Category: Tax Planning
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Why are so many paying higher income taxes this year?
65% of taxpayers will pay less federal income tax in 2018. Only 6.5% will pay more (1). This isn’t news. We’ve known for months and had reliable sources of data to back this up. The problem is that many of the people in this 6.5% don’t seem to know. That means that they did they…
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2019 Tax Saving Checklist for Attorneys
Forecast 2019 taxes now based on 2018 year-to-date results. (If you don’t have 2018 YTD then we really need to talk). Use a Health Reimbursement Arrangement (HRA) for tax-free payments of out-of-pocket expenses Use a Qualified Small Employer Health Reimbursement Arrangement (QSEHRA) for insurance assistance Add a Health Savings Account (HSA) for long term health…
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Five factors that put you at greatest risk of higher income taxes
Most people across the country will have lower federal income taxes in 2018 than in 2017. But that’s not true of my core group of clients in the Philadelphia and New Jersey area. This blog post list the characteristics that put a taxpayer at highest risk of facing a higher tax bill this coming spring.…
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A fresh look at RMDs
Background Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs) are a common topic of focus in personal financial planning. This is nothing new. I first published this blog post titled “IRAs and the Retirement Income Myth” based on 2005 and 2006 data. The underlying big picture issue is the split in needs between the “haves” and “have-nots”: Relatively few…
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Invest Like a Venture Capitalist
One of the most overlooked tax savings strategies is to avoid federal income taxes on large capital gains. Allowing investments to grow tax free over decades can result in tremendous growth in wealth and is one of the most reliable paths to a tax-free retirement. This tax-free capital gain tax strategy is employed by almost…
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Turn employee health expenses into tax savings
Small business employers who do not offer an employee health plan are missing out on valuable tax savings. These small firms may be understandably nervous about offering employee health benefits. Less than half of small firms even try. We’ve heard about high costs of medical care and health insurance that rise year after year. This cab be…
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Avoid taxes on a ‘once in a lifetime’ transaction
Many of us will face a ‘once in a lifetime’ or ‘once in a long time’ event like the sale of a business or a family vacation home. The tax impact can be significant. All to often, owners ask about taxes after it is too late to make a difference. Sometimes, however, a client plans…
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The most important tax tip of the year
Take advantage of the most generous part of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, known as Section 199A by; 1) Exploring whether your business CAN benefit, and 2) Settling protocol to make sure that your business DOES qualify based on the 184 pages of proposed regulations just released this month. The important thing is to…
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Biggest tax news of the year: 30 million will owe IRS this spring
The biggest tax news of the year came out buried inside the pages of a report issued last month by the General Accounting Office. I call this the ‘biggest news’ because it adversely affects almost 30 million people. The people most likely to be affected are upper middle income taxpayers – in other words, my…