With Veterans Day on November 11, it’s an especially good time to think about the sacrifices veterans have made for us. But how we can support them with the veteran tax credit. One way businesses can support veterans is to hire them. The Work Opportunity tax credit (WOTC) can help businesses do just that. Though it may not be available for hires made after this year. As released by the Ways and … Read more
Many investors, especially more risk-averse ones, hold much of their portfolios in “income investments” — those that pay interest or dividends, with less emphasis on growth in value. But all income investments aren’t alike when it comes to taxes. So it’s important to be aware of the different tax treatments when managing your income investments. Varying tax treatment The tax treatment of investment income varies partly based on whether the … Read more
Did you know that if you’re self-employed you may be able to set up a retirement plan that allows you to contribute much more than you can contribute to an IRA or even an employer-sponsored 401(k)? There’s still time to set up such a plan for 2017, and it generally isn’t hard to do. So whether you’re a “full-time” independent contractor or you’re employed but earn some self-employment income on … Read more
How the ACA Affects You If you’re an executive or other key employee, you might be rewarded for your contributions to your company’s success with compensation such as restricted stock, stock options or non-qualified deferred compensation (NQDC). Tax planning for these forms of “exec comp,” however, is generally more complicated than for salaries, bonuses and traditional employee benefits. And planning gets even more complicated if you could potentially be subject … Read more
Business owners may not be able to set aside as much as they’d like in tax-advantaged retirement plans. Typically, they’re older and more highly compensated than their employees, but restrictions on contributions to 401(k) and profit-sharing plans can hamper retirement-planning efforts. One solution may be a cash balance plan. Defined benefit plan with a twist The two most popular qualified retirement plans — 401(k) and profit-sharing plans — are defined … Read more
Why “bunch” medical expenses? Various limits apply to most tax deductions, and one type of limit is a “floor”. This limit only allows expenses to be deducted if they exceed that “floor” (typically a specific percentage of your income). One example is the medical expense deduction. For most, it can be difficult to exceed the floor. A common strategy is to “bunch” or group deductible medical expenses into a particular year where … Read more
A tried-and-true tax-saving strategy for investors is to sell assets at a loss to offset gains that have been realized during the year. So if you’ve cashed in some big gains this year, consider looking for unrealized losses in your portfolio and selling those investments before year end to offset your gains. This can reduce your 2017 tax liability. But what if you expect an investment that would produce a … Read more
The California Competes Tax Credit is an income tax credit available to businesses that relocate to California or stay and expand in California. This credit agreement is negotiated by GO-Biz and approved by a statutorily created by the California Competes Tax Credit Committee. (They are made up of the State Treasurer, the Director of the Department of Finance, the Director of GO-Biz, and one appointee each by the Speaker of the Assembly … Read more
Charitable donations allow you to help an organization you care about and, in most cases, enjoy a valuable income tax deduction. If you’re considering a large gift, a noncash donation such as appreciated real estate can provide additional benefits. For example, if you’ve held the property for more than one year, you generally will be able to deduct its full fair market value and avoid any capital gains tax you’d … Read more
