Estate & Wealth Transfer Planning Archives - Page 29 of 38

Educate your children on wealth management

Tax Prep, Planning & Strategy|October 4, 2018

If you’ve worked a lifetime to build a large estate, you undoubtedly would like to leave a lasting legacy to your children and future generations. Educating your children about saving, investing and other money management skills can help keep your legacy alive.

Teaching techniques

There’s no one right way to teach your children about money. The best way depends on your circumstances, their personalities and your comfort level.

If your kids are old enough, consider sending them to a money management class. For younger children, you might start by simply giving them an allowance in exchange for doing household chores. This helps teach them the value of work. Opening a savings account or a CD, or buying bonds, can help teach kids about investing and the power of compounding.

For families that are charitably inclined, a private foundation may be a great vehicle for teaching children about the joys of giving and the impact that wealth can make beyond one’s family. For this strategy to be effective, older children should have some input into the foundation’s activities. When the time comes, this can also be a great way to get your grandchildren involved at a young age.

Timing and amount of distributions

Many parents take an all-or-nothing approach when it comes to the timing and amounts of distributions to their children — either transferring substantial amounts of wealth all at once or making gifts that are too small to provide meaningful lessons.

Consider making distributions large enough so that your kids have something significant to lose, but not so large that their entire inheritance is at risk.

Introduce incentives, but remain flexible

An incentive trust is a trust that rewards children for doing things that they might not otherwise do. Such a trust can be an effective estate planning tool, but there’s a fine line between encouraging positive behavior and controlling your children’s life choices. A trust that’s too restrictive may incite rebellion or invite lawsuits.

Incentives can be valuable, however, if the trust is flexible enough to allow a child to chart his or her own course. A so-called “principle trust,” for example, gives the trustee discretion to make distributions based on certain guiding principles or values without limiting beneficiaries to narrowly defined goals. But no matter how carefully designed, an incentive trust won’t teach your children critical money skills.

Communication is key

To maintain family harmony when leaving a large portion of your estate to your children, clearly communicate the reason for your decisions. Contact us for more information.

Businesses aren’t immune to tax identity theft

Tax Prep, Planning & Strategy|September 24, 2018

Tax identity theft may seem like a problem only for individual taxpayers. But, according to the IRS, increasingly businesses are also becoming victims. And identity thieves have become more sophisticated, knowing filing practices, the tax code and the best ways to get valuable data.

How it works

In tax identity theft, a taxpayer’s identifying information (such as Social Security number) is used to fraudulently obtain a refund or commit other crimes. Business tax identity theft occurs when a criminal uses the identifying information of a business to obtain tax benefits or to enable individual tax identity theft schemes.

For example, a thief could use an Employer Identification Number (EIN) to file a fraudulent business tax return and claim a refund. Or a fraudster may report income and withholding for fake employees on false W-2 forms. Then, he or she can file fraudulent individual tax returns for these “employees” to claim refunds.

The consequences can include significant dollar amounts, lost time sorting out the mess and damage to your reputation.

Red flags

There are some red flags that indicate possible tax identity theft. For example, your business’s identity may have been compromised if:

Your business doesn’t receive expected or routine mailings from the IRS,
You receive an IRS notice that doesn’t relate to anything your business submitted, that’s about fictitious employees or that’s related to a defunct, closed or dormant business after all account balances have been paid,
The IRS rejects an e-filed return or an extension-to-file request, saying it already has a return with that identification number — or the IRS accepts it as an amended return,
You receive an IRS letter stating that more than one tax return has been filed in your business’s name, or
You receive a notice from the IRS that you have a balance due when you haven’t yet filed a return.

Keep in mind, though, that some of these could be the result of a simple error, such as an inadvertent transposition of numbers. Nevertheless, you should contact the IRS immediately if you receive any notices or letters from the agency that you believe might indicate that someone has fraudulently used your Employer Identification Number.

Prevention tips

Businesses should take steps such as the following to protect their own information as well as that of their employees:

Provide training to accounting, human resources and other employees to educate them on the latest tax fraud schemes and how to spot phishing emails.
Use secure methods to send W-2 forms to employees.
Implement risk management strategies designed to flag suspicious communications.

Of course identity theft can go beyond tax identity theft, so be sure to have a comprehensive plan in place to protect the data of your business, your employees and your customers. If you’re concerned your business has become a victim, or you have questions about prevention, please contact us.

Keeping a king in the castle with a well-maintained cash reserve

Tax Prep, Planning & Strategy|September 19, 2018

You’ve no doubt heard the old business cliché “cash is king.” And it’s true: A company in a strong cash position stands a much better chance of obtaining the financing it needs, attracting outside investors or simply executing its own strategic plans.

One way to ensure that there’s always a king in the castle, so to speak, is to maintain a cash reserve. Granted, setting aside a substantial amount of dollars isn’t the easiest thing to do — particularly for start-ups and smaller companies. But once your reserve is in place, life can get a lot easier.

Common metrics

Now you may wonder: What’s the optimal amount of cash to keep in reserve? The right answer is different for every business and may change over time, given fluctuations in the economy or degree of competitiveness in your industry.

If you’ve already obtained financing, your bank’s liquidity covenants can give you a good idea of how much of a cash reserve is reasonable and expected of your company. To take it a step further, you can calculate various liquidity metrics and compare them to industry benchmarks. These might include:

• Working capital = current assets – current liabilities,• Current ratio = current assets / current liabilities, and• Accounts payable turnover = cost of goods sold / accounts payable.
There may be other, more complex metrics that better apply to the nature and size of your business.

Financial forecasts

Believe it or not, many companies don’t suffer from a lack of cash reserves but rather a surplus. This often occurs because a business owner decides to start hoarding cash following a dip in the local or national economy.

What’s the problem? Substantial increases in liquidity — or metrics well above industry norms — can signal an inefficient deployment of capital.

To keep your cash reserve from getting too high, create financial forecasts for the next 12 to 18 months. For example, a monthly projected balance sheet might estimate seasonal ebbs and flows in the cash cycle. Or a projection of the worst-case scenario might be used to establish your optimal cash balance. Projections should consider future cash flows, capital expenditures, debt maturities and working capital requirements.

Formal financial forecasts provide a coherent method to building up cash reserves, which is infinitely better than relying on rough estimates or gut instinct. Be sure to compare actual performance to your projections regularly and adjust as necessary.

More isn’t always better

Just as individuals should set aside some money for a rainy day, so should businesses. But, when it comes to your company’s cash reserves, the notion that “more is better” isn’t necessarily correct. You’ve got to find the right balance. Contact us to discuss your reserve and identify your ideal liquidity metrics.

Is a significant portion of your wealth concentrated in a single stock?

Tax Prep, Planning & Strategy|September 6, 2018

Estate planning and investment risk management go hand in hand. After all, an estate plan is effective only if you have some wealth to transfer to the next generation. One of the best ways to reduce your investment risk is to diversify your holdings. But it’s not unusual for affluent people to end up with a significant portion of their wealth concentrated in one or two stocks.

There are many ways this can happen, including the exercise of stock options, participation in equity-based compensation programs, or receipt of stock in a merger or acquisition.

Sell the stock

To reduce your investment risk, the simplest option is to sell some or most of the stock and reinvest in a more diversified portfolio. This may not be an option, however, if you’re not willing to pay the resulting capital gains taxes, if there are legal restrictions on the amount you can sell and the timing of a sale, or if you simply wish to hold on to the stock.

To soften the tax hit, consider selling the stock gradually over time to spread out the capital gains. Or, if you’re charitably inclined, contribute the stock to a charitable remainder trust (CRT). The trust can sell the stock tax-free, reinvest the proceeds in more diversified investments, and provide you with a current tax deduction and a regular income stream. (Be aware that CRT payouts are taxable — usually a combination of ordinary income, capital gains and tax-free amounts.)

Keep the stock

To reduce your risk without selling the stock:

Use a hedging technique. For example, purchase put options to sell your shares at a set price.
Buy other securities to rebalance your portfolio. Consider borrowing the funds you need, using the concentrated stock as collateral.
Invest in a stock protection fund. These funds allow investors who own concentrated stock positions in different industries to pool their risks, essentially insuring their holdings against catastrophic loss.

If you have questions about specific assets in your estate, contact us. We can help you preserve as much of your estate as possible so that you have more to pass on to your loved ones.

3 reasons you should continue making lifetime gifts

Tax Prep, Planning & Strategy|August 30, 2018

Now that the gift and estate tax exemption has reached a record high of $11.18 million (for 2018), it may seem that gifting assets to loved ones is less important than it was in previous years. However, lifetime gifts continue to provide significant benefits, whether your estate is taxable or not.

Let’s examine three reasons why making gifts remains an important part of estate planning:

1. Lifetime gifts reduce estate taxes. If your estate exceeds the exemption amount — or you believe it will in the future — regular lifetime gifts can substantially reduce your estate tax bill.

The annual gift tax exclusion allows you to give up to $15,000 per recipient ($30,000 if you “split” gifts with your spouse) tax-free without using up any of your gift and estate tax exemption. In addition, direct payments of tuition or medical expenses on behalf of your loved ones are excluded from gift tax.

Taxable gifts — that is, gifts beyond the annual exclusion amount and not eligible for the tuition and medical expense exclusion — can also reduce estate tax liability by removing future appreciation from your taxable estate. You may be better off paying gift tax on an asset’s current value rather than estate tax on its appreciated value down the road.

When gifting appreciable assets, however, be sure to consider the potential income tax implications. Property transferred at death receives a “stepped-up basis” equal to its date-of-death fair market value, which means the recipient can turn around and sell the property free of capital gains taxes. Property transferred during life retains your tax basis, so it’s important to weigh the estate tax savings against the potential income tax costs.

2. Tax laws aren’t permanent. Even if your estate is within the exemption amount now, it pays to make regular gifts. Why? Because even though the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act doubled the exemption amount, and that amount will be adjusted annually for inflation, the doubling expires after 2025. Without further legislation, the exemption will return to an inflation-adjusted $5 million in 2026.

Thus, taxpayers with estates in roughly the $6 million to $11 million range (twice that for married couples), whose estates would escape estate taxes if they were to die while the doubled exemption is in effect, still need to keep potential post-2025 estate tax liability in mind in their estate planning.

3. Gifts provide nontax benefits. Tax planning aside, there are other reasons to make lifetime gifts. For example, perhaps you wish to use gifting to shape your family members’ behavior — for example, by providing gifts to those who attend college. And if you own a business, gifts of interests in the business may be a key component of your ownership and management succession plan. Or you might simply wish to see your loved ones enjoy the gifts.

Regardless of the amount of your wealth, consider a program of regular lifetime giving. We can help you devise and incorporate a gifting program as part of your estate plan.

Keep it SIMPLE: A tax-advantaged retirement plan solution for small businesses

Tax Prep, Planning & Strategy|August 27, 2018

If your small business doesn’t offer its employees a retirement plan, you may want to consider a SIMPLE IRA. Offering a retirement plan can provide your business with valuable tax deductions and help you attract and retain employees. For a variety of reasons, a SIMPLE IRA can be a particularly appealing option for small businesses. The deadline for setting one up for this year is October 1, 2018.

The basics

SIMPLE stands for “savings incentive match plan for employees.” As the name implies, these plans are simple to set up and administer. Unlike 401(k) plans, SIMPLE IRAs don’t require annual filings or discrimination testing.

SIMPLE IRAs are available to businesses with 100 or fewer employees. Employers must contribute and employees have the option to contribute. The contributions are pretax, and accounts can grow tax-deferred like a traditional IRA or 401(k) plan, with distributions taxed when taken in retirement.

As the employer, you can choose from two contribution options:

1. Make a “nonelective” contribution equal to 2% of compensation for all eligible employees. You must make the contribution regardless of whether the employee contributes. This applies to compensation up to the annual limit of $275,000 for 2018 (annually adjusted for inflation).

2. Match employee contributions up to 3% of compensation. Here, you contribute only if the employee contributes. This isn’t subject to the annual compensation limit.

Employees are immediately 100% vested in all SIMPLE IRA contributions.

Employee contribution limits

Any employee who has compensation of at least $5,000 in any prior two years, and is reasonably expected to earn $5,000 in the current year, can elect to have a percentage of compensation put into a SIMPLE IRA.

SIMPLE IRAs offer greater income deferral opportunities than ordinary IRAs, but lower limits than 401(k)s. An employee may contribute up to $12,500 to a SIMPLE IRA in 2018. Employees age 50 or older can also make a catch-up contribution of up to $3,000. This compares to $5,500 and $1,000, respectively, for ordinary IRAs, and to $18,500 and $6,000 for 401(k)s. (Some or all of these limits may increase for 2019 under annual cost-of-living adjustments.)

You’ve got options

A SIMPLE IRA might be a good choice for your small business, but it isn’t the only option. The more-complex 401(k) plan we’ve already mentioned is one alternative. Some others are a Simplified Employee Pension (SEP) and a defined-benefit pension plan. These two plans don’t allow employee contributions and have other pluses and minuses. Contact us to learn more about a SIMPLE IRA or to hear about other retirement plan alternatives for your business.

At your own risk: The pitfalls of DIY estate planning

Tax Prep, Planning & Strategy|August 23, 2018

There’s no law that says you can’t prepare your own estate plan. And with an abundance of online services that automate the creation of wills and other documents, it’s easy to do. But unless your estate is small and your plan is exceedingly simple, the pitfalls of do-it-yourself (DIY) estate planning can be many.

Dotting the i’s and crossing the t’s

A common mistake people make with DIY estate planning is to neglect the formalities associated with the execution of wills and other documents. Rules vary from state to state regarding the number and type of witnesses who must attest to a will and what, specifically, they must attest to.

Also, states have different rules about interested parties (that is, beneficiaries) serving as witnesses to a will or trust. In many states, interested parties are ineligible to serve as witnesses. In others, an interested-party witness triggers an increase in the required number of witnesses (from two to three, for example).

Keeping abreast of tax law changes

Legislative developments during the last several years demonstrate how changes in the tax laws from one year to the next can have a dramatic impact on your estate planning strategies. DIY service providers don’t offer legal or tax advice — and provide lengthy disclaimers to prove it. Thus, they cannot be expected to warn users that tax law changes may adversely affect their plans.

Consider this example: A decade ago, in 2008, George used an online service to generate estate planning documents. At the time, his estate was worth $4 million and the federal estate tax exemption was $2 million.

George’s plan provided for the creation of a trust for the benefit of his children, funded with the maximum amount that could be transferred free of federal estate tax, with the remainder going to his wife, Ann. If George died in 2008, for example, $2 million would have gone into the trust and the remaining $2 million would have gone to Ann.

Suppose, however, that George dies in 2018, when the federal estate tax exemption has increased to $11.18 million and his estate has grown to $10 million. Under the terms of his plan, the entire $10 million — all of which can be transferred free of federal estate tax — will pass to the trust, leaving nothing for Ann.

While even a qualified professional couldn’t have predicted in 2008 what the estate tax exemption would be at George’s death, he or she could have structured a plan that would provide the flexibility needed to respond to tax law changes.

Don’t try this at home

These are just a few examples of the many pitfalls associated with DIY estate planning. To help ensure that you achieve your estate planning objectives, contact us to review your existing plan.

Addressing long-term care costs with a tax-qualified LTC insurance policy

Tax Prep, Planning & Strategy|August 16, 2018

No matter how diligently you prepare, your estate plan can quickly be derailed if you or a loved one requires long-term home health care or an extended stay at a nursing home or assisted living facility.

The annual cost of long-term care (LTC) can reach as high as six figures, and this expense isn’t covered by traditional health insurance policies, Social Security or Medicare. So it’s important to have a plan to finance these costs, either by setting aside some of your savings or purchasing insurance.

LTC insurance

An LTC insurance policy supplements your traditional health insurance by covering services that assist you or a loved one with one or more activities of daily living (ADLs). Generally, ADLs include eating, bathing and dressing.

LTC coverage is relatively expensive, but it may be possible to reduce the cost by purchasing a tax-qualified policy. Generally, benefits paid in accordance with an LTC policy are tax-free. In addition, if a policy is tax-qualified, your premiums are deductible (as medical expenses) up to a specified limit.

To qualify, a policy must:

Be guaranteed renewable and noncancelable regardless of health,
Not delay coverage of pre-existing conditions more than six months,
Not condition eligibility on prior hospitalization,
Not exclude coverage based on a diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease, dementia, or similar conditions or illnesses, and
Require a physician’s certification that you’re either unable to perform at least two of six ADLs or you have a severe cognitive impairment and that this condition has lasted or is expected to last at least 90 days.

It’s important to weigh the pros and cons of tax-qualified policies. The primary advantage is the premium deduction. But keep in mind that medical expenses, including LTC insurance premiums, are deductible only if you itemize and only to the extent they exceed 7.5% of your adjusted gross income (AGI) in 2018 or 10% of AGI in future years (unless Congress extends the lower threshold). So some people may not have enough medical expenses to benefit from this advantage. It’s also important to weigh any potential tax benefits against the advantages of nonqualified policies, which may have less stringent eligibility requirements.

Think long term

Given the potential magnitude of long-term care expenses, the earlier you begin planning, the better. We can help you review your options and analyze the relative benefits and risks.

Nonprofits should be prepared for sudden outpouring of support

Accounting & Assurance|August 15, 2018

Americans gave unprecedented sums to charity in response to the devastating hurricanes last year. Large organizations, such as the American Red Cross, were equipped to handle the huge influxes of donations. However, some smaller charities were overwhelmed. Although it may seem like an unlikely problem, your not-for-profit needs a plan to handle a potential outpouring of support.

Know what’s normal

Perhaps the biggest lesson to learn from recent disasters is to always have an expansion plan in place. When the influx of online giving reached critical mass, many organizations found that their websites overloaded and went offline. Their sites had to be moved to more powerful servers to handle the increased traffic.

Keep track of “normal” website hits, as well as the numbers of calls and email inquiries received, so you won’t be caught off guard when you start to surpass that amount. Also, know your systems’ ultimate capacity so you can enact a contingency plan should you approach critical mass.

Mobilize your troops

Having an “early warning system” is only one part of being prepared. You also need to be able to mobilize your troops in a hurry. Do you know how to reach all of your board members at any time? Can you efficiently organize volunteers when you need extra hands quickly? Be sure you have:

• An up-to-date contact list of board members that includes home, office and mobile phone numbers,
• A process, such as a phone tree, so you can communicate with the board quickly and efficiently, and
• One or more emergency volunteer coordinators who can call and quickly train people when you need them.

Also conduct a mock emergency with staff and volunteers to learn where you’re prepared to ramp up and where you’re not.

Build relationships

A surge in donor interest may mean a surge in media attention. While it might be tempting to say, “not now, we’re busy,” don’t pass up the opportunity to publicize your organization’s mission and the work that’s garnering all the attention.

In most cases, the immediate surge of interest eventually wanes. Before that happens, start to build lasting relationships with new donors and media contacts. Inform them about the work your organization does under “normal” circumstances and suggest ways to get them involved.

IRS issues guidance on new bonus depreciation rules

Tax Prep, Planning & Strategy|August 15, 2018

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) significantly expands bonus depreciation under Section 168(k) of the Internal Revenue Code for both regular tax and alternative minimum tax (AMT) purposes. Now, the IRS has released proposed regulations that clarify the requirements that businesses must satisfy to claim bonus depreciation deductions. Although the regs are only proposed at this point, the IRS will allow taxpayers to rely on them for property placed in service after September 27, 2017, for tax years ending on or after September 28, 2017.

Previous law

Under pre-TCJA law, businesses could claim a first-year bonus depreciation deduction equal to 50% of the basis of qualifying new (not used) assets placed in service in 2017. The deduction was available for the cost of qualifying new assets, including computers, purchased software, vehicles, machinery, equipment and office furniture. Used assets didn’t qualify for the deduction.

You also could claim 50% bonus depreciation for qualified improvement property (QIP), generally defined as any qualified improvement to the interior portion of a nonresidential building if placed in service after the building was placed in service. QIP costs didn’t include costs for the enlargement of a building, an elevator, an escalator, or a building’s internal structural framework.

TCJA changes

The TCJA allows 100% first-year bonus depreciation in Year 1 for qualifying assets placed in service between September 28, 2017, and December 31, 2022. The bonus depreciation percentage will begin to phase out in 2023, dropping 20% each year for four years until it expires at the end of 2026, absent congressional action to extend the break. (The phaseout reductions are delayed a year for certain property with longer production periods and aircraft.)

To qualify for 100% bonus depreciation, property generally must:

Fall within the definition of “qualified property,”
Be placed in service between September 28, 2017, and December 31, 2022, and
Be acquired by the taxpayer after September 27, 2017.

The proposed regs provide additional guidance on several of these elements.

Qualified property

Under the proposed regs, “qualified property” for bonus depreciation purposes is defined to include:

Property depreciated under the Modified Accelerated Cost Recovery System (MACRS) that has a recovery period of 20 years or less (generally, tangible personal property),
Certain computer software,
Water utility property,
Qualified film or television productions,
Qualified live theatrical productions, and
Specified plants.

For 50% first-year bonus depreciation, it also includes QIP acquired after September 27, 2017, and placed in service before January 1, 2018.

Congress intended for QIP placed in service after 2017 to have a 15-year MACRS recovery period, which would make it eligible for bonus depreciation. However, due to a drafting error, the 15-year recovery period for QIP isn’t reflected in the statutory language of the TCJA. Absent a technical correction to fix this glitch, QIP placed in service after 2017 has a 39-year MACRS recovery period and, therefore, is ineligible for bonus depreciation.

Qualified property also doesn’t encompass property that must be depreciated under the Alternative Depreciation System (ADS). That includes MACRS nonresidential real property, residential rental property and QIP held by real estate businesses that elect out of the TCJA’s limit on the business interest deduction. It also includes property with a recovery period of 10 years or more held by a farming business that elects out of the business interest limit.

The proposed regs detail how taxpayers can elect out of bonus depreciation. They also provide rules for electing 50% bonus depreciation, instead of 100% bonus depreciation, for property acquired after September 27, 2017, and placed into service during the taxable year that includes September 28, 2017.

Acquired used property

The proposed regs provide that the acquisition of used property is eligible for bonus depreciation if the property wasn’t used by the taxpayer or a predecessor at any time prior to acquisition of the property. Property is treated as used by the taxpayer or a predecessor before acquisition only if the taxpayer or a predecessor had a depreciable interest in the property at any time before the acquisition, regardless of whether the taxpayer or predecessor actually claimed depreciation.

Businesses that lease property, therefore, can acquire that property at the end of the lease and qualify for bonus depreciation. If a business has a depreciable interest in improvements made to lease property and subsequently acquires the property, the unadjusted depreciable basis of the property that’s eligible for the additional first-year depreciation excludes the unadjusted depreciable basis attributable to the improvements.

If a business initially acquires a depreciable interest in a part of a property and later acquires an additional depreciable interest in it, the additional interest isn’t treated as being previously used by the business. If, however, the business holds a depreciable interest in a portion of a property, sells that portion or part of it, and then acquires a depreciable interest in another part of the same property, it’s treated as previously having a depreciable interest in the property, up to the amount of the part for which the business held a depreciable interest in the property presale.

Used property also must satisfy certain related party and carryover basis requirements, as well as certain cost requirements. The proposed regs include antiabuse provisions for members of a consolidated group, certain acquisitions in accordance with a series of related transactions, and syndication transactions. And they explain how the new bonus depreciation rules apply to a variety of transactions involving partnerships holding assets that are otherwise eligible for bonus depreciation (for example, used machinery or vehicles).

Date of acquisition

The TCJA states that property won’t be treated as acquired after the date on which a “written binding contract” is entered into for the acquisition. The proposed regs clarify that the closing date, delivery date or other such date is irrelevant when determining the date of acquisition — only the date the contract is entered into matters for this purpose.

Under the proposed regs, a written contract is binding if it’s enforceable under state law against a taxpayer (or a predecessor) and doesn’t limit damages to a specified amount. A contractual provision that limits damages to at least 5% of the total contract price won’t be treated as limiting damages to a specified amount.

A letter of intent for an acquisition isn’t a binding contact, according to the proposed regs. Further, supply agreements aren’t treated as written binding contracts until a taxpayer provides the amount and design specifications of the property.

The proposed regs eliminate the safe harbor for property produced under a contract. Such property is no longer treated as self-constructed property, so the date that the contract is entered into generally is the date of acquisition.

Actual self-constructed property isn’t subject to the written binding contract requirement. The acquisition rules for self-constructed property are met if the taxpayer begins manufacturing, constructing or producing the property after September 27, 2017.

The rules regarding the eligibility of acquired used property could have a significant impact on mergers, acquisitions and divestitures. For example, buyers might prefer to structure a transaction as an asset purchase rather than a stock acquisition to take advantage of bonus depreciation. Businesses also should review transactions that have closed but are subject to the new rules to ensure they achieve the optimal tax treatment.

Amount of the deduction

According to the proposed regs, the amount of the first-year depreciation deduction equals the applicable percentage of the property’s unadjusted depreciable basis. The unadjusted depreciable basis generally is limited to the property’s basis attributable to manufacture, construction or production of the property before January 1, 2027.

Plan carefully

Businesses that wish to take advantage of the new rules for fiscal tax years beginning in 2017 but ending in 2018 may have several bonus depreciation options, and amended returns may be advisable in some cases. We can help you make the most of the new rules for fiscal tax years beginning in 2017 and going forward.

Educate your children on wealth management

Businesses aren’t immune to tax identity theft

Keeping a king in the castle with a well-maintained cash reserve

Is a significant portion of your wealth concentrated in a single stock?

3 reasons you should continue making lifetime gifts

Keep it SIMPLE: A tax-advantaged retirement plan solution for small businesses

At your own risk: The pitfalls of DIY estate planning

Addressing long-term care costs with a tax-qualified LTC insurance policy

Nonprofits should be prepared for sudden outpouring of support

IRS issues guidance on new bonus depreciation rules

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