Category: Tax Planning
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Year-end tax Scrooge on auto purchase and charitable contributions
We hear plenty of auto sales ads touting the benefits of increased depreciation as a great reason to buy a new car this week. Likewise, charities make a big year-end push this week promoting the tax benefits of charitable contributions. I don’t want to be a spoil-sport and discourage anyone from buying a car or…
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Last minute tax shelter setup for 2015
Every year there are a few small business owners who wait until the last few days of December to set up a retirement plan or pension plan that winds up reducing their tax liability by many thousands of dollars at tax filing time in the spring. It takes a few hours work for each plan…
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Sample tax planning engagement email
This page is outdated. A more recent version is available: Sample accounting services engagement agreement 2021 Dear : Thank you for choosing me to discuss tax planning. I will work on your behalf to maintain the confidence that you have placed in me. Four sections of this communication are included below to help us get…
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Revenue Ruling 99-6 LLC partnership conversion to disregarded entity
I have a client who is considering converting an LLC that has elected treatment as a partnership to a disregarded entity owned by husband and wife in a community property state. The goal is to simplify accounting and tax reporting while still retaining the liability benefits of the LLC. No information is available as to…
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Bad tax advice and gobblygook
It has always been tough for small business owners to get basic straightforward information they need to avoid tax problems. But this year I notice the problem is magnified many times by a flood of misinformation and gobblygook published on blogs and promoted in social media, This is especially true for issues surrounding the Affordable…
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Tax planning is tough for high income clients
Many people do not realize that tax planning becomes more difficult as income increases. The easy strategies like those discussed in the article “Top 10 easy tax strategies” do not work as well. Tax planning sometimes requires adjusting to rapidly rising income; not such a terrible problem to face. But the tax calculation changes triggered…
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The wrong way to do year-end tax planning
Implementation is the most important part! The Thanksgiving Day online edition of The Wall Street Journal carried an article about year-end tax planning strategies. It caught my attention because this is my favorite part of my own professional practice; a service I look forward to providing in the last quarter of each year. It is…
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Initial inquiry about a private pension plan
Last night I received an anonymous post on my web site that says “I am a self-employed… with income of $1 million after deductions. I am looking to find a tax deductible retirement plan that can help me reduce my tax liability. I looked in to IRA and Roth IRAs but my income is too high…
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Fall is the best time for financial planning
Early fall is often the best time for small business owners to review their finances and tax strategies. A small investment of time typically pays off in big and almost immediate savings. I am available by telephone or in person to discuss the best ways to: Cut accounting and compliance costs Incorporate tax shelter strategies…
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What options are available to employers who wish to help employees afford the cost of health care?
Provisions of the Affordable Care Act dramatically changed the tax treatment of employer-paid health benefits. Some of the most popular traditional health plans of the recent past now trigger an extremely harsh tax on the employer. Taxes of up to $36,500 per employee per year kicked in on July 1, 2015 for businesses with less than…