Many taxpayers make adjustments to their investment portfolio near year-end to take profits, to recognize tax losses to reallocate their assets, and for various other reasons. When making purchases of mutual funds near year-end, however, you should be wary of actually purchasing a tax liability. This is a danger: mutual
Higher income taxpayers beware. There is a new surtax to contend with. Originating as a component of 2010 health care legislation and first effective in 2013, the 3.8% net investment income tax (3.8% NIIT) is assessed on the lesser of net investment income (NII) or modified adjusted gross income (MAGI)
The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in the Edith Windsor Case, invalidating a key provision of the Defense of Marriage Act, raised many questions regarding the federal income tax rights and responsibilities of the same-sex couples. The U.S. Department of the Treasury and the IRS recently ruled that same-sex couples, legally
The IRS has a new website that provides information on the Affordable Care Act (www.irs.gov/uac/Affordable-Care-Act-Tax-Provisions). The site explains tax benefits and responsibilities for individuals, employers, and other organizations. In addition, it provides information about tax provisions that are in effect now and those that will go into effect in 2014
As you approach retirement age, you must decide whether to begin taking reduced social security benefits early or wait until full benefits early or wait until full benefit retirement age (FBRA), or even later. In many cases, this decision will depend on factors other than trying to receive the greatest
If you are unable to borrow from a bank or other outside source, your qualified retirement plan may be a good option. IRS guidelines permit a limited amount of borrowing from corporate qualified retirement plans, including 401(k) plans. In general, borrowings are limited to 50% of the participant’s account balance
The at-risk rules may limit the amount of loss you can deduct from investment in your closely held corporation. The amount of loss a corporation may recognize from an activity is limited to the amount that is at risk for that activity at the close of the tax year. Any
Do You Need a More Robust Version of QuickBooks? Maybe you just need to study your current version thoroughly. But it might be time to move up. If QuickBooks were just one product, its appeal would be more limited than it is. Because there’s an entire family of Windows desktop
One unique aspect of owning your business is the ability to hire your children. Whether doing so makes sense for you and your business is more than a business decision. For your children, the answer depends a great deal on your intentions for passing the business to future generations, the
The increasing costs of higher education have made education planning an important aspect of personal financial planning. However, education planning does not always receive the necessary attention required because some parents are counting on scholarships to cover the cost of their children’s education. Others procrastinate, as they do with retirement
