Category: Tax Planning
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Don’t get angry, get tax free
A wave of recent media reports indicates that a large number of taxpayers are angry this filing season. Some people point out that the public reaction is illogical because the total amount of income taxes actually is actually lower for most people. Yet there may be good underlying reason for that anger. Originally we read…
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Four taxpayer reactions as the realities of new tax law hit home
Of the first 5 individual income tax returns that I prepared this week, 4 had unexpected problems and complications. Other tax preparers report unexpected and disturbing taxpayer reactions. Income tax filing season opened four days ago on January 29. Day by day now the real impact of the new federal tax law is hitting home…
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Five tax deductions you will miss this year
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act eliminated some of the tax deductions that helped some taxpayers reduce their taxable income. These are the five you are most likely to notice when you file your 2018 return: Personal exemptions Employee business expenses Tax preparation fees Investment advisor fees Mortgage interest and property taxes above $10,000 Talk…
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Getting started toward sanity in divorce planning
Getting tax and financial advice during a divorce does not need to be a complicated, expensive or difficult process. Over the years, I’ve noticed that taking the first step toward a logical approach toward tax and financial planning during a divorce is the most difficult. Yes, it is usually a long and usually painful process…
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2019 in employee benefits: by the numbers
These are the numbers we commonly use in planning this year’s tax free employee benefits: 401(k) pre-tax contribution limits = $19,000 401(k) catch-up contribution limit = $6,000 IRA contribution limits = $6,000 Annual Health Savings Account contribution limit for individuals = $3,500 Health Savings Account contribution limit for family coverage = $7,000 High Deductible Health…
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2019 Tax Planning and Support Tools Available
Through our 2019 license agreement with CFS Software, we offer a large number of support forms and estimated tax calculators. If you would benefit from a demonstration of the powers of any of these functions or planning calculations, please let us know. General Utilities and Retirement Calculations: 5 Year Federal/State Tax Planner After-Tax Loan Refinance…
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Five economic forecasts for small business in 2019
A decade ago I probably would have said that there is little value to a small business adviser in attempting macroeconomic and political forecasts. But over this most recent decade I’ve watched shifting macroeconomic conditions wipe out over two million dollars of personal net worth and put one of my businesses into idle for over…
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Taxes are our #1 expense
Taxes were my largest expense again in 2018. It’s no surprise. Although I’ve eliminated most income tax, real estate, employment and various state taxes remain. Overall, we Americans spend more on taxes than food, housing and clothing combined. Most of us monitor and plan to control these other expenses but few take any action to…
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The profitable New Year’s resolution you can complete in an hour
Reposted from Freedom Benefits At this time of year we can read plenty of articles giving advice for the next year. The most popular articles seem to focus on how to do more, be better, and rise to new heights. Few of these articles focus on more mundane issues like saving a few minutes on…
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Changes to Tony Novak CPA business practices for 2019
***DRAFT VERSION *** This post is meant for peer advisor discussion purposes only at this time. I expect to make these five changes to improve client services in 2019. The changes apply to my core client group, local law firms, as well as other individual, small business and nonprofit clients. 1) Payroll Services Complete…