We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give. — Winston Churchill Don’t miss out on making charitable gifts before year-end to get the federal tax rewards that are available. While we still face uncertainty about the income tax rates in 2010 and while I want to… Read More
A Charitable Gift Annuity is a combination of two things: (1) income for the life of the donor and (2) a charitable gift. A Charitable Gift Annuity is a contract made with a charity which provides that in return for a transfer of cash, marketable securities, or other assets, the charity agrees to pay a… Read More
“Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.” – Tolstoy, Anna Karenina Have you read Jonathan Franzen’s new novel, Freedom? It has the dubious distinction of being one of Oprah’s Book Club selections and receiving a devastating review in The New Republic. There being no such thing as bad… Read More
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) is an independent government agency and was created in 1933 during the Great Depression. Its purpose is to protect depositors in insured banks against the loss of their deposits if the bank fails. The current limit is $250,000 which was made permanent in the Dodd Frank Wall Street Reform… Read More
On September 27, 2010, President Obama signed the Small Business Jobs Act. It is hoped that providing some tax relief to small business will spur growth and jobs will be created. Obama promised it will do “Two big things: It’s going to cut taxes, and its going to make more loans available.” Unfortunately, most of… Read More
2011 is the first year that taxpayers with more than $100,000 of income can convert to a Roth IRA. 2011 may also be the best year for taxpayers to do a Roth IRA conversion because of the scheduled tax increases in future years. In addition, after 2010, increasing income could cause a person’s investment income… Read More
State and local governments and their agencies issue bonds in exchange for the use of the capital of individuals and corporations. The bonds obligate the state and local governments to make interest payments and to repay, at some stated time, the principal of the amount borrowed. Municipal bonds can be issued by cities, counties, redevelopment… Read More
From www.consumeraffairs.com The office of Washington State Attorney General Rob McKenna reached a settlement with an Arizona company accused of violating a three-year-old state law intended to crack down on ‘trust mill’ schemes. Under the agreement, The Preservation Group and its founders will offer refunds to more than 60 Washington seniors who purchased living trusts.… Read More
A Grantor Retained Annuity Trust (GRAT) is an estate planning technique particularly attractive in a low interest rate environment such as we are experiencing. It allows an individual to make large gifts without paying gift tax or using any unified credit. Many families have used short-term GRATs to shift appreciation to beneficiaries with no estate… Read More
Right now, any person may prepare a federal tax return for any other person for a fee. There are no licensing requirements. Some tax return preparers, like lawyers and accountants, are licensed by their states and some are enrolled to practice before the IRS. However a very large share of tax return preparers do not… Read More