On a yearly basis the IRS adjusts more than 40 tax provisions for inflation. This is done to prevent what is called “bracket creep,” when people are pushed into higher income tax brackets or have reduced value from credits and deductions due to inflation, instead of from an increase in real income.

Many investors and financial advisors treat the notion of tax loss harvesting as an event
that should be done once a year in December, like the payment of taxes in April (or
October) or the administration of a required minimum distribution from an IRA.

On a yearly basis the IRS adjusts more than 40 tax provisions for inflation. This is done to prevent what is called “bracket creep,” when people are pushed into higher income tax brackets or have reduced value from credits and deductions due to inflation, instead of from an increase in real income.

In closely held businesses owned and operated by multiple individuals, buy-sell agreements are a common way to address a variety of business succession issues. Usually contained within the governing instruments of the business (e.g., the Operating Agreement of an LLC), they allow the owners to express their goals with respect to future transfer of business interests institutionally. 

A policy research strategist we revere often refers to different parts of legislation as “candy” and “spinach.” Candy and spinach refer to tax cuts and revenue raisers, respectively. The idea is that legislators (like children) have to eat their spinach before they can have any candy.

On a yearly basis the IRS adjusts more than 40 tax provisions for inflation. This is done to prevent what is called “bracket creep,” when people are pushed into higher income tax brackets or have reduced value from credits and deductions due to inflation, instead of any increase in real income.

We are asked frequently by our clients whether they should contribute to a Roth or a traditional IRA (or if they should consider converting traditional IRA assets to a Roth.  And while there are myriad variables to consider, one of the more succinct responses we’ve encountered is the rhetorical question: would you rather be taxed on the seed or the harvest?

Benjamin Franklin’s famous observation “in this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes” is an often-quoted opening remark when discussing the estate tax, so please forgive the quip.  And yet, while death and taxes remain certain, the nature of the tax associated with death is less so.  The federal estate and gift tax regime (often referred to jointly as the transfer tax regime) is a political football that gets tossed around with predictable regularity.  While our clients carefully prepare for the future, changing winds in Washington can and often do result in uncertainty.

30,000’ Level: Taxes, Broadly

Our clients ask us a lot about how they can be tax efficient.  That can mean a lot of different things, of course, because there are many forms of taxes.  They could be thinking about property taxes, sales taxes, income and capital gains taxes, or wealth transfer taxes (taxes on wealth that is transferred from one person to another).  And within these types of taxes, there are also levels of tax – local, state, and federal taxes to boot!