With stocks at or near record levels, prudent financial planning might call for taking defensive measures. One strategy could be to focus on dividend-paying stocks.…
To fund the government through the end of its 2020 fiscal year and provide funding for various projects and purposes, Congress passed a massive spending…
Making Social Security decisions is relatively simple for seniors filing single tax returns. Assuming modest or no earned income, retirement benefits can begin as early…
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (TCJA) made dramatic changes to the rules for individuals that affect tax planning at all stages of…
On July 1, 2019, President Trump signed into law the Taxpayer First Act of 2019 (TFA), enacting changes to the IRS's organizational structure, customer service,…
At first glance, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (TCJA) had little direct impact on the tax treatment of charitable giving. Drilling down,…
Financial planning services can be a separate service or an add-on to tax or other services. With the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act's (TCJA) simplification…
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (TCJA) made dramatic changes to the rules for individuals that affect tax planning at all stages of…
In Brief Trusts enable individuals to ensure the financial health of loved ones long after they are gone, but only if they are properly set…
In Brief The tax impact on investment income can be mitigated through the transfer of assets into retirement accounts. Not all accounts and investments are…
Evaluating the Financial Planning Services Business Model
Is It the Right Time to Start a Planning Practice?
Financial planning is a generic term for all of the services that CPAs perform that deal with a client's individual wealth. It is also a…
How Collectors Can Utilize the Opportunity Zone Program
Investors See a Potential Replacement for Like-Kind Exchanges
For many investors in art, coins, or fine wine, their investments are their passion. The pride of ownership and the beauty they bring into the…
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (TCJA) contains both positive and negative news for Roth IRAs. Some of the implications are obvious, but…
Despite the best of intentions when couples say, “I do,” more than a few will find themselves eventually saying, “I don't.” Aside from the emotional…
More than 2.1 million couples get married in the United States each year (http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nvss/marriage_divorce_tables.htm). Few probably give any thought to the tax implications of their…
The IRS reports that approximately 70% of taxpayers have taken the standard deduction on their federal income tax return in recent years. Under the Tax…
Most attorneys, accountants, and other professionals operate as unincorporated sole practitioners, or through partnerships and limited liability partnerships (LLP), making them owners of pass-through entities.…
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (TCJA) did not make any major changes to the taxation of gains and losses from securities transactions.…
On December 20, 2017, Congress passed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (H.R. 1) designed to cut taxes on individuals and businesses, stimulate the economy,…
On December 20, 2017, Congress passed a major tax package (H.R. 1) designed to cut taxes on businesses and individuals, as well as to stimulate…
ICYMI | The Equifax Data Breach
What CPAs and Firms Need to Know Now
In the wake of the Equifax computer breach—in which key personal information of 145 million Americans was stolen—it may be correct to assume that anyone…
Individual and business taxpayers may experience financial losses resulting from sudden damage or destruction to their property. Physical loss due to fire, windstorms, hurricanes, and…
For most students, the price of higher education is steep and getting steeper. Annual increases in the cost of higher education have consistently outpaced the…
Deep Dive on the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act
Changes for Securities Investors
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (TCJA) did not make any major changes to the taxation of gains and losses from securities transactions.…
Deep Dive on the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act
QBI Deduction Issues for Professionals
Most attorneys, accountants, and other professionals operate as unincorporated sole practitioners, or through partnerships and limited liability partnerships (LLP), making them owners of pass-through entities.…
Getting Married
A Tax Perspective Under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act
More than 2.1 million couples get married in the United States each year (http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nvss/marriage_divorce_tables.htm). Few probably give any thought to the tax implications of their…
Getting Divorced
A Tax Perspective under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act
Despite the best of intentions when couples say, “I do,” more than a few will find themselves eventually saying, “I don't.” Aside from the emotional…
Buying or selling a home is one of the most significant financial transactions many individuals engage in. The authors examine the various ways in which…
Because of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), more individuals—90% of taxpayers, by some estimates—will decide to prepare their own tax returns. With the…
The gig economy is a sector of the workforce in which people do not have long-term employment. Those in the gig economy are contingent workers—freelancers,…