Share/Bookmark Capital gains and losses are areas that offer great tax planning opportunities, since in many situations, you control when the gains and losses will be realized. Many taxpayers have incurred losses on stocks and mutual funds and selling them now can allow them to realize the loss and reduce their tax liability. Capital losses [...]
Share/BookmarkTrusts have become extremely popular in recent years. The most popular type is the intervivos or living trust which is used to control the disposition of your assets after death while avoiding probate. Many of these trusts are A-B trusts where the trust splits on the death of the first spouse into two trusts: the [...]
Share/BookmarkOur tax code is extremely complex with rules and regulations that can often catch a taxpayer by surprise. There is nothing sadder than informing a taxpayer of a large tax liability he or she has incurred that could have been avoided. The tax code includes provisions for several types of “tax election” that can save [...]
Share/BookmarkIn an 1939 BBC broadcast, Winston Churchill called Russia “a riddle wrapped in mystery inside an enigma.” This would also be an apt description of our tax code. Our tax laws are written piecemeal year after year by lawmakers unfamiliar with our existing body of tax laws and with little thought toward coherence or consistency. [...]
Share/BookmarkAfter finishing my first article on the American Tax Relief Act of 2012 (see the Jan. 10 issue of the Town Crier) I realized that there were several important provisions that I still needed to discuss. Cancellation of indebtedness income is taxable unless an exclusion applies. The principal residence exclusion for up to $2 million [...]
Share/BookmarkAbout this time of year, we begin to collect all the information we will need to properly file our income tax returns. Since it’s been a year, I have listed below some of the items you will want to find. Your employer is required to send you your W2 form by Jan. 31. If it [...]
Share/BookmarkAfter months of wrangling, Congress passed the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 on Jan. 1, 2013, ending months of “Y2K” style handwringing by the media. The law extends many of the Bush tax cuts for most taxpayers. This article will touch on some of the most important provisions, which apply for tax years 2013 [...]
Share/BookmarkCongress has been gearing up for the 2012 elections so no major tax legislation was passed in 2011. The bill passed in December 2010 extended the Bush tax cuts through 2012. You can expect the battles on how to improve our tax code to resume after the fall elections. But several interesting developments on other [...]
Share/BookmarkCapital gains are attracting renewed attention from the IRS for tax year 2011. The introduction of Form 8949 is where individual transactions are reported, along with detailed information on how cost basis was determined. Capital gains and losses is an area that offers great tax planning opportunities since in many situations you control when the [...]
Share/BookmarkThe taxation of Social Security benefits depends on several complex calculations. The first step is to calculate your provisional income, which is your gross income plus tax-exempt interest plus one-half of your social security benefit. You then need to look up your base amount: $25,000 for a single, head-of-household, or married filing separate, (living apart [...]
