Tax

Many people choose to pass assets to the next generation during life, whether to reduce the size of their taxable estate, to help out family members or simply to see their loved ones enjoy the gifts. If you’re considering lifetime gifts, be aware that which assets you give can produce substantially different tax consequences. Multiple…

If you’re age 70½ or older, you can make direct contributions — up to $100,000 annually — from your IRA to qualified charitable organizations without owing any income tax on the distributions. This break may be especially beneficial now because of Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) changes that affect who can benefit from the…

For investors, fall is a good time to review year-to-date gains and losses. Not only can it help you assess your financial health, but it also can help you determine whether to buy or sell investments before year end to save taxes. This year, you also need to keep in mind the impact of the…

Yes, home equity loan interest may still be deductible The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) imposes new limits on the deductibility of home mortgage interest, but, contrary to popular belief, interest on home equity loans (including home equity lines of credit and “second mortgages”) is still deductible in many cases. The act suspends the…

Record-high exemption amounts mean that fewer families are affected by gift, estate and generation-skipping transfer (GST) taxes. As a result, the estate planning focus for many people has shifted from transfer taxes to income taxes. One tool that can be effective in reducing income taxes is a nongrantor trust, which offers a way around the…

Businesses that acquire, construct or substantially improve a building — or did so in previous years — should consider a cost segregation study. These studies combine accounting and engineering techniques to identify building costs that are properly allocable to tangible personal property rather than real property. This may allow you to accelerate depreciation deductions, thus…

There are several reasons for hiring household help, including child or elder care or general cleaning and yard maintenance. However, when you hire outside help, you become an employer. Thus, you have specific tax obligations, such as withholding and paying Social Security and Medicare (FICA) taxes and possibly federal and state unemployment insurance. So before…

Many business owners use a calendar year as their company’s tax year. It’s intuitive and aligns with most owners’ personal returns, making it about as simple as anything involving taxes can be. But for businesses whose primary operating season doesn’t fall neatly within a single calendar year, choosing a fiscal year end can make more…

Ambiguity in the tax code and regulations has led many limited liability company (LLC) members to take an aggressive position regarding self-employment (SE) tax. They claim that their distributive shares of LLC income — after deducting compensation for services in the form of guaranteed payments — aren’t subject to the tax. Recently, however, the IRS has been cracking down on LLC members it claims have underreported SE taxes. This article provides a definition of SE taxes and examines whether LLC members must pay SE tax.