In October, as Halloween approaches, the fall wrap up begins around the house.  Any remaining lawn chairs, storm windows and etcetera, all go into place ahead of the first storm.  Sure, for some places, like Arizona, winter is just a nice break from the heat.  But, for a majority of the country that lives in [...]

With fall in the air, it’s time to start thinking about things that need to be done to prepare for winter.  The garden harvests are rolling in, fresh vegetables are everywhere and it’s really, really great.  Time to fill up your oil tanks before the price change, and at least know where those snow tires are in [...]

That’s a reference to an old cartoon where Bullwinkle the moose was about to do a magic trick and would push up his fur, as if it was a shirt, and say “nothing up my sleeves, PRESTO” and pull a rabbit out of a hat.  It would never be a rabbit that came out of [...]

The real tax filing deadline is less than three weeks away (Christmas is less than 100 days away but that’s another blog)! There are many reasons people find themselves needing to delay their tax filing.  Sometimes there is no reason, it’s just their least favorite thing to do. “The IRS allows for extensions and for [...]

Every new president makes changes to the tax code, so why is this time so different?  The short answer is because our “books” as a country have never been in worse shape, not even during World War II.  COVID related spending is only icing on the already giant cake of our current federal debt that [...]

Don’t let your stockbroker off the hook when it comes to tax planning.  Many people work with brokers when they buy and sell stocks.  Many people now, because of the internet, also have become their own stockbrokers, doing their own research and trading on various platforms.  Whether you use a professional or do your trades yourself, you [...]

Well, do they or don’t they, actually?  Long debated and often manipulated by the media, the topic of the wealthy and taxation has many, many complex points and counterpoints.  First, when people say that, they often don’t define what kind of tax.  The people hearing the comment usually go to federal personal income tax in [...]

An often overlooked tax planning opportunity comes from not fully understanding how you can use your cars as a deduction on your tax return.  It is very common for people who have a Schedule C sole proprietor type business to claim their mileage on automobiles, but the privilege of using personal deductions on a tax [...]

It’s hard to be logical all the time about everything.  The most financially successful tax clients we serve at least attempt to force themselves to be logical, for their own benefit.  For instance, our parents, as well as a subset of the economy including some popular radio show based advisors like Dave Ramsey, say you [...]