Blog

Tax Reform and Tax Preparation

As a new year approaches, many of us will reflect on the year that has passed. Personal and professional accomplishments may take center stage. We may take stock of any disappointments and recalibrate as 2019 approaches.

What is a yield curve, and why are stock investors interested in its shape?

Floods, hurricanes, wildfires, earthquakes, extreme winds and tornadoes - they all have the potential to create treacherous conditions and cause devastation. 

Sometimes the best, most rigorously developed financial advice is so obvious, it’s become cliché. Yet, investors often end up abandoning this same advice when market turbulence is on the rise. Why the disconnect? Let’s take a look at five of the most familiar financial adages, and why they’re often much easier said than done.

If you claim status as a tax law–defined real estate professional who can deduct his or her rental property losses, your time record for the year must prove that you spent:

What is it about the month of October? The stock market crash of 1929 ushered in the Great Depression.

Black Monday 1987, also October, was driven by computer trading and portfolio insurance, though an economic calamity did not ensue.

It’s almost Election Day in the US once again. For those who need a brief civics refresher, every two years the full US House of Representatives and one-third of the Senate are up for reelection.

Costs matter. Whether you’re buying a car or selecting an investment strategy, the costs you expect to pay are likely to be an important factor in making any major financial decision.

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 removed entertainment from available business tax deductions, but did not address deductibility of expenses for business meals. To clarify the confusion that arose in the business community due to this omission, the IRS recently released interim guidance that taxpayers can rely on until they issue proposed regulations.

As of August 21, the longest-running S&P 500 rally (by some counts) was born out of “the ashes of the financial crisis.” Then came mid-September – ten years since the beginning of the financial crisis of 2008 – along with the usual flurry of “decade after” reflections.