WW Real estate, investments 2016_1

Posted on January 20, 2001 by Wis Laughlin

There are two deductions that taxpayers often overlook with regard to their investments: net investment interest and investment advisor fees. Both are usually found buried in the “Tax Documents” you receive covering your investments.

Investment interest. Margin interest.is usually considered investment interest. It is deductible to the extent of your net income from investments for the taxable year. Net income from investments includes all rents, royalties, dividends, and interest. Qualified dividends and long-term capital gains do not count as investment income unless you elect to have them taxed as regular income.

Investment advisor fees are deductible as Miscellaneous Deductions, discussed elsewhere in this issue.

My advice: Tax law is a subject where you don’t know what you don’t know. A no risk way to find out what you are missing is to try my *FREE 1/2 Hour Offer*.

Call me if you are interested new laws containing big tax breaks for landlords or tenants who pay for certain commercial leasehold improvements.

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WW Individuals 2016_1

Posted on January 20, 2001 by Wis Laughlin

Many important tax planning moves require action — NOW! For example, sales tax deductions, charitable deductions and employee deductions require payments, gifts and recordkeeping all year. You need to know what you are doing now.

Sales tax. The IRS gives you an estimated sales tax figure. It is usually really low. To prove actual sales taxes paid requires keeping receipts. I can show you the lazy man’s way to qualify this deduction.

Charitable deductions. Many people lose these deductions because they don’t keep track or are timid. A number of charities will visit you and pick up contributions if you cooperate. Do it. I can help you value these.

Employee deductions. There are so many of these deductions that I use checklists to catch them. The IRS is picky about your proof. These are
Miscellaneous Deductions which are deducted but only to the extent they exceed 2% of your adjusted gross income. I can help you find them and help you prove them.

My Advice: I can help you find more Miscellaneous Deductions so you can beat the 2% floor on these deductions.

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WW Business 2016_1

Posted on January 20, 2001 by Wis Laughlin

Here are a few more reasons that I may be the only tax and legal professional you’ll need? See my Credentials. A recent client starting a business discovered that my diverse background lets me answer a lot of questions! I can form an LLC, negotiate win-win contracts and help my clients pay fewer taxes. For example, I can show you how a big vehicle can save big taxes.

Win-Win: How can you make your contracts win-win? First, get it in writing. Second, run it by me. Deals made with a handshake are fine for unimportant transactions, but parties often assume the other party agrees on a term, yet they don’t. Negotiating a written contract reveals areas of disagreement and allows you to work things out in advance, during the “honeymoon.” So if your contract is important, let’s discuss it.

Large vehicle tax breaks: A passenger vehicle purchased in 2015 is limited to roughly $3,000 of first year depreciation. However, a vehicle with more than a 6000 pound gross vehicle rating is not so limited. Furthermore, if the original use begins with you, it may qualify for up to a $25,000 §179 deduction, and it may qualify for 50% bonus depreciation on the remaining cost, plus regular depreciation on the rest.

My Advice: Check the gross vehicle rating of a new vehicle you are buying.

Expense it or depreciate it? Are you tempted to expense off all your new equipment under the expanded $500,000 §179 deduction? If your business is growing, you might save more taxes by depreciating it over several years, when you are in higher brackets.

My Advice: With a professional tax forecast, I can help you make these decisions.

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Estates (WW2016_4)

Posted on January 20, 2001 by Wis Laughlin

Do you have a will, trust or power of attorney? Are you completely confident that these documents will serve your family well? Are you sure that your attorney is expert in income, estate and gift taxes as well as state estate law. Does he have your best interest at heart?

Do you understand what your attorney has created for you? Is it too big to read? If you have any doubt whatsoever, don’t risk all that you have saved over the years. With me, estate planning is all about you!

My motto is ease and effectiveness. With my experience I know many ways to achieve piece of mind. I can show you simple ways to put your assets to work for your family. I know ways to protect minor beneficiaries and to provide for yours, mine and ours. For example, there is the Revocable Living Trust.

To learn more about beginning the estate planning process, download my FREE

Estate Planning Information Package.

Like most experts, I favor the Revocable Living Trust as the primary estate planning document. Suze Orman With the amount of the estate and gift tax exemption for 2016 rising to $5,450,000, fewer and fewer taxpayers need to worry about death taxes. In fact, I know strategies that allow a couple to shelter twice that. This means that you can focus on taking care of your loved ones.

With your RLT, you can name a trustee to manage your assets, on behalf of minor children after your death. You can assure that even if those children are in the care of your former spouse, that spouse will not have access to your assets. An RLT allows you to select different persons, with different expertise, to handle appropriate aspects of the trust. For example, you can name an investment advisor. You can authorize a “tie breaker” in case two trustees cannot agree. You can give a family member the power to veto certain uses of trust assets.

For more general information about revocable living trusts. See Revocable Living Trusts

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WW 2015_12 Individual taxes

Posted on December 10, 2000 by Wis Laughlin

Your Form 1040 is your final chance to avoid taxes on your income. It’s the tire that touches the road. So you better use an experienced tax preparer. Many important tax planning moves require action in the next few days — Don’t throw your tax savings away! Get more out of charitable contributions with “donor-advised funds,” which can provide optimum deductions and income. Remember, if you anticipate higher taxes this year then you have merely a hand full of days left for year-end planning.

Have maximum impact with your charitable giving! For example, invest $10,000 or more in a “donor-advised fund.” Claim a substantial charitable deduction, and yet receive 5% for life after which the investment goes to a charity of your choice. You can choose investment options and charities. Donor-advised funds are much less expensive than charitable remainder trusts or private foundations. For more information, check out 2015 CHARITABLE PLANNING published by the Community Foundation of Greater Memphis.

YEP: You may be tired of hearing about year-end planning moves, so I will just remind you that you can reduce income this year by prepaying charitable contributions, college tuition, mortgage payments, and real estate taxes and so on. Don’t forget donations to the Goodwill and similar charities.

My Advice: Be sure that you understand the impact prepaying expenses will have on next year.

Call me at (901) 507-4274 for personal advice.

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WW 2015_12 Real estate, Investments

Posted on December 10, 2000 by Wis Laughlin

Be vigilant! As we approach the end of the year, it definitely pays to be “present” in regards to your investments. For real estate lovers, there’s an effective college tax shelter that yields more deductions and provides a free residence for your college student.

Communicate your tax situation with your investment adviser, encouraging your adviser to take advantage of tax benefits like qualified dividends and long-term gain. Also, selling loss investments to offset gains (do not repurchase these within 30 days, which will prevent you from using the loss under the “wash sale rules”). If you sell a portion of investments bought at different times, report as sold those with the highest costs.  Use tax and legal rules to multiply the value of your real estate investments.

Landlords. Beware of renting to family members. If you charge a family member below market rent, it is regarded as personal use and you cannot deduct rental expenses, according to the Tax Court. There are other ways to accomplish the same thing.

My advice: One way to get even more benefit is to buy a house in your child’s college town so you can hire your child to manage the other tenants. My advice is really inexpensive compared to the alternative.

Call me at (901) 507-4274 for advice and a possible tax forecast.

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WealthWISe 2015_9 real estate

Posted on September 12, 2000 by Wis Laughlin
 I can show you how to pay half as much tax on dividends and gains from selling investments? Furthermore, your tax savings will increase as your tax bracket rises. T he secret lies in making sure you have qualifed dividends and long term capital gains.
 
Why do you want “qualified dividends”? A recent tax return client proudly showed me $60,000 in dividends. Impressive. However, he paid more than $6,000 in extra taxes because the dividends were not “qualified.” Qualified dividends (dividends from U.S. companies) can save as much as 50% in taxes. This is true because your tax rate may be 39.6% or more whereas the maximum income tax rate on qualified dividends is 20%.
The same rate limit applies to long-term capital gains. Long-term capital gains are those that result from the sale of investments that are held more than one year.
A 3.8% surcharge may apply to gains or dividends of higher income taxpayers, but it does not affect the advantage here.
My advice: As your tax rates rise, you save more taxes with qualified dividends and long-term capital gains. Discuss your tax situation with me and your investment adviser.
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WealthWISe 2015_09 Business

Posted on September 3, 2000 by Wis Laughlin
Are you paying excess taxes, because your lawyer or accountant is not a tax expert? As a tax attorney, I may be the only professional you need. As a tax attorney, I have skills that a CPA or attorney, alone, may not possess. I may be the only tax and legal professional you need. Let me demonstrate:
Don’t sign a contract  that you don’t fully understand. It may be a lawsuit waiting to happen. My time as a corporate counsel makes me your ideal counselor on these matters. I can show you how to limit your liability with a well crafted provision.
 
As a tax attorney, I can help you avoid new danger with independent contractors.The IRS and the Department of Labor are cracking down on the improper treatment of employees as independent contractors. They are sharing information with state governments.
My Advice: The key is in the relationship. The IRS and DOL use multiple criteria to determine whether a person is an independent contractor or employee. I help clients create the right relationship with the persons they hire, and I can draft a contract to help you limit this risk.
Increase your self-employed health premium deduction with Medicare premiums and some premiums for adult children.
My Advice: Find out more with my *FREE 1/2 Hour Offer.*
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WealthWISe 2015_09 individual

Posted on September 3, 2000 by Wis Laughlin

I bet that you or your tax preparer are overlooking some “Itemized Deductions.” Don’t throw away these tax savings! Two examples are “points” paid on a home mortgage loan and job hunting costs. The rules on points are confusing, and job hunting costs are considered miscellaneous deductions and so are not deductible unless they exceed 2% of your adjusted gross income. What to do?

Get the “point.” For example, several confusing rules control the deduction of loan origination fees, (“points”). Did you know that you can deduct points when you purchase your main residence, but not when you refinance? You must “amortize” points paid on a loan  to refinance. This means that you gradually deduct them over the term of the loan.  However, if you refinance again, the entire balance of points being amortized are deductible.

Job-hunting costs.  Travel while job hunting is deductible: air fares, lodging, resumes, postage and much more. However, these costs are classified as Miscellaneous Deductions, which are deductible only if they exceed 2% if Adjusted Gross Income. The key is to find more Miscellaneous Deductions.

My Advice: Use my *Free 1/2 hr Offer* to see if you can learn how take advantage of these deductions.

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WealthWISe 2015_09 Estate

Posted on August 31, 2000 by Wis Laughlin

A recent Tennessee court decision has invalidated many wills. Watch out if your will contains an “Affidavit” and your witnesses signed only once. I have used such wills successfully many times  in the Shelby County Probate Court. But no more! Call me and use my *FREE 1/2 Hour Offer:*  to get your will checked.

Revocable Living Trust (RLT) give you superior control over your assets, during your life and after your death. During your life, you control the trust assets as long as you are able. If you lose mental capacity for any reason, your successor trustee takes over control of the trust and follows your instructions. Without the trust, you would likely have to have a court-appointed conservator to handle your affairs, an expensive and embarrassing procedure.

Legal and financial experts generally favor RLT’s. For example, read “Why you need an RLT” by Suze Orman.

My Advice: It is easy to start  your estate planning. Get more information and get started, download my free: Estate Planning Information Package

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