MIND YOUR BUSINESS WW 2017_5

Posted on May 5, 2017 by Wis Laughlin

THE MOST IMPORTANT PROFESSIONAL FOR A BUSINESS

The problem is that as your business increases, it is exciting but everything happens at once. You wish that your vendors and customers acted like partners instead of adversaries. You are excited with your business earnings but not with your tax bill. You lawyer, if you have one, will negotiate contracts but does not recognize tax problems or opportunities. As your business expands your accountant produces financial statements, but he can’t seem to handle your new tax questions. He almost seems to be on the side of the IRS. “You can’t do this. You can’t do that. How can you save taxes? What can you do?

The best professional for your business is the one that can deliver services you need.

As a former IRS tax attorney, with over thirty-five years in private practice, Wis knows about saving taxes. Wis subscribes to daily tax and estate updates from Bloomberg Law, Kiplinger and other sources and reports them to you in his e-letter, WealthWISe.

For example: Did you know that under a recent Tax Court case, an employer could reimburse its managers for attending Business School courses helpful to the employer’s business, and the reimbursement was tax-free to the managers.

Wis spend six years as a corporate counsel for a national software company. There he negotiated with much stronger parties, such as corporate partner IBM and customers like Wells Fargo and the Federal Reserve Bank. Wis was an admirer of Steven Covey (author of “7 Habits of Effective People” and win-win negotiating). Wis used Covey’s teachings to negotiate win-win contracts with these large corporations. He learned to listen to the other side and discover how to give them what they wanted without costing his company an arm and a leg. Wis secured residual revenues of millions of dollars per year.

My advice: Wis can deliver both tax and legal services for small businesses, so for most small businesses, Wis is the most important professional because Wis can be there one stop source of tax, legal and estate advice.

See Contact Wis to make an appointment

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INDIVIDUAL TAX PLANNING WW 2017_5

Posted on May 5, 2017 by Wis Laughlin

THE NUMBER ONE TAX TIP

Tax season is NOT over. If you have filed your 2016 tax return, now is not the time to forget about taxes.  There are things to do right now for 2017! If you have filed an extension and you have not filed your 2016 tax return you really don’t have more time. Here you have a chance to consult with a professional and save taxes in 2016 that you should not pass up. So what should you do?  Contact me for *FREE 1/2 Hour Consultation:*

If you are reading this WealthWISe the number one tax tip I can give you is to use a tax professional. Don’t use an amateur. There are millions of words in the Internal Revenue Code. Most seasonal preparers and CPA’s are far from being experts. If you have not filed 2016 it is not too late to pay less for 2016! Furthermore, every day that you delay filing 2016 is costing you interest and penalties. Find out how much you can save by getting a free ½ hour consultation with Wis It is FREE. You cannot lose. Wis has the unbeatable advantage of Tax Mastery© software and he will prove it to you. And knowing Wis’s advice you can save even more in 2017.

This year Wis met new tax return clients, the “Smiths.” They didn’t worry about taxes until November when suddenly they realized their business was going to have a big year. (It could have been a big gain in the stock market or a big bonus declared by their employers). In December they were tearing around trying to buy equipment and find cash to do it and clean out their closets for Goodwill or whatever. If they had met with Wis their Tax Mastery© plan would have mapped out the actions they needed to take and they would have had months to do it. They could have taken the time to select the best piece of equipment for their business. They could have arranged the best financing.

My Advice A meeting with Wis and a Tax Mastery© analysis early in the year is the best way to start your tax planning. Tax mastery© fights taxes like nothing else. A tax client of Wis gets Tax Mastery© and so the next year’s planning with his return

Contact Wis for a FREE 1/2 hour consultation and get a taste of Tax Mastery©.

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ESTATE PLANNING – WW 2017_5

Posted on May 5, 2017 by Wis Laughlin

Are you one of the people who delay when it comes to estate planning, seeing it as too complicated and presenting unrealistic goals. It doesn’t have to be that way! If you have estate planning documents drafted prior to 2012, it is truly dangerous to rely on them. You may have a will or trust that leaves the surviving spouse with the inconveniences of dealing with court expenses and trustees. This common arrangement is both tedious and unnecessary for a vast majority of the population.

Your estate plan does not have to be complicated.

With over 35 years helping clients, Wis can show you easy and effective ways to achieve your goals for your loved ones. For example, Wis recently consulted with clients who just wanted to leave their home to their natural heirs.  He showed them how to do it without a will or other fancy documentation. Working with Wis, you can enjoy a personal experience with an experienced professional.

If you have a will or trust drafted prior to 2012 it may be a time bomb waiting to go off. Wis can show you how to defuse it. If you have an estate planned will or trust that was drafted prior to 2012 the will or trust probably divides the deceased person’s estate into pieces and places them in trust supposedly to lower the estate taxes. This process can leave the surviving spouse with the expense and inconvenience of dealing with unnecessary trusts and trustees. This arrangement is generally no longer necessary now that more than $5,490,000 is exempt from estate tax. Furthermore, Tax Reform aims to eliminate the estate tax altogether. So who do you need? Trust busters!

Don’t leave your family with a mess. To get started with your estate planning !!RLT Email Package  read on.

Or simply Contact Wis as follows:

 

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How to Save Taxes and Preparation Fees

Posted on January 30, 2017 by Wis Laughlin

Welcome to tax season! If you would like to improve your taxes due, stick with me!

Prep_to_Plan (TM): I created Prep_to_Plan (TM) (“PtoP”) tax planning software to ensure that you pay the lowest legal taxes. I update PtoP with reports from services used by the largest firms.

What clients say: Wis listens and probes for the best approach. He explains difficult concepts so that I can understand them and am satisfied. Bob Laster, former Manager of ExecNet at FedEx Services.

My motto is “ease and effectiveness.” Here is how to achieve it and save money:

  • Complete your Tax Organizer and include W-2s, Form 1099, 1095-A, etc. Please round entries.
  • Enter a total in each blank. If it is the total of a list. Attach the list and refer to it.
  • Provide taxpayers’ and dependents’ birthdays.
  • Do not duplicate information.
  • If you buy or sell an investment or business asset, list the date purchased, cost, price, and sale date. If it is real estate provide closing statements for its purchase, sale, or refinancing.
  • For each charitable gift, provide a receipt, the date, the description, cost, name, and address of the charity.
  • Use the Business Income and Expenses form to report your business items.
  • Ignore Miscellaneous expenses.
  • For each rental property list its cost, date first rented, rent, and expenses.
  • Business vehicles: enter model date use began, business, and mileage.
  • For dependent care, list the provider’s name, tax number & address.

Refer me to a client – get a 15% discount on my fees (or give it to your referral).

Experience: I have practiced law as a tax attorney for more than 40 years, starting as an attorney in the IRS National Office in Washington, DC. Lawyers write the tax law. Don’t you deserve a tax lawyer?

Posted in Individual Tax | Leave a comment

Don’t be afraid to sell property. 2022_5

Posted on January 20, 2017 by Wis Laughlin
  Clients often come to me, worried about gain on the sale of a property. You do not have to worry if you have expert advice.

Your taxable gain on the sale of real estate equals selling price less “adjusted basis.” (“AB”). AB is the cost of the property plus the cost of improvements less depreciation. So if you have depreciated property for many years, its adjusted basis may be much smaller. This gain resulting from depreciation is called “phantom gain”  Phantom gain may also result if you refinanced the property and spent the cash elsewhere. You may end up with little cash on the sale after you repay the mortgage loan and the taxes.

What do you do? There are many ways to reduce your tax. I look for ways to increase the “adjusted basis.” (“AB”). Each property is a little different and there are many factors that increase AB. For example, did you know that property that you inherited is treated as if your cost is its fair market value at the deceased person’s death? This is called a stepped-up basis. I suggest working with a tax professional

I recently prepared a tax return for a taxpayer and added over $50,000 to her AB as follows:

* She inherited the property recently and received a stepped-up basis.

* From the settlement sheet for the purchase of the property I added to AB transfer tax, abstract fees, taxes, surveys, recording, legal fees, and seller’s costs paid by the buyer. From the settlement sheet for the sale of the property, I found the commission and other costs.

* Don’t forget to include the cost of the property’s lot which should not have been depreciated.

* AB is increased by the cost of improvements to the property, like a new roof or appliances.

* There’s more.

If you have prior year unallowed passive losses on Form 8582 of your Form 1040, you should be entitled to offset those losses against your gain. If you are paid in installments on a business or investment property, you can pay taxes on gain proportionate to principle received each year.

Finally, if you enter into a “like-kind exchange” of the property, which may not be exchanged at all, you can delay the gain until the replacement property is sold. Property received in a previous like-kind exchange has a basis based on your AB in the previously replaced property. This situation is far beyond the scope of this article.

If you have Wis prepare your return, he will make sure you don’t miss anything.
Posted in Real estate, investing, What's New? | Leave a comment

Individual taxes WW 2017_1

Posted on January 20, 2017 by Wis Laughlin
Avoid large refunds or amounts due.
A large refund means the Government had your money all year, interest-free. A large amount due invites penalties and can be more than an inconvenience.

The tax rules are designed to give an employee a refund if the employer withholds properly. However many things can change this. For example, purchasing a house can generate deductions that in turn cause you to receive a refund. Wis can show you how to turn that refund into a larger monthly paycheck. In contrast, if you and your spouse both work, unless you adjust your withholding, you may end up owing quite a bit. Wis can get this under control. In fact, using Tax Mastery© Wis can identify unexpected tax savings that can reduce your tax bill and put more money in your pocket by decreasing your withholding or estimated taxes. For example, when can you deduct clothing worn on the job?

When can you deduct clothing as a business expense? Wis gets this question frequently. The usual answer is no! An employee can deduct ordinary and necessary expenses of doing his job. However, the Tax Court held that the cost of Ralph Lauren clothing is not deductible even though Ralph Lauren required its salespersons to wear that clothing on the job. Why? Because the clothes are personal since they are suitable for personal use outside the workplace. The Court has given you the solution. For example, Fedex pilots can deduct the cost of their uniforms as well as the cost of cleaning them.
My Advice: To deduct clothing it must not be suitable for personal use outside the workplace. If you wear a uniform or place company logos on the clothing you can probably get away with in.

Action to take: If you still don’t know if you can deduct your clothing, call and ask for a free ½ hour consultation.
Posted in Individual Tax, What's New? | Leave a comment

Mind your business WW2017_1

Posted on January 20, 2017 by Wis Laughlin
Services you won’t get elsewhere. As a former in-house attorney, Wis can help you with contracts and with taxes. Wis gives you personal attention when preparing your tax return and that can save you thousands of dollars?

How does Wis differ from other tax preparers? Wis gives you personal attention instead of a production line approach. He prepares a custom Tax Mastery© plan, then discusses it with you personally before filing your return. Why is this critical? Read more.

A true story. A prominent Memphis lawyer (Harvard law) decided to try Wis out by bringing Wis a tax return already prepared by a well-known accounting firm. The return showed that the client had added a room to his home office. However, Wis found no new furniture on the return. In his interview with the lawyer, Wis found that the client had purchased $40,000 of antique furniture for that room, saving him over $14,000 in taxes! The accounting firm had used his tax organizer for the return, without interviewing the client.

My Advice: Demand personal attention.
Take action:  Try me out the way that client did, with a *FREE ½ hour Consultation*. It can save you money! 
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Estate Planning – retirement WW2017_1

Posted on January 20, 2017 by Wis Laughlin
Want to waste your retirement plan?

A favorite client recently retained me after his mother’s death to help him settle her revocable living trust (RLT). His father died shortly before. My client was the trustee and sole heir under the trust. She named him in her durable general power of attorney. The Mother’s will transferred all assets to the trust. The trust distributes its assets to the son. This should have been a piece of cake. Not this time!

The bad news. His aged mother could not manage her affairs. She inherited a large  IRA and failed to name a successor beneficiary. Using his Mother’s DPOA, my client asked the custodian of the IRA to name him as successor beneficiary but they refused because they saw a conflict of interest. Things got really expensive and could result in a heavy tax burden!

Bad news: With no beneficiary named after his mother died, her “estate” became the beneficiary. We had to open the estate in Probate Court. The whole purpose of the RLT was to avoid Probate.

Danger. Because an estate has no lifetime over which it could make required minimum distributions (RMD’s), in some cases, the IRS will distribute the entire IRA immediately, with resulting heavy taxes.

The good news. Fortunately, as a tax attorney, Wis was able to find a loophole that would allow the IRA to “stretch” the RMD’s over the mother’s life. However, there is still the expense of keeping the estate open for the distribution period and the cost and complexity of estate taxes. Wis intends to negotiate a transfer of the IRA directly to his client.

My advice: Never allow a retirement account to end up without a successor beneficiary. Retain a tax attorney to advise you regarding your plan beneficiaries. While many lawyers can draft wills or trusts, few of them can handle complex income tax issues like this.

Want to know more?  Email Wis and request a *FREE ½ hour Consultation*.

If you are ready to plan your estate, download my FREE Estate Planning Package.
Posted in Estate Planning & Probate, What's New? | Leave a comment

Year End Business Tax Tips WW2016_11

Posted on November 17, 2016 by Wis Laughlin

As a former Chief Counsel and CFO, I often act as a one-stop source of tax, legal and estate advice for my small business clients. Many tax newsletters this time of year are obsessed with year-end tax planning. I will try to offer broader topics.

This time of year I am helping my small business clients with complex contracts, like business purchases and sales, buy-sell agreements, bonus and option contracts. The holiday season is also a great time to hire your children. Your business will benefit from the deduction. The kids’ earnings can be contributed to a Roth IRA to give them tax free savings.

Two of my clients are planning on selling their businesses and retiring. If you have a corporation such a sale can result in double taxation. My combined contract and tax skills are essential to minimize tax liability in this case.

Another client has an old family business but has no agreements to control what happens if one dies or decides to pull out. This situation can be like a business divorce! Feelings can run high and law suits are not uncommon. I have the right agreement that solves the problems.

Another corporate client has family members who are children of the stockholders and  who would like to own part of the business. Having experienced this situation many times in the past, I suggested a bonus and option agreement that would provide bonuses to the buyers and give them a chance to buy the stock at a fair price.

Taxwise: Hire your children over Christmas break when they have some time and save $1,000’s of tax dollars. Hint: Young folks are good with technology, so you can justify a fair salary for their services. If you do it properly you can pay your child up to $6,300 and you will save yourself $1,500 to $2,300 in federal income taxes. The child will pay no taxes if that is his only income.Top it off by contributing the child’s 2016 earnings to a Roth IRA up to $5,500. Advantages? Contributions can be pulled out free of tax at any time and up to $10,000 of earnings can be taken out tax-free by the child to buy a first home.

Contact me for more information about these strategies.

My Advice: Don’t allow the Holidays to distract you from things to do as we approach year end. Take advantage of my *Free 1/2 hour consultation* to see if I can help you.

Posted in Businesses, What's New? | Leave a comment

The Best Holiday Gift WW2016_11

Posted on November 17, 2016 by Wis Laughlin

The best holiday gift

What is the best holiday gift for your loved ones? Save them from the stress and expense of cleaning up your estate! Trust me. Unless you have a deal with the devil, you will not die at a convenient time! In this day and age, I often run into families where the husband or wife have children of a prior marriage. In these cases, things get complicated and expensive! Without a will, the law will split an estate equally among a spouse and two children. Is that what you want?

I just opened an estate in Probate Court, and the family spent $10,000 in legal fees trying to work out who got what before we went to Court. My deceased client, who I will call Jill, had talked about updating her estate planning for more than a year before her death. By the time she engaged me to do her planning it was too late. Cancer had taken its toll and before we knew it, she was in Intensive Care and the drugs they employed to treat her robbed her of the capacity to sign the documents I prepared for her. The result? Her latest husband, of more than ten

The result? Her latest husband, of more than ten years faced an old will that was nothing like what she asked me to provide in her new revocable living trust, which she never signed. I worked with her childrens’ lawyer and negotiated a settlement, and family relations deteriorated.

My Advice: If you care about your loved ones, spare them from this pain. Keep your estate plan up to date. You can avoid wasting time and money in Probate by using a revocable living trust.

Posted in Estate Planning & Probate, What's New? | Leave a comment