Should you “bunch” medical expenses into 2015?

Should you “bunch” medical expenses into 2015? Medical expenses that aren’t reimbursable by insurance or paid through a tax-advantaged account (such as a Health Savings Account or Flexible Spending Account) may be deductible — but generally only to the extent that they exceed 10% of your adjusted gross income. Taxpayers age 65 and older can […]

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Selling rather than trading in business vehicles can save tax

Selling rather than trading in business vehicles can save tax Although a vehicle’s value typically drops fairly rapidly, the tax rules limit the amount of annual depreciation that can be claimed   on most cars and light trucks. Thus, when it’s time to replace a vehicle used in business, it’s not unusual for its tax basis […]

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Why you should contribute more to your 401(k) in 2015

Why you should contribute more to your 401(k) in 2015 Contributing to a traditional employer-sponsored defined contribution plan, such as a 401(k), 403(b) or 457 plan, offers many benefits: Contributions are pretax, reducing your modified adjusted gross income (MAGI), which can also help you reduce or avoid exposure to the 3.8% net investment income tax. […]

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When will Congress pass “extenders” for 2015?

When will Congress pass “extenders” legislation to revive expired tax breaks for 2015? With Congress returning from its August recess, this is the question on tax-savvy Americans’ minds. Many valuable tax breaks aren’t permanent, so Congress has to pass legislation extending them to keep them in effect. Unfortunately, Congress often waits until the last minute […]

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Protecting your Business Interests

Protect business interests as part of your personal wealth management strategy If you’re a business owner, your company is likely the biggest asset you own. As you carefully craft your personal wealth strategy, there are a wide variety of asset-protection strategies you should consider to help ensure that your business will remain a valuable asset […]

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Donating Collectibles

What you need to know before donating collectibles If you’re a collector, donating from your collection instead of your bank account or investment portfolio can be tax-smart. When you donate appreciated property rather than selling it, you avoid the capital gains tax you would have incurred on a sale. And long-term gains on collectibles are […]

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All income investments aren’t alike

All income investments aren’t alike when it comes to taxes The tax treatment of investment income varies, and not just based on whether the income is in the form of dividends or interest. Qualified dividends are taxed at the favorable long-term capital gains tax rate (generally 15% or 20%) rather than at the applicable ordinary-income […]

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Moving Expense Deduction

Ever wonder what you could or couldn’t deduct on your taxes for moving, and under what circumstances you could deduct moving expenses.  The link below spells out most of what you need to know about the moving expense deduction.  Most important: you must be moving for work to deduct moving expenses. http://www.irs.gov/uac/Moving-Expense-Deduction  

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Teens in your family with summer jobs? Set up IRAs for them!

Teenagers’ retirement may seem too far off to warrant saving now, but IRAs can be perfect for teens precisely because they’ll likely have many years to let their accounts grow tax-deferred or tax-free. The 2015 contribution limit is the lesser of $5,500 or 100% of earned income. A teen’s traditional IRA contributions typically are deductible, […]

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Planning for Success

As business owners, we often do a good job of planning for possible negative outcomes or circumstances.  We set aside enough cash flow to weather a downturn in our business, we plan for the tax impacts of profits on the business, we plan for turnover in our staff, etc.  This type of planning is important […]

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