Archives for July 2014

PENALTY-FREE IRA WITHDRAWALS

July 29, 2014 by Frank

Most individuals know that if they withdraw funds from their traditional individual retirement account (IRA) before reaching the age of 59 1/2, they are subject to a 10% penalty in addition to having the withdrawal subject to income tax. For a taxpayer in a tax bracket as low as 15%, this means that 25% of the distribution will be paid to the IRS.

Those individuals who consult with an experienced tax professional for tax preparation and tax planning services before making such a withdrawal may be surprised to learn that they can avoid the 10% early withdrawal penalty.

How to Delay Required Minimum Distributions by 15 Years Until Age 85

July 22, 2014 by Frank

Most taxpayers understand that they are required to take distributions (RMDs) from their IRAs when they reach age 70 ½. For retirees who did not need the RMDs to meet their budgetary needs, they unfortunately found themselves in a position where they were incurring increased tax liabilities because of the RMDs. What if the retiree could delay taking RMDs for 15 years? What if the retiree could begin to take a portion of those RMDs at age 85? Working with an experience tax professional for tax preparation and tax planning services allows individuals to better understand the tax laws and to better manage their tax liabilities.

The IRS recently issued final regulations that provide [Read more…] about How to Delay Required Minimum Distributions by 15 Years Until Age 85

SALES TAX NEXUS

July 15, 2014 by Frank

Working with an experience tax professional for tax preparation and tax planning services allows business owners to better manage their tax liabilities. For small business owners, taxes are usually their largest expense. Understanding how states tax businesses is important as it allows the business owner to minimize his or her tax liabilities and to avoid unexpected and unpleasant audit adjustments.

Peisner Johnson & Company of Plano, TX, a firm devoted to state and local taxes, shared with us its 10 Most Common Nexus-Creating Activities for Sales & Use Tax. Nexus is the tax terminology for the amount of contact a taxpayer has in a state that makes the taxpayer subject to the tax in that state. Peisner’s top ten activities for creating sales tax nexus are: [Read more…] about SALES TAX NEXUS

TWO EMPLOYER HEALTH CARE STRATEGIES: DUMPING EMPLOYEES AND REDUCING HOURS WORKED

July 8, 2014 by Frank

Many employers, as well as employees not covered by an employer plan, are looking at ways to curtail the cost of medical coverage. This post will briefly mention two cost-reduction plan ideas that some companies may be exploring. As such, this posting will also be of interest to those employees affected by such employer cost-cutting strategies. These two strategies that affect employees’ health care costs are . . . [Read more…] about TWO EMPLOYER HEALTH CARE STRATEGIES: DUMPING EMPLOYEES AND REDUCING HOURS WORKED

OVERLOOKING DISABILITY INSURANCE CAN BE A VERY EXPENSIVE LESSON LEARNED

July 1, 2014 by Frank

If you are working with a tax preparer who merely prepares your tax returns, you may not be receiving full value for such services. One of the advantages of using an experienced tax professional for tax preparation and tax planning services is that you are also kept abreast of various financial and retirement strategies. In other words, you want to make sure that your tax consultant is advising you on all facets of your financial situation, not just tax preparation.

While most persons realize that they need life insurance protection, there are those who fail to realize that the chances of them becoming disabled are three and a half times greater than them dying during their working years. Interestingly, accidents are generally not the cause of disability, but rather are caused by back injuries, cancer, heart disease and other illnesses. While the risk of dying from hypertension is down 73% because of medical advancements, the risk up hypertension disabling a person is up 70%. The same holds true for heart disease (death down 28% with disability increasing 44%), cardiovascular (down 48%; up 36%), and diabetes (down 27%; up 36%).

Thus you need to ask yourself if you are prepared to whether the financial storm if you become disabled. Since the average disability claim is 34.6 months, do you have enough emergency savings? If you maintain a household budget showing the expenses you incur each year, then you will know how much money you need to hold for such an emergency. If you do not have a household budget, there is no time like the present to make such a budget.

Once you have the household expenses summarized, the next step is to [Read more…] about OVERLOOKING DISABILITY INSURANCE CAN BE A VERY EXPENSIVE LESSON LEARNED