Taxes

Credit: Getty Getty A mortgage is a good thing, isn’t it? It allows people to buy homes if they, like so many Americans, can’t make the purchase with cash on hand. And it also gives them a tax break. Jason Lina, lead advisor at the Resource Planning Group in Atlanta, shows that there’s a downside

Captive Insurance jda On September 15, 2019, the IRS issued News Release IR-2019-157 entitled “IRS offers settlement for micro-captive insurance schemes; letters being mailed to groups under audit.” This appears to be the start of what amounts to the start of a global settlement initiative for qualifying 831(b) captive insurance companies and their owner. At

Robert F. Smith gives the commencement address during the Morehouse College 135th Commencement at Morehouse College on May 19, 2019 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Marcus Ingram/Getty Images) Getty The best graduation present just got better. Here’s what you need to know. Pay Off Student Loans Billionaire Robert Smith announced in May the ultimate graduation

Democratic presidential candidate, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) greets guests at the Polk County Democrats’ Steak Fry on September 21, 2019 in Des Moines, Iowa. Seventeen of the 2020 Democratic presidential candidates and more than 12,000 of their supporters made an appearance at the event. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images) Getty This week, presidential candidate Sen.

Getty At a tax conference exploring the populist idea of an annual wealth tax, the conversation shifted to the estate tax, which is on the books and hits the rich at death already. Why is that significant? Changes to the estate tax would be an easier way to address wealth inequality; they’re way more likely

Seasonal sales are easy to predict because they arrive like clockwork every year. Even though these regular annual sales offer a great opportunity for businesses to grow their revenue, there may be ways to create a more efficient use of company resources and maximize the seasonal sales cycles to achieve your full potential. By leveraging the

CENTERVILLE, MASSACHUSETTS, 2019/09/01: Beach house, Cape Cod. (Photo by John Greim/LightRocket via Getty Images) LightRocket via Getty Images The wealth tax is having a moment. At least two current Democratic presidential hopefuls have proposed some form of the tax, and just today Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) rolled out his own more detailed version of the

Share to facebook Share to twitter Share to linkedin “I don’t think that billionaires should exist,” Sanders said in an interview. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images) Getty Images Topline: Senator Bernie Sanders, not looking to be outdone by progressive rival Elizabeth Warren, just released his own plan for a wealth tax on the richest Americans—one

States with a Taxpayer Burden are shown in red; states with a Taxpayer Surplus are shown in black. Truth in Accounting, Financial State of the States Forty U.S. states do not have enough money to pay all their bills primarily due to significant unfunded pensions or Other-Post-Employment Benefits (OPEB). Truth in Accounting (TIA), a nonpartisan, not-for-profit

I’ll confess; I don’t understand single-issue voters. Don’t get me wrong, I appreciate how important the right to choose or the 2nd Amendment or a crocodile-infested moat along the southern border may be to some people, but I’d like to think that before anyone steps into a balloting box, they’d have selected a candidate based on

Social Security may be one of your largest assets. What and when you collect will make a huge difference to your lifetime benefits. Today’s column addresses how Social Security spousal benefit rates are calculated, when Social Security checks come in the mail, when to file for widow’s benefits, online applications and documenting the application process.

Don’t wait until late in the year to take actions in your IRA or 401(k). You might be too late. It can take a while to analyze your choices and determine the best action to take, especially for actions with a lot of variables such as converting part of a traditional IRA to a Roth

Eight ways to make your net worth and your income look small. Senator Elizabeth Warren (Photo by Scott Olson) Getty Images What a decade it has been! First, the Fed’s asset reflation that made rich people ridiculously rich. Soon to come, the recoil. Political experts may put a low probability on Elizabeth Warren’s getting elected

Lafayette, California, March 28, 2019. (Photo by Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images) Getty Images A sprawling and controversial new labor law signed by California Governor Gavin Newsom this week could have major tax consequences for gig workers in the state and eventually, perhaps, throughout the country. The measure, called Assembly Bill (AB) 5, makes it much harder

They do things big in Texas.  Apparently, that includes taxpayer Section 183 (hobby loss) victories.  The most recent is WP Realty LP in a Tax Court Memorandum decision by Judge Kerrigan.  The IRS was seeking to disallow over $14 million in losses for the years 2011 to 2014 from the operation of Whispering Pines Golf Club in

Is it a good time to jump on the refinancing bandwagon? The Federal Reserve has cut interest rates twice over the past few months and may be heading even lower. Does that automatically mean you should refinance your mortgage? Not so fast. Sure, the trade war with China, slowing manufacturing and job growth are possible

Credit: Getty Royalty Free Getty The tax year is fast drawing to a close. Often that entails a choice: do you take the standard deduction, or do you itemize? The two seem mutually exclusive. Actually, you can do both. You use a strategy called bunching. To perform this maneuver, you need to own a home

Florida Republican Governor Ron DeSantis has seen his state generate private sector jobs at the 7th-fastest pace in the nation, 4.7%, since the Trump tax cut in 2017. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee) ASSOCIATED PRESS Job growth in the 27 states with low state and local taxes continues to double the pace of employment gains compared to

Getty It just got easier to take money out of your 401(k) or 403(b) retirement plan. The Internal Revenue Service has issued final rules on hardship withdrawals that spell out a host of changes meant to cut down on red tape. Some are mandatory—employers must make the changes as of Jan. 1, 2020, and other

Social Security may be one of your largest assets. What and when you collect will make a huge difference to your lifetime benefits. Today’s column addresses when to file for spousal benefits, when spousal benefits become available, whether survivor benefits can be voluntarily stopped, maximizing benefits for a married couple and when the Social Security