Archive for Tax Planning

Important Tax Dates and Tax Payments, Tax Season Begins (January 2016)

TaxConnections Member Barry Fowler
Individual Due Dates

January 4 – Time to Call For Your Tax Appointment –

January is the beginning of tax season. If you have not made an appointment to have your taxes prepared, we encourage you do so before the calendar becomes too crowded.

January 11 – Report Tips to Employer –

If you are an employee who works for tips and received more than $20 in tips during December, you are required to report them to your employer on IRS Form 4070 no later than January 11.

January 15 – Individual Estimated Tax Payment Due –

It’s time to make your fourth quarter estimated tax installment payment for the 2015 tax year.

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Written by | Posted in Tax Dates • Tax Payments • Tax Planning • Tax Return • Tax Tips

Traditional To Roth IRA Conversions – Should You? Did You? Wish You Hadn’t?

TaxConnections Member Barry Fowler

The tax provision that allows taxpayers to convert a Traditional IRA to a Roth IRA is a great tax-planning tool when used properly, and timing is everything.

To make a conversion, you must pay income taxes on the amount of the traditional IRA converted to a Roth IRA. So why would one want to do that? Well, the answer is that Roth IRAs enjoy tax-free accumulation and distributions, whereas the earnings in and contributions made to a traditional IRA are fully taxable whenever they are withdrawn. (An exception is if the contributions to the traditional IRA were treated as non-deductible. In that case, each distribution is nontaxable or partly nontaxable if only some of the contributions had not been deducted.)

So, you might consider converting during a year in which your income is abnormally low or a year in which your Read More

Written by | Posted in Retirement • Tax Planning

Year End Tax Points And Recent Developments

TaxConnections Member Harold Goedde
Timing of year-end contributions:

Contributions made by check are deductible in 2015 if the check is mailed by year-end. If payment is made by bank credit card, it is deductible in 2015 if the charge is made by year-end.  It doesn’t matter when the credit card payment is made. If the donation is made with a retail store credit card, the deduction cannot be taken until the card is paid, even though it was charged in 2015.

Donations of securities and other property:

This is an excellent way to make a contribution without paying cash. Taxpayers can deduct the fair value of the securities on the date of the gift.  Donating appreciated securities is a good move because if you sold the securities Read More

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Coverdell And 529 Education Savings Plans

The tax code provides two primary advantageous ways of saving for your children’s education. We frequently get questions about the differences between the programs and about which program is best-suited for a family’s particular needs.

The Coverdell Education Savings Account and the Qualified Tuition Plan (frequently referred to as a Sec 529 Plan) are similar; neither provides tax-deductible contributions, but both plans’ earnings are tax-free if used for allowable expenses, such as tuition. Therefore, with either plan, the greatest benefit is derived by making contributions to the plan as soon as possible—even the day after a child is born—so as to accumulate years of investment earnings and maximize the benefits. However, that is where the similarities end, and each plan has a different set of rules. Read More

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It’s Time For Year-End Tax Planning

For the past few years, year-end tax planning has been challenging due to the lateness of action by Congress. This year is no different because of uncertainty over whether Congress will extend any of the many expired or expiring tax provisions. However, regardless of what Congress does later this year, solid tax savings can still be realized by taking advantage of tax breaks that are still on the books for 2015. For individuals and small businesses, these include:

• Capital Gains and Losses – You can employ several strategies to suit your particular tax circumstances. If your income is low this year and your tax bracket is 15% or lower, you can take advantage of the zero percent capital gains bracket benefit, resulting in no tax for part or all of your long-term gains. Others, affected by the market downturn earlier this year, should review their portfolio with an eye to offsetting gains Read More

Written by | Posted in Tax Planning • Tax Tips

“Abolish The IRS” Distracts From Needed Reforms

Republican presidential candidates Senators Ted Cruz and Mike Huckabee would like to abolish the IRS. They are not saying they want to abolish taxes, just the agency that collects them. Even if either is able to simplify taxes to the point that no taxpayers have questions or need guidance, we still need a tax collector, as well as an auditor to ensure compliance.

A call to abolish the IRS is a distraction. That’s too bad because there are significant improvements needed to our federal tax system – a system that includes not only the income tax, but also employment, excise and estate and gift taxes. Tax reform must be the focal point, not termination of the entity that collects revenues to fund schools and roads, provide national defense, and much more.

The IRS is an easy scapegoat for complaints about our tax laws. But those laws come from Congress. Yes, the Read More

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2015: Year End – Tax Planning For Individuals, What To Expect!

It’s November! I am always surprised by it’s arrival and the realization that it’s year-end tax planning time. The shortened day-light hours seem to make that certain without a doubt. So let’s roll-up our sleeves, get down to work and fine-tune possible last-minute strategies for lowering your 2015 tax bill.

Tax Brackets: Let’s take a quick look at the 2015 tax brackets, you will see from the table below that the top tax rate of 39.6% will apply to incomes over $$413,200 (single), $464,851 (married filing jointly and surviving spouse), $232,426 (married filing separately), and $439,000 (heads of households):

The 3.8% net investment income tax and/or the 0.9% Medicare surtax will also apply if you Read More

Written by | Posted in Income Tax • Individual • Retirement • Tax Deductions • Tax Planning

Construction Tax Planning: A Proactive Approach to Accelerated Depreciation Planning

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 a reminder, there are several noteworthy differences between a Cost Segregation Engagement and a Construction Tax Planning Engagement.

A Cost Segregation Engagement will methodically review property, plant and equipment and properly reclassify real property (e.g., property that is generally depreciated for tax return purposes over a period of either 27.5 or 39 years) into personal property (e.g., property that is generally depreciated for tax return purposes over a period of either 3, 5, 7 Read More

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October 15 Extension Due Date Rapidly Approaching

If you could not complete your 2014 tax return by the normal April filing due date, and are now on extension, that extension expires on October 15, 2015, and there are no additional extensions. Failure to file before the extension period runs out can subject you to late-filing penalties.

There are no additional extensions, so if you still do not or will not have all of the information needed to complete your return by the extended due date, please call the office so that we can explore your options for meeting your October 15 filing deadline.

If you are waiting for a K-1 from a partnership, S-corporation, or fiduciary return, the extended deadline for those returns was September 15. So, if you have not received that Read More

Written by | Posted in Individual • Tax Planning

Cheat Sheet For 2015 Tax Planning

It’s a good time to get planning for this year’s tax challenges. For tax year 2015, there are annual inflation adjustments for more than 40 tax provisions, including the tax rate schedules, and other tax changes. The tax items for tax year 2015 of greatest interest to most taxpayers include the following dollar amounts. Keep in mind that the AFA (Affordable Care Act) will increase many taxes on capital gains, income, and other areas including reducing tax deductions for high income earners and families.

• Income Tax Rates: The tax rate of 39.6 percent affects singles whose income exceeds $413,200 ($464,850 for married taxpayers filing a joint return), up from $406,750 and $457,600, respectively. The other marginal rates – 10, 15, 25, 28, 33 and 35 percent – and the related income tax thresholds are described in the revenue procedure.

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You Came Up Short

Governments will try to get away with almost anything during wartime. In the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln suspended the writ of habeas corpus so federal authorities could lock up suspected Confederate sympathizers and throw away the keys. This action was more than mere ink on paper; it was very vigorously enforced, especially in Maryland and other Border States. He also signed the Revenue Act of 1861, which put an income tax into effect. The government gave up in 1862, partially due to Constitutional concerns regarding the Apportionment Clause (all taxes must be apportioned between the states), but mostly because the Revenue Act simply didn’t raise much money.

Congress took care of that Constitutional technicality with the 16th Amendment in 1913. But it wasn’t until 1943 (yet another war) that the money started rolling in. (See Video Read More

Written by | Posted in IRS • Tax Planning

September 2015 Individual Due Dates

September 1 – 2015 Fall and 2016

Tax Planning Contact this office to schedule a consultation appointment.

September 10 – Report Tips to Employer

If you are an employee who works for tips and received more than $20 in tips during August, you are required to report them to your employer on IRS Form 4070 no later than September 10. Your employer is required to withhold FICA taxes and income tax withholding for these tips from your regular wages. If your regular wages are insufficient to cover the FICA and tax withholding, the employer will report the amount of the uncollected Read More

Written by | Posted in Individual • Tax Planning
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