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Categories for Tax and Financial News

  • Tax Breaks for Helping Relatives

    Posted Date September 1, 2021 Posted Time 12:00 am Published in

    🖨 Print⏱ 4 min readIt’s not uncommon for adult children or siblings to act as caregivers for family members or give them financial assistance for medical or long-term care needs. The problem is that all too often those providing the help don’t take advantage of the tax benefits. Types of Care Caregiving happens through many different avenues. For example, family members might pay for services that their elderly parents need, such as housekeeping, meal preparation, or nursing care. Outside the home, they may pay for all or a portion of the cost of an assisted living facility. In other circumstances,... View Article

  • How to Turn a Summer Job into a Tax-Free Retirement Nest Egg and More

    Posted Date August 1, 2021 Posted Time 12:00 am Published in

    🖨 Print⏱ 4 min readTis the season for summer jobs for high school and college kids. These seasonal jobs are more than just an opportunity for teens and college students to earn some money and gain experience. They also provide the opportunity for seeding a significant retirement nest egg and even a down payment on a home through a Roth IRA. Seems too good to be true? Well, it’s not – but as always, the devil’s in the details, and it is not exactly a free lunch. So, let’s walk through exactly how this all works. Step 1 – Earned... View Article

  • Restricted Stock & RSUs: 3 Planning Tips

    Posted Date July 1, 2021 Posted Time 12:00 am Published in

    🖨 Print⏱ 4 min readEquity compensation is becoming more mainstream and is not just for executives anymore. Grants of restricted stock or restricted stock units (RSUs) are getting to be more common than stock options – and the rules are different, as is the tax planning. Below we will look at some of the particulars of how restricted stock and RSUs operate, how to understand a grant, planning for the tax consequences, and what to do after the shares vest. How Restricted Stock and RSUs Work At their core, restricted stock and RSU company shares that vest according to a... View Article

  • The Biggest Winners and Losers in President Biden’s Proposed Individual Tax Plan

    Posted Date June 1, 2021 Posted Time 12:00 am Published in

    🖨 Print⏱ 3 min readPresident Biden presented his $1.8 trillion American Families Plan, which focuses on expanding benefits for education, children and childcare. The Biden administration intends to pay for the plan with a series of tax hikes on certain individual taxpayers. Depending on your income and source of wealth, there are some clear winners and losers of this proposal, so let’s look at each and start with those who lose. Losers Under the Plan High Earners: The proposed plan would increase the highest individual tax rate from 37 percent up to 39.6 percent. Currently, this tax bracket starts with... View Article

  • Everything There is to Know About the New Child Tax Credit

    Posted Date May 1, 2021 Posted Time 12:00 am Published in

    🖨 Print⏱ 3 min readThe Child Tax Credit as we know it originated during the Clinton administration, but the recently enacted American Rescue Plan created a new version. The updated version of this tax credit could have a beneficial impact on Americans struggling through the COVID-19 pandemic. There are changes to many aspects of the credit, so let’s look at each one below. Monthly Payments Versus Once-a-Year Credit First, the new version of the Child Tax Credit applies only to the year 2021. If a family qualifies, the credits are $3,600 for each child under age 6 and $3,000 for... View Article

  • Tax-Free Student Loan Forgiveness is Part of the Latest Covid-19 Relief Bill

    Posted Date April 1, 2021 Posted Time 12:00 am Published in

    🖨 Print⏱ 3 min readThe recently passed American Rescue Plan (ARP) Act of 2021 includes a provision making nearly all student loan forgiveness tax-free, at least temporarily. Before the ARP, student loan forgiveness was tax-free only under special programs. Before we look at the changes to come under the ARP, let’s look back at what the previous law provided. The Old Rules Under the earlier measure, student loan forgiveness was tax-free under certain circumstances. These special programs included working in certain public sectors, some types of teachers as well as some programs for nurses, doctors, veterinarians, etc. Essentially, you had... View Article

  • Four Essential Questions You Should Ask Your Tax Professional This Season Related to COVID-19

    Posted Date March 1, 2021 Posted Time 12:00 am Published in

    🖨 Print⏱ 3 min readGood tax professionals ask the right questions to ensure they understand your situation and can help you to the best extent the law allows. Given the host of pandemic-related tax changes for 2020, it’s good to keep these four questions below in mind. If your tax preparer doesn’t ask these questions in your tax organizer or during a meeting, raise them yourself. 1. Did you receive your stimulus payment? Not everyone received all the stimulus they were entitled to. As a result, the amount of your stimulus payments needs to be reconciled on your 2020 tax... View Article

  • New Year-End Tax Provisions

    Posted Date February 1, 2021 Posted Time 12:00 am Published in

    🖨 Print⏱ 5 min readIn late December, Congress passed the Consolidated Appropriations Act, which in addition to providing COVID-19 relief provisions also included many tax provisions and extenders. The Act contained many COVID-related tax provisions, as well as a slew of extenders ranging from one year to permanent. This article will focus on the miscellaneous tax and disaster relief provisions, which are more applicable to most taxpayers. Miscellaneous Provisions Charitable Contributions – For tax years 2020-2022, starting in 2020 non-itemizers can deduct $300 in charitable contributions, and starting in 2021 non-itemizer can deduct $600 for married couples filing jointly. Full Business Meals... View Article

  • Paying the Price for Vice: The Evolving Landscape of Excise Taxes in America

    Posted Date January 1, 2021 Posted Time 12:00 am Published in

    🖨 Print⏱ 4 min readWhile excise or vice taxes have long been a part of the American tax landscape related to alcohol and cigarettes, the recent invention of vaping and legalization of marijuana and other substances is changing the landscape. What Are Excise Taxes? Excise taxes are taxes on specific types of consumable products such as alcohol or tobacco for one of two reasons. First, as vice taxes in order to raise revenue to cover the costs related to consumption; and second, to deter consumption itself. Unlike other types of consumption taxes such as sales tax, these are specific to... View Article

  • 2021 Social Security Tax and Benefit Increases Announced

    Posted Date December 1, 2020 Posted Time 12:00 am Published in

    🖨 Print⏱ 3 min readThe Social Security Administration recently announced 2021 increases to both benefits and the taxable wage base for FICA taxes. Increases Announced for 2021 Workers are facing a 3.7 percent increase in the taxable wage base subject to Social Security taxes, increasing the amount from $137,700 up to $142,800. This means high earners who make as much as or more than the taxable wage base will pay $8,853.60 of the employee withholding portion or $17,707.20 in total for the self-employed – who pay both employee and employer portions of the tax. Retirees receiving benefits will only garner a... View Article

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