Archive for Tax Planning

Increased Business Meal Deductions for 2021 and 2022

If you recall, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), effective beginning in 2018, eliminated the business-related deduction for entertainment, amusement or recreation expenses. However, it did retain a deduction for business meals when the expense is ordinary and necessary for carrying on the trade or business and is not lavish or extravagant, along with […]

Sold or Thinking of Selling Your Home?

In spite of (or in some cases, because of) the COVID-19 pandemic, and with near-record-low home mortgage interest rates, the housing market has been booming. September 2020 existing home sales were up 9.4% from August 2020 and 20.9% from 2019, according to the National Association of Realtors. If you sold your home this year or are thinking about selling it, there are many tax-related issues that could apply to that sale. To help you prepare for reporting the sale you may have already made or make you aware of what issues you may face if you are in the “thinking about” stage, this article covers the tax basics and some special situations related to home sales and the home-sale gain exclusion.

Medical Deductions & The New Tax Law

Article Highlights: Medical Deductions Retained by the Tax Reform Law Adjusted Gross Income Floor Dropped to 7.5% The Standard Deduction Bunching Medical Deductions Unusual Medical Deductions Medical Dependents Divorced Parents Note: The is one of a series of articles explaining how the various tax changes in the GOP’s Tax Cuts & Jobs Act (referred to […]

Take Advantage of the IRA-to-Charity Provision

Individuals age 70.5 or over—who must withdraw annual required minimum distributions (RMDs) from their IRAs—will be pleased to learn that the temporary provision allowing taxpayers to transfer up to $100,000 annually from their IRAs to qualified charities has been made permanent. If you are age 70.5 or over and have an IRA, taking advantage of […]

Proving Noncash Charitable Contributions

One of the most common tax-deductible charitable contributions encountered is that of household goods and used clothing. The major complication of this type of contribution is establishing the dollar value of the contribution. According to the tax code, this is the fair market value (FMV), which is defined as the value that a willing buyer […]

Asset Sales Versus Stock Sales: What You Need to Know

Selling a business is never a decision that should be made lightly. A business is something that you’ve likely worked hard to build from the ground up into the entity that you always hoped it could be – you don’t want to sell yourself short now that you’re moving onto bigger and better things. When […]

Traditional to Roth IRA Conversions – Should You? Did You? Wish You Hadn’t?

Article Highlights: Conversion Timing Why Convert? When to Convert? Undoing a Conversion Issues to Consider Before Making the Decision The tax provision that allows taxpayers to convert a Traditional IRA to a Roth IRA is a great tax-planning tool when used properly, and timing is everything. To make a conversion, you must pay income taxes […]

It’s Time for Year-End Tax Planning

Article Highlights: Capital Gains and Losses Roth IRA Conversions Recharacterizing a Roth Conversion Minimum Required Distribution Annual Gift Tax Exemption Expensing Allowance (Sec 179 Deduction) Self-employed Retirement Plans Increase Basis For the past few years, year-end tax planning has been challenging due to the lateness of action by Congress. This year is no different because of […]

Action May Be Needed Before Year-End

Article Summary: New regulations Adopting a de minimis policy Deadline for adopting a policy for 2016 Limitations without a de minimis policy Prior to the release of the new regulations dealing with capitalization and repairs, the Internal Revenue Code and regulations provided no specific de minimis amount that could be expensed for business purchases of […]

Will Your Favorite Tax Benefit Expire?

Article Summary: Expiring Tax Provisions Personal Provisions Business Provisions Will Congress Act? More than 50 tax provisions that Congress routinely extends on a yearly basis expired at the end of 2014. The big problem is, each year they are extending the provisions later and later in the year, creating uncertainty for taxpayers on whether they […]