Tag Archives: Personal Tax
Subject to FBAR Reporting for Foreign Financial Assets? Know the Federal Rules and Deadlines
Updated from original post published June 3, 2011
Undisclosed foreign financial accounts cost the federal government billions of dollars in lost tax revenue—perhaps as much as $100 billion each year. So it’s not surprising that this type of international tax evasion is being aggressively pursued by the U.S. Department of the Treasury.
If you had a financial interest in a foreign bank or other financial account last year—or had signature authority over a foreign account owned by a domestic entity, such as a (continue reading…)
Selling Your Home or Vacation Home? Understand the Tax Consequences
The market is red hot. In fact, Seattle’s housing market currently ranks among the fastest-moving in the nation.
More than a third of Seattle-area homes—including single-family, condos and townhouses—sell in the first week. If you extend the time period to two weeks, the percentage increases to nearly 50 percent. That makes Seattle number ten on Redfin’s April 2013 list of hot residential real estate markets.
Perhaps even more significant, the average selling price for single-family homes in Seattle has increased by (continue reading…)
Posted in High Net Worth Practice, Personal Wealth Planning Services, Real Estate Group, Tax Services, Uncategorized
Tagged Home Ownership, Personal Finances, Personal Tax, Wealth Planning
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An S Corporation Shareholder and an Officer or Employee? Avoid IRS Scrutiny with Reasonable Compensation
Work and play are pretty much the same thing, according to Mark Twain — just under different circumstances.
Work you get paid for. Or you should. And if you’re an S corporation shareholder who also works in the business (providing anything other than minimal services), the IRS will see that you do.
IRS rules require that you receive reasonable compensation for your work. Reasonable compensation in this context is wage income, not distributions or other nonwage payments. In other words, a reasonable (continue reading…)
Considering a Health Savings Account or Other Tax-Advantaged Health Plan? Understand Your Options
He must have meant it at the time. Benjamin Franklin apparently felt that “nothing is more fatal to health than an over care of it.”
But in current-day America, it’s increasingly apparent that nothing is more fatal to health than the lack of access to health care. A recent analysis by the Kaiser Family Foundation found that “the consequences of reduced access to care over time can be serious, including preventable hospitalizations, poor overall health, disability, and premature death.”
According to the (continue reading…)
Know How Long to Keep Those Digital or Paper Documents? Record Retention Guidelines for People, Businesses and Not-for-Profits
When it comes to saving things, there are really two kinds of people: Those who tend to save everything, forever. And those who throw it all away or delete it at the earliest possible moment — and sometimes before.
The same is often true for businesses and not-for-profit organizations. They can save too little or too much, for too long or not long enough.
So, when it comes to digital and paper records, which documents should you keep and for how long?
Although (continue reading…)
Posted in Closely Held + Family Business Practice, Distribution + Light Manufacturing Group, Emerging Businesses + Turnarounds, High Net Worth Practice, Hospitality, Restaurant + Lodging Group, Not-for-Profit Practice, Professional Practices Group, Real Estate Group, Retail Group, Tax Services, Technology Group, Uncategorized
Tagged Business Tax, Disaster Planning, Hardware/Software Systems, IRS, Operations, Personal Finances, Personal Tax
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Know Your Total Tax Burden? You Could be Surprised: Try the Calculator
You may have a good sense of what you pay in federal income taxes. Most people do.
But many people pay other taxes they aren’t as aware of. Like federal and state taxes for cell phones and other taxes levied on your use of cable and electricity.
Perhaps surprisingly, the average American pays more than 20 different taxes during the year. Yet only a small percentage of people can accurately estimate the portion of their incomes absorbed by taxes.
Understanding what you pay (continue reading…)
Posted in High Net Worth Practice, Personal Wealth Planning Services, Tax Services
Tagged Personal Finances, Personal Tax, State + Local Tax, Wealth Planning
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Are Your Fringe Benefits Taxable? What Partners, LLC Members and S Corporation Shareholders Need to Know
Health coverage. Meals. Life insurance. Parking fees and transit passes. Flexible spending accounts. Even employer-provided cell phones. Bet you’re getting some kind of employer-provided fringe benefits in addition to your salary.
But do you know which fringe benefit the IRS considers taxable? Which benefits are also subject to employment taxes? And how fringe benefits affect your estimated taxes?
It can be incredibly confusing under the best of circumstances—and it’s especially complicated for partners, as well as members of LLCs and certain shareholders in S corporations.
But unless (continue reading…)
Have a Home Office? IRS Announces an Optional, Simplified Approach for Claiming a Tax Deduction
The greatest ideas are often the simplest. And at least by this measure, the federal tax code is not exactly filled with great ideas.
According to the Internal Revenue Service, well over three million taxpayers claim a home office deduction each year. The annual recordkeeping required to calculate and support those deductions is estimated at 1.6 million hours.
There must be a simpler way.
And now there is. Beginning with tax year 2013 filings, you have an alternative to using the traditional more-than-forty-line-form (continue reading…)
Have a Trust or an Estate with Investment Income? A Little Tax Planning May Reduce Your Medicare Surtax
The timing’s the thing according to Shakespeare. Of course he wasn’t talking about taxes, but he could have been.
For taxes in the post-fiscal cliff era, timing can be everything—and the Medicare surtax is no exception.
Beginning January 1, 2013, affluent individuals, estates and trusts pay an additional 3.8 percent in federal taxes on net investment income above certain federally established threshold amounts. It’s referred to as the Medicare surtax.
The threshold amount is significantly lower for estates and trusts than for individuals. Combine (continue reading…)
Posted in High Net Worth Practice, Personal Wealth Planning Services, Tax Services
Tagged Estate + Gift, Legislation, Personal Finances, Personal Tax, Wealth Planning
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Federal Tax Alert: January 31 is the Deadline for 2012 Tax-Free IRA Distributions to Charity
The newly enacted American Taxpayer Relief Act retroactively reinstated federal tax rules that allow certain IRA owners to make tax-free distributions from their IRAs to eligible charities.
If you have an IRA and are age 70½ or older, you can make tax-free distributions of up to $100,000 per year for 2012 and 2013. These distributions aren’t subject to charitable contribution limits since they aren’t included in your gross income or claimed as a deduction on your return. They do, however, count (continue reading…)
Posted in High Net Worth Practice, Not-for-Profit Practice, Tax Services
Tagged Business Tax, Estate + Gift, IRS, Personal Finances, Personal Tax, Philanthropy, Retirement Planning, Wealth Planning
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