Many times business owners have come into our office and with our help have found that they were doing things incorrectly regarding their bookkeeping and taxes. Occasionally, the errors add to the tax burdens that they have been underreporting. That never feels good, but it is always better to fix those issues pre-audit. Often, errors [...]
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 [...]
Many business owners cheered as the news came out about the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans. The money was not distributed perfectly, but for a “rush job” it was still done pretty well. Then, the money went out and we have witnessed the result, in that many businesses that had no customers for weeks and [...]
We use the term “Tax Planning” often, but we are aware that many people are not sure what it really is. Some people think “That means off shore accounts and citizenship shell games ending with jail time. No thank you!”. That is not tax planning, that’s tax evasion, and it’s not at all what we [...]
It’s human nature, of course. We complain about our weight in the line at the ice-cream stand. We complain about being tired, then stay up late playing the latest game on our smart devices. Humans are funny and contradictory animals. Have you ever noticed that when you’re in a conversation, people are quick to complain [...]
Summer is a popular time for people planning a move to put their home on the market. It happens all year long of course, but the “hot season” is May-September. There are many reasons. School is out and if you have kids of that age it’s easier to change schools between grades. Often, it’s when [...]
For the self-employed, home office deductions can be connected to the Schedule C that they include on their 1040, which reports income and expenses for the business. The home office deduction can be taken with two different calculation options. One is more complex to calculate and one simplified option is based only on the square [...]
It’s July but the big fireworks are a victim of COVID-19. Although true, small local and personal fireworks will likely be everywhere as people adapt. That fireworks habit is ingrained in us so the fun will find a way. Another behavior or habit that’s ingrained into people is spending more time on “staycation” vacation plans than [...]
Often people will have one-time “Income Events” and so planning and especially the tax aspects are the motivation, you can consider setting up a “CLT” Charitable Lead Trust for the income tax deduction upfront. A person who has significant and unusual taxable income in a particular year can establish the grantor lead trust and use [...]
A Donor Advised Fund or “DAF” is defined as “an account at a sponsoring organization, generally a public charity, where an individual can make a charitable gift to enjoy an immediate tax benefit and retain advisory privileges to disburse charitable gifts over time.” But what does that mean in practical terms? You can set [...]