Articles & Videos
Save for Retirement – Early is Better than Late
Save for Retirement – Early is Better than Late We all should plan for our retirement. The worst thing that can happen is to reach an age where you don’t want to work anymore, and not be able to quit because you don’t have the money saved to do so. Most of us start saving…
Estate Tax Confusion Continues as of 2/13/10
Estate Tax Confusion Continues as of 2/13/10 As of 2/13/10, U.S. estate tax outcomes — (and capital gains tax for the heirs) — for taxpayers who pass away in 2010, are becoming more confusing each day Congress does not act to replace expired laws. The following is a Wall Street Journal article on the complete…
Estate Tax Repeal or Revision?
Estate Tax Repeal or Revision? In 2010 the estate tax will be repealed and the gift tax rate will fall to 35%. However, this repeal is effective only for that year and the estate tax will be reinstated in some form the very next year (2011). The US Senate is considering options to reduce or…
Alternative Retirement Savings Plan: Tax Sheltered Annuity 403(b)
Alternative Retirement Savings Plan: Tax Sheltered Annuity 403(b) Tax-Sheltered Annuity (TSA), also known as a 403(b), is an alternative retirement savings plan. Not everyone can participate in this plan, and it is restricted to those who are employed by educational, cultural, or non-profit organizations such as religious groups (also known as 501 (c)(3) organizations). TAX-SHELTERED…
Updating Your Estate Plan
Updating Your Estate Plan It’s a good idea to update your estate plan every few years or after the occurrence of significant life events such as marriage, divorce, the birth of a child, or adoption. Even if you haven’t experienced any of these events since you last updated your estate plan, there may have been…
Where Should You Keep Your Will?
Where Should You Keep Your Will? Planning your estate takes a considerable amount of time and effort. First, you must inventory what you own and decide how to divide your assets among your loved ones. Then you meet with your advisers—attorney, accountant, trust officer, insurance agent—to formalize your plans. Because you are conscientious, you review…
Will Contests: A Good Offense is the Best Defense
Will Contests: A Good Offense is the Best Defense When an elderly grandmother leaves all of her assets to a new beau, or Dad leaves everything to the child who visited most in the nursing home, a will challenge may be in the offing. Will contests generally are brought by unhappy family members who feel…
Capital Gains: Determining Your Tax Basis
Capital Gains: Determining Your Tax Basis The two chief forms of income for most people are “earned” and “unearned” income. Earned income (generally, your compensation for work that you do) is taxed at rates beginning at 10% and rising to 38.6% (in 2003). Capital gain, the income earned from your investments, receives preferential treatment. The…
Making the Most of Home Equity: Tips for Senior Citizens
Making the most of home equity For senior citizens living on fixed incomes, the need to replace a car or do substantial home repairs can disrupt finances. Major unplanned expenses caused by illness or disability can lead to financial disaster. Fortunately, many senior citizens are sitting on a major financial asset: the equity in their…
Keeping Your Health Insurance Premiums Low
Keeping Your Health Insurance Premiums Low Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) offer tax deductions for medical expenses, and the opportunity to set up an additional retirement account. But regardless of any other positive benefit of HSAs, lower premiums are the primary reason that thousands of Americans have chosen Health Savings Accounts as the best way to…
Identity Theft: Has your name been stolen?
Identity Theft: Has your name been stolen? Identity theft—the unauthorized use of an individual’s name or personal information to obtain money or credit—is the fastest-growing white-collar crime. Most probably, more than 700,000 Americans will be victims of it this year, with costs to them averaging over $800 and 175 hours of time spent trying to…
Q & A: IRAs for your Children
Q & A: IRAs for your Children Establishing a retirement plan for a child might, initially, sound a bit strange—or at least premature. Truly, it is not. Establishing an IRA for your children or grandchildren can help them achieve financial independence in retirement and, possibly, for the rest of their lives. That claim may raise…
Land Management: Conservation Easements
Land Management: Conservation Easements Real property–land and the home or other structures on it–often has special significance to the family that owns it, to the surrounding community or to the ecology of the area. It may have played a role in an historical event; provide habitat for wildlife; command a magnificent view; or offer access…
Personal Finance 101
Personal Finance 101 The subject of personal finance is very broad, but as a beginning, I would like to discuss what I consider the foundations of personal finance: Security, Stability, Growth and Protection & Management. Security Security to me means that I am prepared for the “hit by a bus” scenario. I have life insurance…
Saving for Retirement: 5 Steps to Building Significant Wealth
Saving for Retirement: 5 Steps to Building Significant Wealth Are you saving enough money for retirement? Do you know how much money you need to accumulate in order to retire? Are you concerned about how you should be saving for retirement? The simplicity of these questions can lead many people to believe that there is…
The Bypass Trust: Using Disclaimers to Manage Large IRA Balances
The Bypass IRA Trust: Using Disclaimers to Manage Large IRA Balances By Mary Kay Foss California CPA, December 2001Trying to fund a bypass trust can be problematic if clients only have a residence and a large retirement plan as their major assets. On the surface, a residence isn’t a good asset for a bypass trust…
Cost-Sharing Arrangements – Appeals Court Rules Against Xilinx
Cost-Sharing Arrangements – Appeals Court Rules Against Xilinx Taxpayer loses the Xilinx Case (click this link to see the complete Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals Decision of 5/27/09) in the Court of Appeal on May 27, 2009.Subject to further appeal to the Supreme Court (which almost never happens with tax related cases), the tax benefits of…
5 Steps to Great Time Management
5 Steps to Great Time Management By Yihan Lin: Before you learn how to manage the resources of an organization, you must first be learning time management skills for your own life.Time management skills are founded on this principle: If you don’t manage your own life, no one else will. Therefore it is essential that…
IRS Notice 2009-62 Issued 8/7/09
IRS Notice 2009-62 Issued 8/7/09 The due date for reporting the existence of Offshore Bank Accounts on Treasury Department Form TD F 90-22.1 has been an issue of great confusion in the last few months. Form TD F 90-22.1 is known as Foreign Bank Account Reporting (AKA “FBAR”) For a complete review of this soap…
Income the IRS Can’t Touch
Income the IRS Can’t Touch There’s one readily available and legal source of untaxed income that we know of: municipal bonds. These securities are issued by state and local governments, school districts, hospitals and other public agencies to support community projects and services. To permit these worthy endeavors to raise money economically, Uncle Sam exempts…