California is known for its high taxes, but careful planning can help you keep more of your hard-earned money in your pocket. In our blog, we share important tax planning tips, as well as advice for what to do when you find yourself facing an IRS collection action, levy, or lien.
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Benjamin Franklin Said It Best"The only things certain in life are death and taxes." - Benjamin Franklin As California residents, we enjoy this wonderful weather, sunshine, beaches and mountains. Unfortunately, California residents have the second highest capital gains rates in the world, second only to Denmark. We face some of the very highest combined...
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The IRS Takes a Proactive Stance Against Identity Theft and Tax ScamsThe Federal Trade Commission estimates as many as 9 million Americans have their identities stolen every year. Although the security of personal data is a top priority of all types of entities, the IRS is especially vigilant, because tax-related identity theft is the most common form of reported identity theft....
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Rules on Deducting Business Start-Up ExpensesA recent U.S. Tax Court decision drives home the important point that current deductions aren't allowed for most expenses incurred while a new business is still in the start-up phase. Other decisions have dealt with the same issue in recent years. So, the proper federal income tax treatment of start-up...
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IRS Cracks Down on Tax ID Theft: Could You Be a Victim?As the 2013 tax filing season opened, the IRS announced a national crackdown on identity theft schemes aimed at stealing taxpayers' refunds. The tax agency announced there were 734 enforcement actions in January of this year, including indictments, search warrants, complaints and arrests. This follows 2,400 enforcement actions against identity...
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Minimize Capital Gains with the Two-Year Installment Sale!Everything that you wanted to learn about the two-year installment sale but were too afraid to ask… For California residents, the maximum capital gains tax rate is 37.1%. Planning to minimize capital gains is more important now more than ever before. A little patience may provide the ability to make...
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Give Your Children the House and Save TaxesThe Potential Keys to Paying Uncle Sam Less If your estate is substantial and you're concerned about the federal estate tax bill your heirs will pay, there's a way you might be able to use your house to help the situation. It's may be as simple as giving away your...
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Two New Estate Tax Developments from the IRSThe IRS recently issued final regulations and made an announcement that may be of interest to estate executors, personal representatives and married couples. Here are the details of both developments: 1. Final Regulations Issued on the Portability Election for Spouses The IRS released final regulations on the portability election, which...
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Inheriting an IRA? Are You Ready for September 30th?Tax planning and particularly planning to minimize taxes on inherited retirement accounts requires attention to detail, dotting the "i's" and crossing the "t's". There are many requirements and deadlines that, if not met, may cost your family thousands of dollars in taxes and loss of the tax deferral growth. You...
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A Dozen Ways to Cut Taxes This SummerAfter a brutal winter in many parts of the country, summer is finally here. While you're enjoying the warmer weather, it's still important to remain diligent about business and personal tax planning. Fortunately, many of the following hot summer tax-planning tips enable taxpayers to combine business with pleasure. Summer Tax...
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The Benefits of Charitable Remainder TrustsA charitable remainder trust (CRT) is an irrevocable trust set up to benefit a charitable organization. The trust's term is one lifetime, several lifetimes, or a period not to exceed 20 years. Basically, you irrevocably gift an asset to the CRT, usually an asset with a low tax basis that...
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Tax Paperwork and Other Records: What to Keep, What to TossE-filing is on the upswing. According to the Data Book released by the IRS on March 24, the agency collected almost $3.1 trillion in federal revenue and processed almost 240 million returns during fiscal year 2014. About 65 percent of all returns were filed electronically. Of the 147 million individual...
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S Corps and Partnerships: Beware of Failure-to-File PenaltiesThe S corporation is a popular business structure that's available only to privately held businesses. In fact, approximately 44 percent of small employer firms -- generally defined as companies with fewer than 500 employees -- have elected to operate as S corporations, according to the U.S. Small Business Administration's Office...