These Situations Could Lead to a Higher Tax Bill This Year

Unless you’ve filed for an extension then the tax deadline is officially upon us. That means you need to get your taxes in pronto, if you still haven’t. While most people hate doing their taxes, they do enjoy the typical reward after the hard work is all done: a nice refund check.
However, there is no guarantee that you will get a refund. In fact, it’s entirely possible that you could end up owing the IRS some money, even if you weren’t expecting to. That’s because there are certain life events and decisions that can end up putting you in the red instead of the black.
For example, if you have started a side business there is a good chance you could end up owing more in taxes than you expected. If you don’t plan ahead and you don’t make any estimated tax payments on that additional income, you will owe some extra money when you report it come tax time.
Getting married or filing for divorce can also impact your tax status greatly. If you change your filing status to married filing jointly, you could end up owing more than you did when you filed as a single. Additionally, when you get divorced you might end up losing some of the deductions you once enjoyed when you were married.
There are several other events in life that could negatively affect your tax bill, including selling your home, withdrawing money from a retirement account, losing your job, winning prize money or receiving an inheritance from someone. The bottom line is, there are several things that can affect your tax bill, so make sure you track everything and be prepared for the worst. As always you can contact us at GROCO for more tax help.
http://www.denverpost.com/2017/04/09/surprise-tax-bill
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…