Tax Planning

The President, on December 29, 2022, signed the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023, which is the “omnibus spending bill” Congress needed to pass to avoid a government shutdown. That legislation also included the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement (SECURE) 2.0 Act, a.k.a.

Individuals and small businesses should consider various ways of starting off on the right foot for the 2023 tax year.

W-4 Updates

When it comes to transactions between family members, the tax laws are frequently overlooked, if not outright trampled upon. The following are some commonly encountered situations and the tax ramifications associated with each.

Renting to a Relative

The purpose of this article is to get the IRS to owe you money.

Of course, the IRS will not likely cut you a check for this money (although, in the right circumstances, that will happen), but you’ll realize the cash when you pay less in taxes.

To say the least, there’s been plenty of political, financial, and economic activity this year — from rising interest rates to elevated inflation, to ongoing market turmoil.

It's been a rough Fall for the stock market - so much so that you should probably carefully review your portfolio and other capital transactions to minimize gains or maximize losses for the year. Remember, capital gains and losses are not just limited to stock transactions. For example, stock losses can offset the gain from the sale of a rental.

Estimated tax payments are not just for the self-employed. They are for anyone whose withholding and tax credits are significantly less than their projected tax liability, and if used properly, can protect a taxpayer from underpayment penalties.

In our last two pieces, we covered some tools of the tax-planning trade, as well as how to deploy them for tax-efficient investing.

However, tax planning isn’t just for your investments. Life happens. Often, we cannot predict its next moves, but we can weave each event into the tax-planning fabric of your financial life.

Believe it or not, another year has rounded third base and is dashing toward home plate. That said, there’s still time to make a few good plays in 2021 while positioning yourself to score more in the year ahead. Here are six financial best practices for the record books. 

Your goal should be to get the IRS to owe you money. Of course, the IRS is not likely to cut you a check for this money (although in the right circumstances, that will happen), but you’ll realize the cash when you pay less in taxes.