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 [...]

Charitable planning has always allowed some great tax benefits for clients with tax trapped assets, and the second benefit, the charitable deduction.  What’s a tax trapped asset? Why is the charitable deduction the second benefit and not the first?  What are the one-time 2020 rules?  Well, that’s the point.  Most people don’t understand why these [...]

The people who have filed and paid too much tax again this year, as they did last year, almost always make themselves a promise that they “will do better from now on.”  They will keep better records; maintain a mileage log.  They will learn more about work options and increase their 401(k) or 403(b).  They [...]

That’s what you often hear from a sneaker manufacturer or a car company to create a feeling of scarcity for a product in order to drive desire or cost up.  This is not a typical tactic of the IRS.  COVID-19 and the reaction to it has created a path of human misery, but like cutting [...]

Think again.  Of course, human life is more important, especially when it’s yours!  That being said, many of us have a worry list that is growing and if taxes were on that list, they have been pushed down by all the new concerns.  There is a growing divide in the U.S. between the people who [...]

Many self-employed and small business owners who did not get applications in before the money ran out the first time around, are now getting them in during this second round of PPP funding, and the frantic level of requests seen previously seem to be a bit more orderly now.  Many people we have spoken to [...]

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 [...]

The tax planning world has been evolving very quickly in the last few months.  Needless to say, anyone who felt they had a handle on being proactive is now working with at least one hand behind their back (maybe even two).  Accountants that are proactive (a small subset of the overall group) have been very [...]