Below are a few tax planning strategies that you can take advantage of before 12/31/08 (please note that each taxpayer’s situation is unique and these strategies may or may not apply to you): 1. Making your January 2009 mortgage payment on your residence before the end of this year allows you to deduct the interest […]
Use holiday bonuses to max out annual retirement plan contributions first and for presents second. Avoid year-end capital gains by gifting appreciated securities rather than cash. Make charitable donations before the end of the year to obtain better deductions. Use the $11,000 annual gift-tax exclusion (increases to $12,000 in 2006), but do not exceed it. […]
Scenario: You have a friend; a close business associate that is about to make a monumental mistake that could ruin his business at worst, or cripple it at best. Would you do everything in your power to stop your friend; save him or her from possible ruin? When markets are under duress like they are […]
This past May, at the Berkshire Hathaway annual conference in Omaha, Warren Buffet stunned many investors with his statement, “If a stock I own goes down 50%, I’d look forward to it. In fact, I would offer you a significant sum of money if you could give me the opportunity for all of my stocks […]
Should you fire up the gas powered shredder or not? There tends to be a serious amount of confusion when it comes to the plethora of paper records required to substantiate the information Americans use for their tax returns. Record-keeping requirements have been growing, as evidenced by the recently expanded requirements for receipts supporting charitable […]
I know its June, but for small business owners the April 15th We often encounter many small business owners that carry the misconception that 401(k)’s are only for larger corporations and are unaffordable or they don’t have enough employees to be eligible. Fortunately, businesses as small as one person can open up affordable 401(k) plans, […]
John Donofrio is our resident expert on all things tax. His column Tales From the Crypt makes a regular appearance in the Personal CFO. This month our Crypt keeper, needed to blow off some steam. Here is another example of how frustrating my business is. Like clockwork, I was doing my post-morning workout homework (WSJ, […]
I have to admit that I am pretty hard on insurance agents. I often compare them to the infamous “Needle-Nose Ned Ryerson” from the film Groundhog Day; and with good reason. Of the countless stories of investment fraud that crosses my desk each and every week, the overwhelming majority of them are perpetrated by dishonest […]
Another day… another attempt at separating senior citizens from their money. The air waves are being blanketed with advertisements for reverse mortgages. They are being sold as a cure-all for retirement financing, easy living, and in some cases a fantastic and astute means to finance other investments. The reality is that this could not be […]
Millions of Americans are saving for retirement in 401(k)s and Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs). These tax-deferred accounts allow for individuals to invest pretax dollars, but require them to pay taxes on their deposits and accumulated earnings at the time of withdrawal. A Roth account allows for individuals to deposit after-tax dollars, but withdraw the accumulated […]