I’m still having a hard time believing it's true, but by the end of tomorrow, I'm going to become a father for the first time. I am obviously super excited and can't wait to experience all the joys – and even some of the pains – of fatherhood. I know that being a father is nothing to take lightly and there are many responsibilities. Some of the responsibilities are financially-oriented and for a few of those, there are tax efficient ways of achieving one's goals. Now obviously, everybody’s situation is different, but below are 3 tax-planning moves I plan to make as soon as possible once I become a father. Perhaps one or more of them is relevant for you and your planning.
April 16th is here. The blossoms are budding on the trees, the birds are beginning to chirp and, of course, CPAs and tax preparers everywhere are coming out of a 2 ½ month hibernation. Tax season is officially over. With that in mind, taxes may be the last thing you want to talk about right now, but with the sting of this year’s tax season still fresh, now’s the time to start thinking about a few easy steps to help make next year’s tax season a little less... well… taxing! Here are three such steps you might want to consider.
If you're lucky enough to be getting an income tax refund from IRS for 2013, you might be wondering what you can do with that money. Certainly you can use it to pay some bills, or treat yourself to something you've wanted to buy for a while. But if you're thinking about using that refund to help save for retirement, you're in luck. The IRS allows you to have that refund check directly deposited into an IRA if you follow certain procedures when you file your federal income taxes for 2013.
The 2014 tax season is quickly coming to a close and chances are you either have grumbled over your tax bill, or soon will. The question is, when you do that, should you be longing for “the good ol’ days” when taxes were lower, or should you be counting your blessings that you have today’s tax rates to contend with and not those of years’ past? In all likelihood, a little bit of both is true. Click to read about the history of income tax in America.
It's tax time - and we've covered a lot of key planning issues during our Tax Planning Week. Here are some responses to other key IRA questions that come up a lot at tax time.
When it comes to estate planning, one of the primary goals is to transfer as much of a person's assets to their intended beneficiaries at the lowest cost or, in other words, by paying the least amount of tax. Today, the federal estate tax exemption is $5,340,000 per person. It is also portable (can be transferred) between spouses, giving them a maximum exemption of $10,680,000 per couple and the maximum rate is 40%. That is a far cry from where we’ve been.
IRS has released its annual list of the “Dirty Dozen” tax scams just in time for you to try and avoid them during their peak tax season. Beware of these scams and check back here for Tax Planning Week through Friday.
Welcome to Tax Planning Week at The Slott Report - a week where each of our experts verse all of us in one issue they feel is extremely important as you organize your paperwork and hop on TurboTax or send it off to the local CPA. Click for more Tax Planning information.
Asset valuation is coming under greater scrutiny. It started with valuations used for calculating estate tax. IRS questioned valuation discounts used in many estates and was successful in many of these challenges.Then came the housing crash, the market crash and the mortgage security problems in 2006 and beyond. As a result, the SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) is now looking harder at how illiquid investments in alternative funds are being valued.
The holidays are over. New Years has come and gone. Now, of course, it's time to get ready for - cue the Andy Williams' music - "the most wonderful time of the year." Tax time! Here we give 3 tips to help you prepare.
