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Depreciation and Section 179 Expense Updates
Depreciation and Section 179 Expense Updates 2007 Changes Increased section 179 limits. The maximum section 179 deduction you can elect for qualified section 179 property placed in service in 2007 has increased to $125,000 ($160,000 for qualified enterprise zone and qualified renewal community property). This limit is reduced by the amount by which the cost of…
Options to Avoid Foreclosure
Options to Avoid Foreclosure By Alan Olsen, CPA, MBA (tax) Managing Partner Greenstein Rogoff Olsen & Co. LLP The divide between Republicans and Democrats on Capitol Hill appears to be spreading even wider after President Obama used his State of the Union Address to take dead aim at high net worth individuals. The president wants…
Sale of Residence – Real Estate Tax Tips
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] Sale of Residence – Real Estate Tax Tips You may qualify to exclude from your income all or part of any gain from the sale of your main home. Your main home is the one in which you live most of the time. Ownership and Use Tests To claim the exclusion, you must meet…
Attracting Talent to Your Startup Organization
Attracting Talent to Your Startup Organization By Alan Olsen Building a successful startup company takes a lot of work and there are several important factors that play a role in whether or not a company makes it. One of the most important factors is having the right talent in. However, that is also one of…
A Bridge to Higher Social Security Benefits
A Bridge to Higher Social Security Benefits CHOOSING WHEN TO START receiving Social Security bridge benefits is one of the most crucial financial decisions facing new retirees. Many people assume collecting retirement bridge benefits as soon as they are eligible at age 62 and supplementing that income with IRA withdrawals is the best way to…
IRS Clarifies Home Sales Rules
Did you know the IRS Clarifies home sales rules? For many of us, the equity that we have built up in our homes represents a comfortable nest egg for the future. At retirement, many people sell the family primary residence defined and move to a smaller, less expensive home. The freed-up money, thereafter invested, may…
Request Telephone Tax Refund By Amending Your Return
Request Telephone Tax Refund By Amending Your Return Maybe you filed your federal tax return, received a refund and even spent the last penny before realizing that you missed out on a one time opportunity to request the Telephone Excise Tax Refund! Luckily, some opportunities do call twice. You can still request the telephone tax…
Tax Saving Strategies For Business Owners
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] Tax Saving Strategies For Business Owners 1. Did you know you can use your previously funded IRA to fund the current year’s deductible contributions? Well, you can. If you don’t have enough cash to make a deductible contribution to your IRA by April 15th, here is how you can still take the tax deduction.…
Credit Default Swaps – Impose A Tax On Bogus Insurance
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] Credit Default Swaps – Impose A Tax On Bogus Insurance By Ron Cohen, CPA, MST Partner Greenstein, Rogoff, Olsen & Co., LLP Proposal to amend the U.S. Internal Revenue Code: Any Seller, Buyer or Insured Party who enters into a Credit Default Swap (“CDS”) contract insuring U.S. source risks will be subject to an excise…
Income Tax Deferral Strategies for Real Estate Investors
Income Tax Deferral Strategies for Real Estate Investors There are a number of significant income tax benefits that are often overlooked by real estate investors that could allow them to defer or exclude some or all of their income tax liabilities on the sale or disposition of their real estate tax deferral assets. It is…
IRS Clarifies Home Sales Want to Come Clean About Taxes Overseas? The IRS Is Willing to Help
IRS Clarifies Home Sales Want to Come Clean About Taxes Overseas? The IRS Is Willing to Help By Alan Olsen, CPA, MBA (tax) Managing Partner Greenstein Rogoff Olsen & Co. LLP You know that awful feeling you get when you have done something wrong and you just can’t wait to get it off your chest?…
Treasury Releases Detailed Guidance on Deduction for Qualified Domestic Production Activities
Treasury Releases Detailed Guidance on Deduction for Qualified Domestic Production Activities As expected, the Treasury Department on January 19 released much-anticipated guidance (Notice 2005-14) on the phased-in deduction for qualified domestic production income that was enacted last October as part of the American Jobs Creation Act of 2004. The deduction is effective for taxable years…
Sentimental Value Vs. Market Value? Knowing The Difference Sells Homes
Sentimental Value Vs. Market Value? Knowing The Difference Sells Homes By Pablo Santibanez When selling your home today and in this market, it is critical to price your home properly for a successful sale. Gone are the days when you could list your home at the top of the market, selling your home above what…
Taxes Aimed at the Wealthy Could Send Canadian Entrepreneurs Fleeing
Taxes Aimed at the Wealthy Could Send Canadian Entrepreneurs Fleeing By Alan Olsen The idea of taxing the rich is certainly not new, and neither are the negative effects that this philosophy can cause. While the United States is know for it’s broken tax system which attempts to punish the wealthy simply for being wealthy,…
More Companies Offering New Way to Lower Taxes on Pensions
More Companies Offering New Way to Lower Taxes on Pensions By Alan Olsen It used to be that many, if not most, companies offered the benefit of a pension fund to those employees who eventually retired with the company after many years of service. As times have changed, benefit packages have become less attractive or…
Doing Business in China – Common War Stories
Doing Business in China – Common War Stories As time passes, I hear from reliable sources the same type of stories, over and over, about doing business in China. So, I thought I’d pass along some recent reviews: Assume a taxpayer sets up a Wholly-Owned Foreign Enterprise (W.O.F.E.) and manufactures products (directly or via a…
Even the Ultra Wealthy Need Smart Financial Planning
Even the Ultra Wealthy Need Smart Financial Planning By Alan Olsen, CPA, MBA (tax) Managing Partner Greenstein Rogoff Olsen & Co. LLP How many times have you heard about an ultra-wealthy individual who has somehow managed to blow all of his or her fortune and end up with practically nothing? There are countless stories of…
Spirituality In Business Leadership
Spirituality In Business Leadership By Alan Olsen For many people, even mentioning religion, or a religious topic in the workplace can be taboo. Often, people are very sensitive about religious topics so most people choose to be quiet about the subject, no matter what the business situation might be. Even some of the most devout…
Update on Homebuyer’s Credits
Update on Homebuyer’s Credits Dear Client & Friends: On November 6, the President signed into law H.R. 3548, the ”Worker, Homeownership, and Business Assistance Act of 2009.” The new law extends and generally liberalizes the tax credit for first-time homebuyers, making it a much more flexible tax-saving tool. It also includes some crackdowns designed to prevent…
Revocable Living Trust: Family Financial Security
Revocable Living Trust: Family Financial Security The times in which we live have brought new uncertainty and increased anxiety to our front doors. With the threat of terrorism and the reality of war, our safety and that of our loved ones are at the forefront of our concerns. For many a continually disappointing investment environment…