"Back to School” Tax Planning beats an apple for the teacher!

School is back in session. If you have children in school, you’ve probably already met the teachers. You may have even watched a football game or two.

 

It’s probably been a long time since you’ve sat in a classroom yourself. However, school is never out if you’re looking to make the most of your money in today’s challenging economy.

 

What classes would you take to keep more of your income in your pocket? Try these: 

• Math 1040: Where are tax rates headed?
• History 2010: Lessons from last year’s mistakes?
• Social Studies 463: Write off meals and entertainment
• Chemistry 162: Is there a “secret formula” for paying less?
• Anatomy 213: What’s the best strategy for healthcare benefits?

If you want to keep the most of what you make, you can’t wait until finals for answers. You need to study now. Putting tax-wise ideas and strategies in place today could help avoid an ugly surprise when “report cards” come due April 15!

Call me today at (260) 348-5633 for your free Tax Analysis. I’ll find the mistakes and missed opportunities that may be costing you thousands today, and show you how “back to school” tax planning can save thousands more tomorrow. I guarantee you’ll leave with valuable new lessons, or I’ll donate $25 to your alma mater. So call now to schedule your analysis!


The time is now to strategically plan to stop wasting money on taxes you are not required to pay. Most changes need to be in place by December 31 to reduce your current year taxes, and sooner implementation results in greater savings, so act now!

Q: Is it too late in the year to do tax planning?

Q: Is it too late in the year to do tax planning?


A: Unless today is the last business day of the year, it is never too late to do tax planning. Some changes must occur before December 31 to get credit in the current year. Then again, in order to get a full 365 days worth of tax incentives next year, now is the time to plan for changes that will take effect on January 1.

The worst states for taxes

The Tax Foundation in Washington, D.C., has released its annual State Business Tax Climate Index. Based upon 112 variables in five component indexes, the best rankings reward those states that more completely and consistently apply the following principles:

•Good state tax systems levy low, flat rates on the broadest bases possible, and
•they treat all taxpayers the same. Variation in the tax treatment of different industries favors one economic activity or decision over another.
•The more riddled a tax system is with politically-motivated preferences the less likely it is that business decisions will be made in response to market forces.

The ten worst states (from least worst to ultimate worst) are: Vermont (#41),
Wisconsin, Minnesota, Rhode Island, Maryland, Iowa, Ohio, California, New York, and New Jersey (#50).

Anyone in any state would benefit from pro-active tax planning, but if you live in these states, you stand to benefit the most from tax strategies that minimize the amount of tax that you legally owe. If you live in those states, you stand to lose the most as you continue to postpone active strategies that could reduce your overall tax burden.

Tea party protests don’t reduce your taxes – pro-active tax strategies do!

The full study can be found on the Tax Foundation website: www.taxfoundation.org/files/bp59.pdf.

The time is now to strategically plan to stop wasting money on taxes you are not required to pay. Most changes need to be in place by December 31 to reduce your current year taxes, and sooner implementation results in greater savings, so act now!

Bloomberg News Service reports that the Internal Revenue Service will audit 6,000 U.S. companies to determine whether they pay all their required employment taxes.
The IRS said the audits will show how often companies (a) misclassify workers as contractors in order to reduce tax obligations, (b) fail to pay taxes on fringe benefits such as personal use of company cars, and (c) improperly pay taxes for company executives.

The IRS is especially suspicious of Sole Proprietorships. Expect the bulk of the audits to hit unincorporated small businesses.

Part of strategic tax planning is taking action that will increase your chances of surviving an audit.

The time is now to strategically plan to stop wasting money on taxes you are not required to pay. Most changes need to be in place by December 31 to reduce your current year taxes, and sooner implementation results in greater savings, so act now!

BusinessWeek Magazine (Sept 10, 2009) says, "investors have turned away from anything remotely risky."

The next big risk is not declines in portfolio value, it's TAXES. Taxes will devour retirement savings if not planned properly.

The time is now to strategically plan to stop wasting money on taxes you are not required to pay. Most changes need to be in place by December 31 to reduce your current year taxes, and sooner implementation results in greater savings, so act now!

“There are 2 sets of tax laws in this country, one for the informed, and one for the uninformed”
Judge Learned Hand, Supreme Court Justice

You owe it to yourself to get good, forward-looking advice that will put you in the "informed" category of taxpayers - who pay only the required tax, as based upon solid, court-tested tax regulations.

The time is now to strategically plan to stop wasting money on taxes you are not required to pay and stop overpaying your taxes by taking advantage of every potential tax incentive. Most changes need to be in place by December 31 to reduce your current year taxes, and sooner implementation results in greater savings, so act now!

Double-dipping encouraged

Some tax incentives reward expenditures in certain tax-favored categories of expenses or investments. Even greater tax efficiency results when you combine tax strategies: Use the savings from one tax strategy to implement the second tax-savings strategy.

The time is now to strategically plan to stop wasting money on taxes you are not required to pay. Most changes need to be in place by December 31 to reduce your current year taxes, and sooner implementation results in greater savings, so act now!

Planning a business trip?

Planning a business trip? You can tack on one or more personal days and deduct the related costs as business expenses if staying the extra day(s) results in equal or less costs for the longer trip than the shorter duration (due to air fare pricing or package discounts, for instance).

The time is now to strategically plan to stop wasting money on taxes you are not required to pay.

The Silver Lining in Losses

Investors can sell investments that are now priced lower than when they were purchased, and realize a loss. That loss might be used to offset income elsewhere this year or in future years. In effect, the government subsidizes your loss by reducing taxable income and income tax.

Meanwhile, if you have a profitable position, by selling now you lock in a profit. The tax on that sale might be offset by capital losses (above). If you think the profitable stock is going to do even better in the months and years ahead, you can re-purchase that security after waiting thirty days.

The time is now to strategically plan to stop wasting money on taxes you are not required to pay.

Who Gets Obama's Tax Cuts?

According to US News and World Report, Tuesday, November 4, 2008:

" ...who gets a tax cut -- actually a refundable tax credit -- is in dispute, with several different income ceilings being mentioned during the closing days of the campaign.
One group that won't get a cut is households making $250,000 or more.
Obama has promised to roll back the 2001 and 2003 investment- and income-tax cuts for those folks."

Even those people, who might benefit from any Obama tax changes, can maximize those benefits by strategic tax planning. Anyone who has to pay any income tax, even if less than in previous years, should take action to further reduce their tax bill and take advantage of any and all credits and deductions. The time is now to strategically plan to reduce your taxes and stop wasting money on taxes you’re not required to pay.

Time to Pay the Price

I bet you pay income tax.
However, 45.6 million households pay no federal income tax.
Obama's plans would expand that to 63 million; McCain would bring that figure to 62 million households paying no federal income tax.
TIME Magazine addressed the problem:

"The growth in the ranks of those who pay no income tax raises an important question: How are we going to finance our government?"
"So where is the dough going to come from? ... the upper middle class, broadly defined. If we need more money to keep the country running, here's betting that is where it's going to be found."

TIME Magazine, November 10, 2008

The time is now to strategically plan to reduce your taxes and stop wasting money on taxes you’re not required to pay.

Taxes are going up! Will you be ready?

What’s ahead for U.S. taxpayers:

The Reagan-era small-government ideology is defunct … everyone is awaiting serious government as a partner for business and society … We will have to expand government spending by several percent of Gross Domestic Product to face our cascading problems … The idea that our fiscal mess can be addressed with the current tax system is absurd.

From Fortune Magazine, October 27, 2008

The time is now to strategically plan to reduce your taxes and stop wasting money on taxes you’re not required to pay.

Do taxes go up no matter who wins the election?

Arthur Laffer is the author of The End of Prosperity: How Higher Taxes Will Doom the Economy—If We Let It Happen. He is the father of Reagan-era supply side economics. When interviewed by Kirk Shinkle in U.S. News & World Report (October 27, 2008), Laffer said:

"I think they're [taxes] going a lot higher ... I don't see how they avoid massive tax increases ... And if you're going to try to raise revenue, you've got to do it on broadbased taxes that hit low-income people as well - sales taxes, income taxes, payroll taxes ... It's not as though Obama is bad and McCain is good. They still don't get pro-growth policies."

The time is now to strategically plan to reduce your taxes and stop wasting money on taxes you’re not required to pay.