The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) made many changes to tax breaks for individuals. Let’s look at some specific areas to review as you lay the groundwork for filing your 2018 return. PERSONAL EXEMPTIONS For 2018, through 2025, the TCJA suspends personal exemptions. This will substantially increase taxable income for large families. However, enhancements [...]
Are you considering transferring real estate, a family business or other assets you expect to appropriate dramatically in the future? If so, installment sale may be a viable option. Its benefits include the ability to freeze asset values for estate tax purposes and remove future appreciation from your taxable estate. GIVING AWAY VS. SELLING From [...]
JANUARY 15 Individual taxpayers’ final 2018 estimated tax payment is due. JANUARY 31 For 2018 Forms W-2 (“Wage and Tax Statement”) with the Social Security Administration and provide copies to your employees. File 2018 Forms 1099-MISC (“Miscellaneous Income”) reporting nonemployee compensation payments in box 7 with the IRS and provide copies to recipients. Most employers [...]
Many businesses find themselves short-staffed from Thanksgiving through December 31 as workers scramble to use, rather than lose, their remaining time off. Indeed, your workplace may resemble a ghost town if you limit how many vacation days employees can roll over to the New Year. A paid time off (PTO) contribution arrangement may be the [...]
Smart timing of deductible expenses can reduce your tax liability, and poor timing can increase it unnecessarily. One deductible expense you may be able to control to your advantage is your property tax payment. You can prepay (by December 31) property taxes that relate to 2018 (the taxes must be assessed in 2018) but that [...]
When is a loss actually a gain? When that loss becomes an opportunity to lower tax liability, of course. Now’s a good time to begin your year-end tax planning and attempt to neutralize gains and losses by year end. To do so, it might make sense to sell investments at a loss in 2018 to [...]