Paying Part of your Grandchild’s College Tuition Could save Gift and Estate Taxes
Now’s the time of year when many young adults are heading back to college — or to enter their first year of higher education. If you have a grandchild enrolled in college this fall and you’re concerned about gift and estate taxes, you may want to consider paying some...
Have you Misclassified Employees as Independent Contractors?
An employer enjoys several advantages when it classifies a worker as an independent contractor rather than as an employee. For example, it isn't required to pay payroll taxes, withhold taxes, pay benefits or comply with most wage and hour laws. However, there’s a...
Why you need to know the value of your assets
With the gift and estate tax exemptions currently at $5.34 million, you might think that estate valuations are less important. But even if you believe that your estate’s value is under the exemption amount, it’s still important to know the value of your assets. First,...
Time for an estate plan checkup
Now that we’re in the new year, it’s time for an estate plan checkup. Why? First, various exclusion, exemption and deduction amounts are adjusted for inflation and can change from year to year, so it’s a good idea to see if they warrant any updates to your estate...
Are you meeting the ACA’s additional Medicare tax withholding requirements?
Are you meeting the ACA’s additional Medicare tax withholding requirements? Under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), beginning in 2013, taxpayers with FICA wages over $200,000 per year ($250,000 for joint filers and $125,000 for married filing separately) had to pay an additional 0.9% Medicare tax on the excess earnings.
Why the Self-Employed Should Consider Setting up a Retirement Plan Before Year End
For 2013, the maximum IRA contribution is $5,500 — $6,500 if you’re age 50 or older on Dec. 31. (The maximum IRA contribution or deduction may be reduced or eliminated depending on various factors.) But if you’re self-employed, you may be eligible for a retirement...
Time for an estate plan checkup
Now that we’re in the new year, it’s time for an estate plan checkup. Why? First, various exclusion, exemption and deduction amounts are adjusted for inflation and can change from year to year, so it’s a good idea to see if they warrant any updates to your estate plan:
Will Congress revive expired tax breaks?
Many valuable tax breaks expired at the end of 2013. But Congress probably will revive at least some of them, likely retroactively to Jan. 1, 2014. The question is exactly which breaks they’ll extend and when they’ll pass the necessary legislation to do so.
Here are several that may benefit you or your business if extended…
Avoid the year-end vacation-time scramble
Every December are your employees scrambling to use up their vacation time because of limits on what they can roll over to the new year? Or do you allow rollovers and have long-time employees who’ve built up large balances that create a significant liability on your...
IRS: 2014 Pension Plan Limitations
IRS Announces 2014 Pension Plan Limitations; Taxpayers May Contribute up to $17,500 to their 401(k) plans in 2014 IR-2013-86, Oct. 31, 2013 WASHINGTON — The Internal Revenue Service today announced cost‑of‑living adjustments affecting dollar limitations for pension...