If you’re charitably inclined, age 70½ or older and have a significant balance in an IRA, a charitable IRA rollover — formally called a “qualified charitable distribution” — permits you to annually make up to $100,000 in tax-free IRA distributions to qualified charities. Charitable IRA rollovers also offer estate [...]
A 529 plan is a tax-advantaged and flexible education-savings tool. In addition to generous contribution limits and tax-free withdrawals for college expenses, these plans provide unique estate planning benefits for parents and grandparents. On the plus side . . . First, even though you can change beneficiaries or get [...]
If you’re in a second marriage, or planning another trip down the aisle, estate planning can be complicated, especially if you have children from a previous marriage and your net worth is large enough that estate taxes are a concern. One strategy for meeting this challenge is to set [...]
The R&D tax credit is a federal tax credit and may also entail an additional state benefit depending on which state you live in. This is a dollar for dollar tax credit primarily designed to stimulate research and development activity of US companies. Many of our clients engaging in [...]
If you own a life insurance policy that has built up a sizable cash value, be aware that the death benefit will be included in your taxable estate. Depending on the size of the policy and the applicable estate tax exemption when you die, the tax bill could be [...]
If you suffer damage to your home or personal property, you may be able to deduct these “casualty” losses on your federal income tax return. A casualty is a sudden, unexpected or unusual event, such as a natural disaster (hurricane, tornado, flood, earthquake, etc.), fire, accident, theft or vandalism. [...]
If you have minor children, perhaps the most important element of your estate plan doesn’t involve your assets. Rather, it involves who will be your children’s guardian. Questions to Consider When evaluating potential guardians, ask these questions: • Do they want to serve as guardians? • Does your estate [...]
A common estate planning mistake is to designate a minor as beneficiary — or contingent beneficiary — of a life insurance policy or retirement plan. Insurance companies and financial institutions won’t pay large sums of money directly to a minor. Instead, they’ll require costly court proceedings to appoint a [...]
Today it’s becoming more common to work from home. But just because you have a home office space doesn’t mean you can deduct expenses associated with it. Eligibility requirements If you’re an employee, your use of your home office must be for your employer’s convenience, not just your own. [...]
A helping hand: Addressing your parents in your estate plan The “sandwich generation” is a large segment of the population. These are people who find themselves caring for both their children and their parents at the same time. As a result, estate planning — which traditionally focuses on providing [...]
