Tag Archive for 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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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

Review Your Taxes This Summer To Prevent A Surprise Next Spring

Income Tax, Tax Planning, IRS, Peter Flournoy, Tax Advisor, Tax Blog, Norwalk, CT, TaxConnections

Each year, many people get a larger refund than they expected. Some find they owe a lot more tax than they thought they would. If this happened to you, review your situation to prevent another tax surprise. Did you marry? Have a child? Have a change in income? Some life events can have a major effect on your taxes. You can bring the tax you pay closer to the amount you owe. Here are some key IRS tips to help you come up with a plan of action:

• New Job.   When you start a new job, you must fill out a Form W-4, Employee’s Withholding Allowance Certificate and give it to your employer. Your employer will use the form to figure the amount of federal income tax to withhold from your pay. Use the IRS Withholding Calculator on IRS.gov to help you fill out the form. This tool is easy to use and Read More

Written by | Posted in Income Tax • IRS • Tax Planning

Mid-Year Tax Planning Checklist

All too often, taxpayers wait until after the close of the tax year to worry about their taxes, missing opportunities that could reduce their tax liability or help them financially. Fall is the perfect time for tax planning. The following are some events that can affect your tax return; you may need to take steps to mitigate their impact and thus avoid unpleasant surprises after it is too late to address them.

• Did you get married, divorced, or become widowed?
• Did you change jobs or has your spouse started working?
• Did you have a substantial increase or decrease in income?
• Did you have a substantial gain from the sale of stocks or bonds?
• Did you buy or sell rental property? Read More

Written by | Posted in Individual • Tax Planning • Tax Tips

Start Planning Now For Next Year’s Taxes

You may be tempted to forget about your taxes once you’ve filed your tax return, but did you know that if you start your tax planning now, you may be able to avoid a tax surprise when you file next year?

That’s right. Now is a good time to set up a system so you can keep your tax records safe and easy to find. Here are six tips to give you a leg up on next year’s taxes:

1. Take action when life changes occur. Some life events such as a change in marital status or the birth of a child can change the amount of tax you pay. When they happen, you may need to change the amount of tax withheld from your pay. To do that, file a new Form W-4, Employee’s Withholding Allowance Certificate, with your employer. Read More

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Start 2015 Tax Planning Now! Part 4 (Final)

Tax Code Changes Create Challenges

How do you work and coordinate with attorneys and financial planners?

We make it a point to communicate with the client’s attorney and financial planner anytime we see anything of financial or legal significance that has happened or is likely to happen. For example, in some cases, by combining the estate and gift tax exemption with the proper use of certain irrevocable trust, millions of dollars in estate and gift taxes may be avoided. If we see that a client may potentially benefit from this type of strategy, we will work closely with his/her attorney and financial planner to implement a plan.

 

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Written by | Posted in Estate Planning Tax • Gift Tax • Individual • Tax Planning

Start 2015 Tax Planning Now! Part 3

Tax Code Changes Create Challenges

Inheritance taxes and estate planning are a growing concern for affluent baby boomers. What are some of the major issues?

In addition to the double step-up in basis on community property discussed above, the baby boom generation will benefit from some of the most generous estate tax loopholes in history. For example, married couples have complete spousal exemption from estate and gift tax when transferring property to each other. This has not always been the case.

For 2015, every person has a lifetime net gift and estate tax exemption up to $5.43 million. Considering that the top gift and estate tax rate is 40%, this exemption represents an Read More

Written by | Posted in Estate Planning Tax • Gift Tax • Tax Planning

Start 2015 Tax Planning Now! Part 2

Tax Code Changes Create Challenges

What should partners who married under California’s Equal Marriage Law be concerned about or plan for in terms of taxes?

Same sex marriage is now recognized in California. This means, from a tax perspective, same sex married couples face the same issues as opposite sex couples. They are also eligible to take advantage of what we call the “biggest tax loophole of all time” – the double step-up in basis on community property.

This is a section of the tax code that stipulates when property is held as community property and one spouse dies, the appreciation on the property is not taxed to the Read More

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It’s Tax Time! Are You Ready?

If you’re like most taxpayers, you find yourself with an ominous stack of “homework” around TAX TIME! Pulling together the records for your tax appointment is never easy, but the effort usually pays off in the extra tax you save! When you arrive at your appointment fully prepared, you’ll have more time to:

• Consider every possible legal deduction;
• Evaluate which income reporting and deductions are best suited to your situation;
• Explore current law changes that affect your tax status;
• Talk about tax-planning alternatives that could reduce your future tax liability.

Choosing Your Best Alternatives

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Written by | Posted in Individual • IRS • Tax Deductions • Tax Planning • Tax Tips

How IRS Seizures Work

If you or your child has ever played the game “Sims”, then you know what happens when you fail to pay your bills on time. The Repo man comes and zaps your couch into nonexistence with a laser gun! It’s a traumatic moment for your Sims, but one that can be rectified with time and a few more Simoleons (Sim currency). IRS seizures, or liens, don’t work quite the same way of course, but the end result is similar: They will take what they are owed. How can you stop a tax seizure? First, let’s look at the pre-seizure process.

The IRS has a three-step process to ensure that you are adequately notified that they intend to seize your property and/or pay. This is intended to allow you to appeal or contest the tax levy. You’ll receive a “Notice of Demand for Payment,” a “Final Notice of Intent to Levy and Notice of Your Right to a Hearing,” and then if you don’t respond, the IRS can Read More

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Tax Extenders, Tax Extenders…. Check If You Won The Extender Lottery!!

Well, it is December 30th, 2014 and as I sit down to write up the last blog post of the year, I realize how much I have enjoyed writing this year! This blog has brought a lot of traffic my way, I have gained a few clients, engaged in some very interesting conversations with fellow professionals and learned a lot about the roller-coaster social media world! Thanks to my readers from the bottom of my heart!

The conversations around tax planning sessions these days has been how quickly can we file in the coming tax season (hopefully on time!) and of course the hype around the Tax Extenders Bill that Congress passed early this month and President Obama signed soon after. So what was the drama all about? Read More

Written by | Posted in Tax Planning • Tax Policy

Tax Planning For Expatriation From The United States

The taxation of Americans and long term green card holders (permanent residents) who expatriate from the United States has gone through many changes over the years. The latest version of these changes with tax expatriating Americans on their accumulated un-taxed wealth prior to their leaving the United States, along with their earned income that has not been paid and will be paid in the future.

In addition, the United States tax laws will tax expatriating Americans at draconian rates, for Americans that die owning United States wealth (the “Estate Tax”) and that make significant gifts (the “Gift Tax”) after they have given up their United States citizenship.

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Written by | Posted in Expatriate • Tax Planning
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