The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) has amplified two depreciation-related breaks that are great year-end tax planning tools for businesses. To take advantage of these breaks, you need to buy qualifying assets and place them in service by year end. Meaning, if you act soon, there’s still time to reduce your 2018 tax liability … [Read more…]
A tried-and-true year end tax strategy is to make charitable donations. As long as you itemize and your gift qualifies, you can claim a charitable deduction. But did you know that you can enjoy an additional tax benefit if you donate long-term appreciated stock instead of cash? 2 benefits from 1 gift Appreciated publicly traded … [Read more…]
Some of your medical expenses may be tax deductible, but only if you itemize deductions and have enough expenses to exceed the applicable floor for deductibility. With proper planning, you may be able to time controllable medical expenses to your tax advantage. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) could make bunching such expenses into … [Read more…]
Many people choose to pass assets to the next generation during life, whether to reduce the size of their taxable estate, to help out family members or simply to see their loved ones enjoy the gifts. If you’re considering lifetime gifts, be aware that which assets you give can produce substantially different tax consequences. Multiple types of … [Read more…]
In today’s tightening job market, to attract and retain the best employees, small businesses need to offer not only competitive pay, but also appealing fringe benefits. Benefits that are tax-free are especially attractive to employees. Let’s take a quick look at some popular options. Insurance Businesses can provide their employees with various types of insurance … [Read more…]
If you’re age 70½ or older, you can make direct contributions — up to $100,000 annually — from your IRA to qualified charitable organizations without owing any income tax on the distributions. This break may be especially beneficial now because of Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) changes that affect who can benefit from the … [Read more…]
For investors, fall is a good time to review year-to-date gains and losses. Not only can it help you assess your financial health, but it also can help you determine whether to buy or sell investments before year end to save taxes. This year, you also need to keep in mind the impact of the … [Read more…]
The deadline for federal income tax filing is a little later than usual this year — April 17 — but it’s now almost here. If you have yet to file your individual return, you might want to think about filing an extension. Alternatively, you might be worried about meeting the deadline in the eyes of … [Read more…]
While the main tax deadline, April 15 (April 17 this year), is what most individual taxpayers are thinking about, you also need to be aware of others through the rest of the year. So you don’t miss any important 2018 deadlines, here’s a look at when some essential tax-related payments, forms, and other actions are … [Read more…]
You have finally finished filing your 2017 income tax return (or sent a request for an extension). Now that tax season is over your office is cluttered with piles of paper consisting of years’ worth of tax returns, receipts, canceled checks and other financial records (or tax files cover your computer desktop), and it’s time … [Read more…]