Few business owners relish spending money on something they don’t need. And for most owners, hiring an expert to estimate the value of their companies falls into that don’t-need category.
So it is no surprise that owners typically respond to an exit planning advisor’s recommendation to get an estimate of value for the company with some variation of: “Now? But I’m not planning to leave for years!” or “I built this company so I—better than any so-called expert—know what it is worth!”
The most common year end tax planning questions generally have been revolving around the implications of sheltering and feeding fully grown and educated children as flying the coop has become increasingly difficult for the current generation of young adults. “Hanging” at Mom and/or Dad’s place as a young professional is the new ‘thing” to do. If you can…
When that first leaf changes color, there’s a nip in the air, and the sunshine starts to fall into corners it did not before, you know the year is coming to an end. Typically that is when I start getting phone calls for year-end tax planning.
This year has been tumultuous, to say the least, as we recover from all the pre- and post-election trauma or elation depending on which candidate you favored. We need to put our tax plans in place based on what we know about likely tax changes for 2017 and 2018.
A properly designed and implemented Construction Tax Planning engagement will proactively identify additional tax savings related to new and/or planned construction projects. It should be duly noted that a Construction Tax Planning engagement should not be confused with a Cost Segregation engagement as there are several noteworthy differences between a Cost Segregation Engagement and a Construction Tax Planning Engagement.
California tax reform is getting an update. Well, sort of.
It’s sobering that California has not seen comprehensive tax reform since the Great Depression. To think that California taxes are a byproduct of economic trends and demographics is harrowing in and of itself. But realizing that, over the past seven decades, no politician or lawmaker wanted to stick up for their state is downright disgraceful.
According to the US Small Business Administration, small businesses employ half of all private sector employees in the United States. However, a majority of small businesses do not offer their workers retirement savings benefits.
If you’re like many other small business owners in the United States, you may be considering the various retirement plan options available for your company. Employer-sponsored retirement plans have become a key component for retirement savings. They are also an increasingly important tool for attracting and retaining the high-quality employees you need to compete in today’s competitive environment. Read More
The Affordable Care Act requires you, your spouse and your dependents to have qualifying health care coverage for each month of the year, qualify for a health coverage exemption, or make an Individual Shared Responsibility Payment when filing your federal income tax return. If you had coverage for all of 2015, you will simply check a box on your tax return to report that coverage.
However, if you don’t have qualifying health care coverage and you meet certain criteria, you might be eligible for an exemption from coverage. Most exemptions are can be claimed when you file your tax return, but some must be claimed through the Marketplace. Read More
1. Earned income (EITC).
Taxpayers with no children it is $503, with one child $3,359, two qualifying children $5,548, three qualifying children $6,342 but are subject to AGI phaseouts. The recent tax law makes permanent the increase of $5,000 in the phaseout amount for joint filers scheduled to expire after 2017. The law also makes permanent the increased 45% credit percentage for taxpayers with three or more qualifying children. Under prior law, both increases had been available only through 2017. It also makes permanent the reduced earned income threshold of $3,000. The law makes the following provisions permanent:
(a) Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN) Required. The EITC is denied with respect to any taxable year for which the taxpayer has a TIN that has been issued after the due date for filing the return, including extensions. Read More
If you sold your home during the year and made a gain, you may be able to exclude all of that gain from your taxable income. To qualify for this tax benefit, the home sold must have been your principal residence. You can exclude from your taxable income, the gain from the sale of your main home, of up to $250,000 ($500,000 if filing a joint return). To qualify for this exclusion, however, all of the following must be true:
• You owned the home for at least 2 of the last 5 years (the ownership test).
• You lived in the home as your main home for at least 2 of the last 5 years (the use test).
• You did not exclude gain from the sale of another home during the 2-year period ending on the date of the sale. Read More
As the New Year rolls around, it’s always a sure bet that there will be changes to current tax law and 2016 is no different. From health savings accounts to retirement contributions and standard deductions, here’s a checklist of tax changes to help you plan the year ahead.
For 2016, more than 50 tax provisions are affected by inflation adjustments, including personal exemptions, AMT exemption amounts, and foreign earned income exclusion.For 2016, the tax rate structure, which ranges from 10 to 39.6 percent, remains the same as in 2015, but tax-bracket thresholds increase for each filing status. Standard deductions and the personal exemption have also been adjusted upward to reflect inflation. For details see the article, “Tax Brackets, Deductions, and Exemptions for 2016,” below. Read More
We have good news for anyone conducting business in South Africa. One of our super smart tax experts, Dr. Daniel Erasmus recently acquired the Africa Tax, Law and Finance Hub and is offering complimentary access to the site for a limited time only.
We highly recommend you go view our tax professionals video section and scroll down to meet him in the video presentation he has on TaxConnections. If you have any business operations in South Africa, Dr. Erasmus is extraordinarily knowledgeable on the subject. Read More
A lot has been written about the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act {FATCA} in the past year. As this year comes to a close and I write up this post, I wanted to give you all, my dear readers a synopsis at your finger-tips, a round-up, if you will of some major FATCA events for 2015:
1. FBAR Deadlines Changed:
On July 31, 2015 President Obama signed the Surface Transportation and Veterans Health Care Choice Improvement Act of 2015 into law, which modified the due date of several key forms for Americans with foreign income and Americans living abroad. That includes the Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts, or Form 114, colloquially known as the FBAR.
Any U.S. person with a financial interest in, or signatory authority over, foreign financial accounts must file the FBAR, if at any time, the aggregate value of their relevant foreign account or accounts exceeds $10,000. An account over Read More
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