When you own stock in what is now a bankrupt company, one thing is for sure: It was a lousy investment. Unfortunately, that doesn’t automatically mean you can write off the cost of your shares for tax purposes. Here are the basic rules: You can claim a capital loss deduction when you sell shares for less than you...
keep readingThe traditional estate planning approach, aimed at reducing estate tax values, is less relevant for the vast majority of individuals today than it was in the past. The American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 (ATRA) provides relatively generous estate tax rates, limits and rules for estates. Specifically, the ATRA reduced the top marginal estate tax rate from 55...
keep readingTax season is finally here. The deadline for calendar-year corporations to file a return (or an extension) is Monday, March 16. The deadline for individuals to file their income tax returns (or an extension) is Wednesday, April 15. As businesses and individuals start gathering financial records to give to their tax professionals, they should know how...
keep readingThe following table provides some important federal tax information for 2015, as compared with 2014. Some of the dollar amounts changed due to inflation. Other amounts changed due to legislation. Social Security/ Medicare 2015 2014 Social Security Tax Wage Base $118,500 $117,000 Medicare Tax Wage Base No limit No limit Employee portion of Social Security 6.2%...
keep readingThe Tax Increase Prevention Act of 2014 (TIPA) renewed through 2014 a long list of business federal income tax breaks that had been allowed to expire at the end of 2013. This article provides a quick summary of the most important business extenders that were just resurrected — and a few that were not. DEPRECIATION AND COST RECOVERY...
keep readingThe Tax Increase Prevention Act of 2014, which was signed into law on December 19, renewed through 2014 a long list of personal and business federal income tax breaks that had been allowed to expire at the end of 2013. Because Congress habitually allows these breaks to expire before restoring them for a year or two, they...
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