In addition to income tax, you must pay Social Security and Medicare taxes on earned income, such as salary and self-employment income. The 12.4% Social Security tax applies only up to the Social Security wage base of $118,500 for 2016. All earned income is subject to the 2.9% Medicare tax. The [...]
Do you wish to play an active role in funding your grandchildren’s college educations? As you examine the financing options, don’t forget about their impact on your estate plan. Two trust types to consider are grantor and Crummey trusts. Grantor trusts A trust can be established for your grandchild, [...]
Typically, it’s better to defer tax. One way is through controlling when your business recognizes income and incurs deductible expenses. Here are two timing strategies that can help businesses do this: Defer income to next year. If your business uses the cash method of accounting, you can defer billing [...]
If you’re getting married, estate planning likely is the last thing you want to think about. But if you and your future spouse plan to sign a prenuptial agreement (commonly referred to as simply a “prenup”), it’s a good idea to design the agreement with your estate plan in [...]
No estate plan is complete without considering long-term care (LTC) expenses and how to pay for them. LTC insurance is an option, but these policies can be expensive. One solution is to use a total or partial tax-free exchange of an existing life insurance policy or annuity contract. [...]
If you recently redeemed frequent flyer miles to treat the family to a fun summer vacation or to take your spouse on a romantic getaway, you might assume that there are no tax implications involved. And you’re probably right — but there is a chance your miles could be [...]
Many expenses that may qualify as miscellaneous itemized deductions are deductible only to the extent they exceed, in aggregate, 2% of your adjusted gross income (AGI). Bunching these expenses into a single year may allow you to exceed this “floor.” So now is a good time to add up [...]
For anyone who takes a spin at roulette, cries out “Bingo!” or engages in other wagering activities, it’s important to be familiar with the applicable tax rules. Otherwise, you could be putting yourself at risk for interest or penalties — or missing out on tax-saving opportunities. Wins You must [...]
Direct Payments of Tuition and Medical Expenses Can Reduce Future Estate Tax Exposure With the gift and estate tax exemption at $5.45 million in 2016, you may be less concerned about these taxes. But if you don’t take advantage of making tax-free direct payments of tuition and medical expenses, [...]
Investing in mutual funds is an easy way to diversify a portfolio, which is one reason why they’re commonly found in retirement plans such as IRAs and 401(k)s. But if you hold such funds in taxable accounts, or are considering such investments, beware of these three tax hazards: High [...]
