“The trade of the petty usurer is hated with most reason: it makes a profit from currency itself, instead of making it from the process which currency was meant to serve. Their common characteristic is obviously their sordid avarice.” — Aristotle If you have your income tax return filed at a paid professional tax preparation… Read More
Where do you live? It depends. Domicile is “the place where a man has his true, fixed and permanent home and principal establishment, to which whenever he is absent he has the intention of returning”. A person can have only one domicile, no matter how many residences he owns. Your state of domicile determines (1)… Read More
In this age of photocopies, e-mail, faxes, word-processing and pdfs, a signed original may seem old-fashioned. But sometimes you actually need an original signed document with a real signature. An original will is very important. There is always only one original will. If you sit down at a table and sign 5 wills, only the… Read More
It is likely that taxes at all levels will increase to pay for the massive spending that has taken place. Taxing governments should be wary of raising taxes too far, too fast. According to 2007 IRS statistics the top 1% of U.S. Taxpayers paid 40.4% of federal individual income taxes. At some point, further increases… Read More
Many loans among family members are interest free. Be careful. If you loan money to a relative or friend, there may be income and/or gift tax consequences if there is no interest or if the interest is below the market rate. For loans of $10,000 or less, you don’t have to worry about any of… Read More
Starting January 1, 2010 there are many tax changes to deal with. Many tax breaks are phased out. The changes below are the current state of the law. It is always possibly for Congress to act to extend or replace disappearing provisions. The House passed a bill that extended many of these provisions, but the… Read More
It’s December 19, 2009, the House of Representatives is out of session and there has been no change to the estate tax. January 1, 2010 there will be no estate tax. At all. And there will be carry-over basis. Who would have thought our Congress would be so irresponsible? As the Wall Street Journal points… Read More
So you’re getting married? Did you invite the IRS to the wedding? On the list of things to do from hiring the hall, choosing the caterer, and mailing the invitations, don’t forget a visit to your tax advisor. The first thing you will learn about is the marriage penalty. The marriage penalty is a holdover… Read More
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, enacted in February 2009, included among its provisions a new education credit, The American Opportunity Tax Credit. As it was originally proposed by President Obama, the Act would have provided a $4,000 credit in exchange for 100 hours of community service. That didn’t make it to the… Read More
The income tax, property tax, estate tax and asset protection planning advantages of Florida domicile make Florida the ideal place to live, whether you are still working or are retired. Florida obviously wants to be considered a tax-favorable haven for its residents and wants to attract new residents – both retirees and working people. Florida’s… Read More