Be wary when considering a prepaid funeral plan To relieve their families of the burden of planning a funeral, many people plan their own and pay for them in advance. Unfortunately, prepaid funeral plans can be fraught with potential traps. Some plans may end up costing more than the [...]
As year-end approaches and we look forward to 2016, we want to share some year-end planning thoughts and considerations. Individuals and businesses need to be ready for some late potential tax legislation, as Congress procrastinates again, making planning more challenging. We anticipate clarity on the extenders before Congress goes [...]
The year is quickly drawing to a close, but there’s still time to take steps to reduce your 2015 tax liability — you just must act by December 31: Pay your 2015 property tax bill that’s due in early 2016. Make your January 1 mortgage payment. Incur deductible medical expenses [...]
Estate planning and asset protection go hand-in-hand. After all, no matter how well your estate plan is designed, it won’t do much good if you have no wealth to share with your family. If you have significant assets in employer-sponsored retirement plans or IRAs, it’s important to understand the [...]
Recently, the IRS released the 2016 annually adjusted amount for the unified gift and estate tax exemption and the generation-skipping transfer (GST) tax exemption: $5.45 million (up from $5.43 million in 2015). But even with the rising exemptions, annual exclusion gifts offer a valuable tax-saving opportunity. The 2015 gift tax [...]
Unlike married couples, who can take advantage of the marital deduction, unmarried partners can’t transfer unlimited amounts to each other tax-free. To reduce their estate tax bills, they must take some additional steps. One option is to make lifetime gifts using the $14,000 per year per recipient annual gift [...]
Valuable works of art may be ideal candidates for lifetime charitable donations. Generally, it’s advantageous to donate appreciated property because, in addition to reducing your taxable estate and garnering an income tax deduction, you avoid capital gains taxes on the appreciation. Because the top capital gains rate for art [...]
While tax consequences should never drive investment decisions, it’s critical that they be considered — especially by higher-income taxpayers, who may be facing the 39.6% short-term capital gains rate, the 20% long-term capital gains rate and the 3.8% net investment income tax (NIIT). Holding on to an investment until you’ve [...]
If your adult children face the prospect of high taxes on their estates, consider skipping a generation with some of your bequests and gifts. But beware of the generation-skipping transfer (GST) tax, which applies to transfers to a “skip person” — generally anyone more than one generation below you, [...]
Protect your deduction: Verify that a charity is eligible to receive tax-deductible contributions before you donate Donations to qualified charities are generally fully deductible, and they may be the easiest deductible expense to time to your tax advantage. After all, you control exactly when and how much you give. [...]
