When you take out personal loans to buy a business, you want to maximize the tax write-offs for the resulting interest expense. The tax law in this area is tricky. But if you play your cards right, you can get the best possible outcome. First, you need to trace your interest expense outlays. Under tax law,...

If you own a profitable, unincorporated business with your spouse, you’re probably fed up with high self-employment (SE) tax bills. An unincorporated business in which both spouses are active is typically treated as a partnership that’s owned 50/50 by the spouses — or a limited liability company (LLC) that’s treated as a partnership for tax...

Several significant tax developments happened last year that may affect federal income tax returns that individual and business taxpayers file in 2017. Here’s a quick look at 10 key changes that you should be aware of during this tax season. Stand-Alone HRAs On December 13, 2016 — just over a month before leaving office — President...

Saving for retirement on a tax-advantaged basis should be on nearly everyone’s financial “to do” list. Making contributions to a Roth IRA is one tax-wise way to save, because you can take withdrawals after age 59 1/2 that are free from federal income tax, assuming you’ve had at least one Roth account open for more than five...

Corporations can generally deduct interest on debts for federal tax purposes. A valid obligation exists if the parties intended to create a debt, and the debt is enforceable and unconditional. In contrast, a capital contribution is a direct or indirect contribution of cash or other property to the capital of a business entity. Generally, a contribution...

The Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT) is a nonpartisan Congressional committee that, among other things, assists in the analysis and drafting of proposed federal tax legislation and prepares reports that interpret newly enacted federal tax legislation. The JCT recently issued the Overview of the Federal Tax System as in Effect for 2016. Here are the details of...