Category: Tax Planning
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The ‘Trump effect’ on the tax shelter industry
Tax planners and tax shelter promoters are finding a new wave of prospective client inquiries this year and the market shift has been dubbed “Trump effect”. Basically, people want to know how to pay no tax like Trump and the ultra-rich friends that they might have heard about. They typically have some incomplete notion about…
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Thinking about changing accountants?
The decision to change accountants often comes as the result of pain experienced. It is important to explore this experience so that we can learn from it and make improvements for the future. Author Rob Nixon suggests that we ask the following questions and then find a way to turn the negative comments into positives in…
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I cancelled pre-election tax planning offers
Tax planning has always been a larger part of my practice than tax return preparation. That means that this is my busy season. I offered a number of fixed fee tax consultations under assumptions that the 2017 tax code will be basically the same as this current year. Now that seems unlikely. There are suddenly hundreds…
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Who pays more, who pays less under 2017 tax reforms
Federal income tax changes are likely in early 2017 under a new Republican-led government. While we do not know all the details yet, it seems that we can formulate a few basic trends common to the Trump and Ryan tax reform plans. There is a strong reason to believe that the following tax reform proposals…
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The return of flat fee tax planning
This month I am bringing back the flat fee income tax planning service that I promoted a few years ago. I stopped marketing this service last year under criticism from other accountants that I was underselling the value of this type of expertise. I saw it as a great way to attract new clients that justified deliberately…
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New Jersey death tax update
Until now, New Jersey had both an estate tax and an inheritance tax. Estate taxes are paid by the deceased person’s estate before the money is distributed to their heirs. Inheritance taxes are paid by the heir who inherits the money or assets. The New Jersey law referred to as the Transportation Trust Fund bill negotiated by state…
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Tax concepts in marriage and divorce
When a married couple owes federal taxes there are different outcomes that may be applicable and available. This blog post lists some of the concepts that IRS recognizes that might be considered in any stressed marital tax settlement: Joint and several liability Injured spouse allocation and relief provisions Innocent Spouse Relief Separation of liability Equitable relief…
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Real estate flippers beware
IRS warns real estate investors to beware of tax schemes targeting real estate investors. The schemes tend to be offered by financial firms that are not professional tax advisers but promise favorable tax savings through the improper use of like-kind exchanges. Sales pitches may encourage taxpayers to exchange non-qualifying vacation or second homes. Many promoters of like-kind…
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Selling a rental property?
If you are planning to sell a rental property then it is likely important to estimate the taxes that will be due on the transaction. The calculation can be complicated but fortunately we have software available to help with the number-crunching. Just give a call and we can schedule time to run through the possible scenarios.…
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Why people prepare their own tax returns
Most Americans have the capacity to prepare their own tax returns. But should they? In cases where self preparation is not logical and is not cost-effective, what is the underlying reason driving the decision to self-prepare tax returns? This blog post explores some observations, Self-prepared tax returns About half of all individual tax payers can and should submit their own…