A capital gain refers to the increase in value of an asset such as stocks, bonds, precious metals, real estate, and other assets. When these assets are sold, the realized gains are taxed at lower rates than ordinary income if the assets are held for at least one year. If the assets are held for less than a year, the gain is treated as a short-term capital gain which is taxed under ordinary income tax rates.
Read MoreThose with charitable inclinations along with substantial employer stock positions have a unique planning opportunity to reduce taxes, risk, and fund future charitable goals. Utilizing a Donor Advised Fund in conjunction with employer stock sales can help accomplish this.
Read MoreConfused by the U.S. tax code? You’re not alone. Figuring out deductions, credits, and exemptions rank as some of the most complicated aspects of understanding taxes.
Read MoreThe year 2017 ended with much anticipation and uncertainty because of the timing of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. Signed into law on December 22, 2017, this is the most comprehensive set of changes to the tax legislature in several decades. Any time you combine uncertainty and money, misunderstandings and confusion abound.
Our firm sent out a just-in-time email with the summary of the new tax law back in December in an effort to help you stay informed. This article is an opportunity to dive a little deeper into the new set of rules, as well as to address a few of the questions that you have been asking our team. If technical details of the tax law aren’t your cup of tea, feel free to skim that section and jump right into the FAQs (we know that for every client question we get, ten more clients are wondering about the same thing!)
Read MoreAs you may or may not know, in addition to financial planning and investment management we also prepare taxes.
Read MoreCasey Bond over at GoBankingRates.com wrote about 12 last minute smart money moves to consider before the end of the year. Don't worry many of these suggestions can be done in 2014 as well. I was able to help with number 5 about Goal Setting, number 7 about Dollar Cost Averaging and number 8 about using your Flex Spending dollars. 3 out of 12 - not bad.
Read MoreAs we near the end of the year and closer to tax time, we see a lot of confusion from small businesses about which tax forms they should use for their annual tax return. We worked with AllThingsFinance.net to create a simple explanation small business tax forms. AllThingsFinance is a personal finance blog about, you guessed it, all things finance, Their favorite quote on their about page just about sums up their philosophy.
Read MoreAs much as people don't like the IRS, they can actually be a great resource for useful tax tips other important information. The IRS just published a bulletin on 3 Year end tax tips to save you money.
Read MoreClick on the below audio to listen to a highly informative podcast from Vanguard on Year end tax planning specifically geared towards investors. Some of the important highlights of the podcast are:
Read MoreBelow are some useful updates to retirement account contribution limits and other useful tax numbers. Also, now is time to start thinking about your 2013 IRA contribution if you have not already done so. This is an easy deduction and a great way to save for retirement.
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