Estate Planning

Properly Titling Trustees’ Signatures Can Protect Their Assets by Jeffrey M. Mutnik, CPA/PFS

Posted on September 24, 2021

When individuals sign legal documents, including personal checks, contracts, tax returns, etc., they generally are not required to add any language explaining who they are. Their names alone satisfy the legal requirements for validating those documents. However, when those people are also officers of corporations or managers of partnerships or LLCs, they usually include their […]

An Alternative Tax-Deferral Strategy for Passive Commercial Real Estate Investors

Posted on September 14, 2021

Tax-Deferral Strategies for Commercial Real Estate Investors Commercial real property investors have long relied on Section 1031 of the Internal Revenue Code to defer capital gains tax on the sale of appreciated property when they reinvest sales proceeds into similar like-kind property. However, with the Biden administration’s proposal to restrict the tax-deferral benefits of 1031 […]

Mega Backdoor Roths Can Help 401(k) Participants Supersize Retirement Savings by Jeffrey M. Mutnik, CPA/PFS

Posted on August 13, 2021

Employer-sponsored 401(k) plans are excellent vehicles for individuals to save for retirement during their prime earning years. Annual contributions made today with pretax dollars grow tax-deferred until you reach retirement age, when the distributions you take are treated as taxable ordinary income. However, even if you are diligent and contribute the maximum allowable amount to […]

How Does the SECURE Act Affect Your Retirement Savings Plan? by Adam Cohen, CPA

Posted on May 11, 2021 by Adam Cohen

The Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act (SECURE Act) was signed into law at the end of 2019 to help more Americans prepare and plan for greater financial security during their retirement years. As the average life span increases, people need more money to maintain their standards of living in retirement. However, not […]

Wealthy Taxpayers, Corporations Should Heed Warnings Implied by IRS Budget Increase by Jeffrey M. Mutnik, CPA/PFS

Posted on April 21, 2021

Included in the Biden Administration’s proposed budget for fiscal 2022 is an additional $1.2 billion in funding to help the IRS ramp up its tax enforcement efforts after more than a decade of spending and staffing cuts. What this means for taxpayers is a likely increase in IRS audits and heightened scrutiny of tax compliance, […]

Trusts Still Have Time to Reduce Taxable Income in 2020 by Jeffrey M. Mutnik, CPA/PFS

Posted on February 25, 2021

Rarely do taxpayers have an opportunity to reduce their taxable income and related tax liabilities in a given year after the clock strikes midnight on December 31. This is not the case for certain trusts, which the IRS grants an additional 65 days after year-end to distribute income to beneficiaries and treat it as if […]

Best Practices for a Successful FIRPTA Withholding Application by Lewis Kevelson, CPA

Posted on February 15, 2021 by Lewis Kevelson

Under U.S. tax law, foreign corporations and foreign persons deemed nonresident aliens (NRA) for tax purposes must pay U.S. taxes only on income they earn from U.S. sources. Therefore, an NRA that owns an interest in U.S. real estate will have a U.S. income tax liability only when he or she “disposes” of the property […]

How Do COVID-19 and Gap Years Affect 529 College Savings Plans? by Rick D. Bazzani, CPA

Posted on February 11, 2021 by Rick Bazzani

Millions of college-age students are taking a gap year or living at home during the Fall 2020/Spring 2021 semesters while many classes have moved online as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. It is important for families to understand how these decisions may affect the funds they have saved in 529 plans. A 529 college […]

IRS Releases 2021 Inflation-Adjusted Tax Rates, Other Changes for Individual Taxpayers by Tony Gutierrez, CPA

Posted on December 10, 2020 by Anthony Gutierrez

The following changes to federal tax laws apply to U.S. individual taxpayers, trusts and estates for tax year 2021 and the tax returns they will file the following year. Marginal Income Tax Rates For tax years beginning on Jan. 1, 2021, there continues to be seven individual tax brackets with marginal rates topping out at […]

Social Security Announces Minimal Cost of Living Adjustment for 2021 by Jeffrey M. Mutnik, CPA/PFS

Posted on November 03, 2020

Recipients of Social Security benefits, including Supplemental Security Income (SSI), will receive a modest 1.3 percent cost-of-living adjustment in 2021, down from 1.4 percent in 2020, according to a recent announcement from the Social Security Administration. This meager bump during the financial challenges brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic will bring just a few extra […]

Category: Estate Planning