpaceX) January 3, 2024

The 3,968-pound Ovzon 3 satellite is the first privately funded and developed Swedish geostationary satellite ever launched. It will propel itself to that orbit over three to four months at 22,236 miles altitude.

SpaceX had a banner year in 2023 on its two Florida pads, launching 68 of the Space Coast’s 72 orbital missions including five flights of its powerhouse Falcon Heavy and three crewed flights to the International Space Station. It added another 28 flights from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. read more