With school letting out you might be focused on summer plans for your children (or grandchildren). But the end of the school year is also a good time to think about Coverdell Education Savings Accounts (ESAs) — especially if the children are in grade school or younger. One major [...]
A primary goal of estate planning is asset protection. After all, no matter how well your estate plan is designed, it won’t do much good if you wind up with no wealth to share with your family. If you have significant assets in employer-sponsored retirement plans or IRAs, it’s [...]
All charitable donations aren’t created equal — some provide larger deductions than others. And it isn’t necessarily just how much or even what you donate that matters. How the charity uses your donation might also affect your deduction. Take vehicle donations, for example. If you donate your vehicle, the [...]
It’s a smaller business world after all. With the ease and popularity of e-commerce, as well as the incredible efficiency of many supply chains, companies of all sorts are finding it easier than ever to widen their markets. Doing so has become so much more feasible that many businesses [...]
In the course of your professional and personal life, you have collected many documents. Your first thought is to clear up some of the clutter and throw everything out....but wait; those documents you're about to throw away might actually need to be retained for a specific period of time! [...]
March 2010, the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) was signed into law creating new reporting requirements for offshore assets and accounts. FATCA requires US citizens and US residents to report all offshore assets on Form 8938 with their tax return as well to file Form 114, Report of [...]
The IRS assesses penalties for underpayment of income tax. If you did not pay enough tax throughout the year, either through withholding or by making estimated tax payments, you may have to pay a penalty for underpayment of estimated tax. What are the requirements to avoid penalties? The required [...]
If you’re concerned about your family’s financial well-being after you’re gone, life insurance can provide peace of mind. Going a step further and setting up an irrevocable life insurance trust (ILIT) to hold the policy offers additional estate planning benefits. Asset protection If you’re concerned about your heirs’ money [...]
The decision relative to what basis of accounting you should select for tax purposes is an important one. The two primary methods available are the cash basis method or the accrual basis method. The core difference between these two methods of accounting pertains to when revenue and expenses are [...]
Last year you may have made significant gifts to your children, grandchildren or other heirs as part of your estate planning strategy. Or perhaps you just wanted to provide loved ones with some helpful financial support. Regardless of the reason for making a gift, it’s important to know under [...]
