Why It’s Important to Plan For Income Taxes as Part of Your Estate Plan
As a result of the current estate tax exemption amount ($11.58 million in 2020), many estates no longer need to be concerned with federal estate tax. Before 2011, a much [...]
Can Investors Who Manage Their Own Portfolios Deduct Related Expenses?
In some cases, investors have significant related expenses, such as the cost of subscriptions to financial periodicals and clerical expenses. Are they tax deductible? Under the Tax Cut and Jobs [...]
Small Businesses: Are First-Year Depreciation Write-Offs Right for You?
Under today's federal income tax rules, your business may be able to claim big first-year depreciation write-offs for eligible assets that are placed in service in the current tax year. [...]
What Happens If An Individual Can’t Pay Taxes
While you probably don’t have any problems paying your tax bills, you may wonder: What happens in the event you (or someone you know) can’t pay taxes on time? Here’s [...]
The Tax Implications of Employer-Provided Life Insurance
Does your employer provide you with group term life insurance? If so, and if the coverage is higher than $50,000, this employee benefit may create undesirable income tax consequences for [...]
Take Advantage of a “Stepped-Up Basis” When You Inherit Property
If you’re planning your estate, or you’ve recently inherited assets, you may be unsure of the “cost” (or “basis”) for tax purposes. Fair market value rules Under the fair market [...]
5 Mid-Year Tax Planning Ideas for Small Business Owners
The second half of 2020 has begun. What steps can small business owners take today to lower taxes for the current tax year? Alternatively, would it make more sense to maximize taxable income [...]
Mid-year Tax Planning for Individuals
The extended July 15 deadline for filing your 2019 federal income tax return is behind us. Now it's time to think about your current federal tax situation. Tax planning is especially complicated for [...]
Seniors: Can You Deduct Medicare Premiums?
If you are age 65 and older, and you have basic Medicare insurance, you may need to pay additional premiums to get the level of coverage you want. The premiums [...]
Why You Should Keep Life Insurance Out of Your Estate
If you have a life insurance policy, you probably want to make sure that the life insurance benefits your family will receive after your death won’t be included in your [...]
The Tax Aspects of Selling Mutual Fund Shares
Perhaps you’re an investor in mutual funds or you’re interested in putting some money into them. You’re not alone. The Investment Company Institute estimates that 56.2 million households owned mutual [...]
There Still Might Be Time to Cut Your Tax Bill With IRAs
If you’re getting ready to file your 2019 tax return, and your tax bill is higher than you’d like, there may still be an opportunity to lower it. If you [...]
Expanding a Corporate Business with a Tax-Free Merger
If a corporate business is seeking to quickly expand, it may be considering one of these options: Gaining control over another corporation's business (the target) indirectly via a merger transaction [...]
Beware of Deductions Claimed for Certain Business Expenses
To be deductible, a business expense must be both ordinary and necessary. An ordinary expense is one that is common and accepted in your field of business. A necessary expense [...]
Why Buyers Love Asset Purchase Deals
Are you thinking about buying a business? How you structure the deal will affect the taxes owed by the buyer (you) and the seller (the other party). The Tax Cuts and [...]