Tax Tidbits

Posted December 20, 2018 / No comments

Automatic extension available for making portability election Portability allows a surviving spouse to apply a deceased spouse’s unused estate tax exemption amount toward his or her own transfers during life or at death. To secure these benefits, however, the deceased spouse’s executor must have made a portability election on a timely filed estate tax return.

Posted December 17, 2018 / No comments

Tax planning is a year-round activity, but there are still some year-end strategies you can use to lower your 2018 tax bill. Here are six last-minute tax moves business owners should consider: Postpone invoices. If your business uses the cash method of accounting, and it would benefit from deferring income to next year, wait until

Posted December 13, 2018 / No comments

If you or one of your adult children is getting married, you may be concerned about protecting your family’s assets in the event of a divorce. A prenuptial agreement can be an effective tool for overriding marital property rights and keeping assets in the family. But these agreements have disadvantages. For many families, a better

Posted December 11, 2018 / No comments

With the dawn of 2019 on the near horizon, here’s a quick list of tax and financial to-dos you should address before 2018 ends: Check your FSA balance. If you have a Flexible Spending Account (FSA) for health care expenses, you need to incur qualifying expenses by December 31 to use up these funds or

Posted December 10, 2018 / No comments

As the year winds to a close, most businesses see employees taking a lot of vacation time. After all, it’s the holiday season, and workers want to enjoy it. Some businesses, however, find themselves particularly short-staffed in December because they don’t allow unused paid time off (PTO) to be rolled over to the new year,

Posted December 7, 2018 / No comments

The U.S. population is aging and, as it does, the need for long-term support and services will only grow. According to a 2017 fact sheet from the AARP Public Policy Institute, on average, 52% of people who turn 65 today will develop a severe disability that will require long-term care (LTC) at some point. For

Posted December 4, 2018 / No comments

As the holidays approach and the year draws to a close, many taxpayers make charitable gifts — both in the spirit of the season and as a year-end tax planning strategy. But with the tax law changes that go into effect in 2018 and the many rules that apply to the charitable deduction, it’s a

Posted November 30, 2018 / No comments

The phrase “payroll recordkeeping” may conjure images of paystubs and W-4s. But there are other aspects that often fly under the radar and lead to administrative slip-ups. Here are three examples. Fringe benefit records The tax code provides an explicit recordkeeping requirement for employers with enumerated fringe benefit plans, such as: Health insurance, Cafeteria plans,

Posted November 29, 2018 / No comments

Sometimes estates that are large enough for estate taxes to be a concern are asset rich but cash poor, without the liquidity needed to pay those taxes. An intrafamily loan is one option. While a life insurance policy can be used to cover taxes and other estate expenses, a benefit of using an intrafamily loan

Posted November 26, 2018 / No comments

The holiday season is a great time for businesses to show their appreciation for employees and customers by giving them gifts or hosting holiday parties. Before you begin shopping or sending out invitations, though, it’s a good idea to find out whether the expense is tax deductible and whether it’s taxable to the recipient. Here’s