Have you ever had a “light bulb” moment?  I have been driving for many years. I’ve driven at least a million miles and I own a few cars (I collect certain types), and when driving my spouse’s car or one from the collection that I haven’t driven in a while, inevitably it’s time to gas up. I [...]

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 still [...]

Many of our clients are business owners and we often have conversations with them in and around the value of their business. It’s easy to pin a value number on a business based on emotion; after all if you have built a business from scratch or bought somebody else’s business and made it your own, [...]

The answer to that might surprise you. Because, for the most part, the answer is yes.  However, sometimes they are only fair if you know how to “play the game”. Most people think only the wealthy can avoid paying income tax because they know how to play the game. Well, at a much lower level, everybody knows some of [...]

When people save for retirement they almost automatically use accounts that avoid tax now. IRAs, 401(k)s, 403(b)s, 457s, all pretax retirement savings plans. Certainly, long term savings uninterrupted by withdrawals and the effect of compounding interest on interest earned is unarguably valuable, but doing that in pretax accounts is NOT the only way to have [...]

When you start tax planning with a new client, the first thing people often ask is why the accountant or CPA they are using doesn’t think or act the way you do in discussing the hunt for possible tax savings. After all, the current CPA is smart, trustworthy, running a successful accounting business and well [...]

At this time of year many people who were getting a refund have already filed their tax return. It leaves the remaining majority of folks who, despite having withholdings, are still going to owe additional tax. We talk a great deal about tax planning and changing behaviors to achieve better outcomes in the future, but [...]

People often struggle with record keeping and are typically so busy that they are simply unaware of tools or services that have been developed that could greatly improve the recording of tax deductible expenses, mileage, etc. There are many topics we could cover here, but two that are universal. If you are in business, you [...]

An often overlooked tax savings 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 return [...]

Often people will have one-time “Income Events” that greatly increase the income tax due in that year. Finding ways to mitigate that additional tax, especially for younger people, can be challenging. In some cases, setting up a Charitable Lead Trust (CLT) in order to receive an upfront income tax deduction might be viable option. A [...]