As we approach the end of 2018, it’s a good idea to review the mutual funds holdings in your taxable accounts and take steps to avoid potential tax traps. Here are some tips. Avoid Surprise Capital Gains Unlike with stocks, you can’t avoid capital gains on mutual funds simply by holding on to the shares…. Continue Reading
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) has enhanced two depreciation-related breaks that are popular year-end tax planning tools for businesses. To take advantage of these breaks, you must purchase qualifying assets and place them in service by the end of the tax year. That means there’s still time to reduce your 2018 tax liability… Continue Reading
How efficient is your not-for-profit? Even tightly run organizations can use some improvement — particularly in the accounting area. Adopting the following six tips can help improve timeliness and accuracy. Set cutoff policies. Create policies for the monthly cutoff of invoicing and recording expenses — and adhere to them. For example, require all invoices to… Continue Reading
A tried-and-true year end tax strategy is to make charitable donations. As long as you itemize and your gift qualifies, you can claim a charitable deduction. But did you know that you can enjoy an additional tax benefit if you donate long-term appreciated stock instead of cash? 2 Benefits From 1 Gift Appreciated publicly traded… Continue Reading
Some of your medical expenses may be tax deductible, but only if you itemize deductions and have enough expenses to exceed the applicable floor for deductibility. With proper planning, you may be able to time controllable medical expenses to your tax advantage. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) could make bunching such expenses into… Continue Reading
Many people choose to pass assets to the next generation during life, whether to reduce the size of their taxable estate, to help out family members or simply to see their loved ones enjoy the gifts. If you’re considering lifetime gifts, be aware that which assets you give can produce substantially different tax consequences. Multiple… Continue Reading
Jen: This is the PKF Texas Entrepreneur’s Playbook. I’m Jen Lemanski, and I’m back again with Frank Landreneau, one of our international tax directors. Frank, welcome back to the Playbook. Frank: Well, thanks for having me back. Jen: So, we’ve been covering international tax reform. What else do people need to know? What haven’t we… Continue Reading
The Houston Business Journal published an article on their website co-authored by PKF Texas Tax Practice Leader and Director, J. Del Walker, CPA, and Tax Manager, Annjeanette Yglesias, CPA. The article discusses the differences between a private foundation (PF) and the donor advised fund (DAF), which impact family philanthropy efforts. So, what are the differences?… Continue Reading
In today’s tightening job market, to attract and retain the best employees, small businesses need to offer not only competitive pay, but also appealing fringe benefits. Benefits that are tax-free are especially attractive to employees. Let’s take a quick look at some popular options. Insurance Businesses can provide their employees with various types of insurance… Continue Reading
Jen: This is the PKF Texas Entrepreneur’s Playbook. I’m Jen Lemanski, and I’m back again with Frank Landreneau, one of our international tax directors. Frank, welcome back to the Playbook. Frank: Thanks, Jen. Great to be back. Jen: So, last time we talked about the toll tax. Can you give us a little bit of… Continue Reading
The considerations involved in deciding whether to make a direct IRA rollover have changed in light of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA). If you’re age 70½ or older, you can make direct contributions — up to $100,000 annually — from your IRA to qualified charitable organizations without owing any income tax on the… Continue Reading
Jen: This is the PKF Texas Entrepreneur’s Playbook. I’m Jen Lemanski, and I’m back again with Frank Landreneau, one of our international tax directors. Frank, welcome back to the Playbook. Frank: Thanks, Jen. It’s great to be back. Jen: We spent some time talking about tax reform and how it impacts international corporations and individuals,… Continue Reading
For investors, fall is a good time to review year-to-date gains and losses. Not only can it help you assess your financial health, but it also can help you determine whether to buy or sell an investment before year end to save taxes. This year, you also need to keep in mind the impact of… Continue Reading
Recently, the Houston Business Journal published an article on their website authored by PKF Texas Tax Director, Martin Euson, JD, about Houston’s designated “opportunity zones.” What are opportunity zones? According to Euson’s article, opportunity zones are part of the U.S. Treasury Department’s new program, which was created by the federal Tax Cuts and Jobs Act… Continue Reading
If you’re charitably inclined and you collect art, appreciated artwork can make one of the best charitable gifts from a tax perspective. In general, donating appreciated property is doubly beneficial because you can both enjoy a valuable tax deduction and avoid the capital gains taxes you’d owe if you sold the property. The extra benefit… Continue Reading
Here are some of the key tax-related deadlines affecting businesses and other employers during the fourth quarter of 2018. Keep in mind that this list isn’t all-inclusive, so there may be additional deadlines that apply to you. October 15 If a calendar-year C corporation that filed an automatic six-month extension: File a 2017 income tax… Continue Reading
To avoid interest and penalties, you must make sufficient federal income tax payments long before your April filing deadline through withholding, estimated tax payments, or a combination of the two. The third 2018 estimated tax payment deadline for individuals is September 17. If you don’t have an employer withholding tax from your pay, you likely… Continue Reading
When teachers are setting up their classrooms for the new school year, it’s common for them to pay for a portion of their classroom supplies out of pocket. A special tax break allows these educators to deduct some of their expenses. This educator expense deduction is especially important now due to some changes under the… Continue Reading
Jen: This is the PKF Texas Entrepreneur’s Playbook. I’m Jen Lemanski, and I’m back again with Frank Landreneau, one of our International Tax Directors. Frank, welcome back to the Playbook. Frank: Well, thank you. It’s great to be back. Jen: So, we’ve done a series – we talked about GILTI, we’ve talked about FDII, we’ve… Continue Reading
If you gamble, be sure you understand the tax consequences. Both gambling wins and losses can affect your income tax bill. And changes under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) could also have an impact. Wins and Taxable Income You must report 100% of your winnings as taxable income. The value of complimentary goodies… Continue Reading
Jen: This is the PKF Texas Entrepreneur’s Playbook. I’m Jen Lemanski, and I’m back again with Danielle Supkis Cheek, a director on our Entrepreneurial Advisory Services team. Danielle, welcome back to the Playbook. Danielle: Thanks for having me again. Jen: So a few episodes back we talked about revenue recognition. Another one of our directors… Continue Reading
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) liberalized the eligibility rules for using the cash method of accounting, making this method — which is simpler than the accrual method — available to more businesses. Now the IRS has provided procedures a small business taxpayer can use to obtain automatic consent to change its method of… Continue Reading
Converting a traditional IRA to a Roth IRA can provide tax-free growth and tax-free withdrawals in retirement. But what if you convert your traditional IRA — subject to income taxes on all earnings and deductible contributions — and then discover you would have been better off if you hadn’t converted it? Before the Tax Cuts and Jobs… Continue Reading
There was talk of repealing the individual alternative minimum tax (AMT) as part of last year’s tax reform legislation. A repeal wasn’t included in the final version of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), but the TCJA will reduce the number of taxpayers subject to the AMT. Now is a good time to familiarize… Continue Reading
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