Income Tax Planning in Retirement
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When You Should File Gift Tax Returns
Too often people neglect to file gift tax returns. A smart plan is to file a gift tax return even when not required to. In some situations that provides substantial insurance. Gifts above the annual exemption amount ($13,000 for 2009) potentially are taxable and must be reported on Form 709. The gift might not be […]
How to Multiply the Benefits of Gifts
A key estate planing tool for almost every family is more valuable as of Jan. 1, 2009. The annual gift tax exclusion is increased to $13,000, up from $12,000. Each person can make gifts of up to $13,000 annually to any other person without incurring gift taxes or counting against the lifetime annual gift credit […]
Year End Tax Planning for Possibly Reduced Taxes
This could be an especially profitable year to do year-end tax planning. The elections might lead to major income tax changes in 2009, and the gyrations of the markets provide some investors with tax planning opportunities. Tax planning is best done two years at a time. Taxpayers usually have flexibility over when to recognize some […]
2008 Election and Your Tax Planning
The Presidential election is approaching. We cannot forecast a winner, but we can make judgments about how the tax law will change starting in 2009 and steps you should consider today in light of the likely changes. Some wealthy people already anticipate big changes and are making tax-saving moves this year. For, example, the announcement […]
Tighter Rules for Charitable Contribution
As readers ready their year-end tax plans, they need to keep in mind recent changes in charitable contribution deduction rules. Congress tightened the rules in the Pension Protection Act of 2006, and the rules affect deductions for most types of charitable contributions on this year’s tax returns. Cash donations. Proper documentation now is needed to […]
Why Triple Tax Benefits Are Not For Everyone
Few tax strategies provide as many benefits as charitable remainder trusts. The trusts generate a current income tax deduction, remove assets from the estate, shelter asset appreciation from capital gains taxes, and provide income for life or a period of years. Yet, CRTs are a paradox. On the one hand, they seem underused. Many people […]
How to Beat the Retirement Tax Ambush
The days of tax advantages for retirees are long gone. In the old days, most people could count on being in a lower tax bracket in retirement than during their working years. Now, many people stay in the same tax bracket. For other retirees the marginal tax rate (the rate on the last dollar of […]
How to Take Advantage of the 0% Tax Rate
We are finally here. It is 2008, the year the tax rate drops to 0% for some taxpayers on some types of income. We covered this tax break a couple of times over the last few years. In this visit we review who can take advantage of the 0% tax rate and the different strategies […]
