Category: Personal Finance
Should you revisit your decision to capitalize carrying costs?
With the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act taking effect in 2018, it may make sense to revisit your decision to capitalize real estate taxes, mortgage interest and other carrying costs related to investment property. For background, a taxpayer can capitalize...
Guest Author Joseph J. Lezotte, CFP®, AIF®: Is a qualified charitable distribution right for you?
If you’re a charitably-minded individual at an age that requires you to take a required minimum distribution from your IRA and you don’t need the full amount to support you, a qualified charitable distribution (QCD) may be a good option....
Failure to substantiate charitable contributions could cost you
Substantiation requirements for charitable contributions vary depending on the size and nature of the donations—and taxpayers should be prepared with adequate documentation. While a recent article in Forbes pokes fun at substantiating charitable contributions, it reminds us that the IRS...
Do you qualify for a like-kind exchange?
Are you thinking about selling parcels of land and then turning around and purchasing additional parcels? If you’ll realize gains on the sale of your existing parcels, you should consider a “like-kind exchange”. Under Code Section 1031, the IRS provides...
Understanding related party debt forgiveness
Many times a debt between related parties is reduced or forgiven. This raises many questions: Are there tax consequences as a result of this? Does the lender have a tax loss to report? Does the borrower have a gain on...
Understanding related party debt
Debt forgiveness between related parties often raises tax implications, posing questions such as whether there are tax consequences, potential tax losses for the lender, or gains for the borrower due to the forgiveness. However, the answers to these questions are...
Getting retirement benefits abroad: What you need to know
If you plan on retiring overseas, it may still be possible to receive your retirement benefits while living abroad. Here's what the Social Security website advises: If you’ve worked in both the United States and another country, it may be possible...
Guest Author Harry Glanz: How to avoid the most common mortgage mistakes
The most common mistake people make is NOT having a complete plan in place before shopping for a new home. A thorough plan is needed for goals and objectives. Having an effective plan in place entails sitting down with clients...
Understanding the Alternative Minimum Tax
The Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT), introduced in 1969, was designed to ensure high-income individuals pay a minimum amount of federal income tax, even after using various deductions and tax breaks. Initially targeting a small number of high-income taxpayers, AMT's impact...
Guest Author Lisa Zimmer: The final fiduciary rule has arrived . . . finally
The Department of Labor (DOL) on April 6, 2016, issued the highly anticipated final fiduciary rule. While the essence of the final rule remains the same as the rule proposed last year, it has been tweaked to address, or eliminate,...