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Avoid Leaving Specific Assets to Specific Heirs
Planning your estate around specific assets is risky and, in most cases, should be avoided. If you leave specific assets — such as homes, cars or stock — to specific people, you may inadvertently disinherit them. Illustrating the problem Let’s say Debbie has three children — Abbie, Mary Kate and
Financial Statements Help Make Informed Business Decisions
There are three types of financial statements under U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP). Each one reveals different, but equally important, information about your company’s financial performance. Together, they can be analyzed to help owners, management, lenders and investors make informed business decisions. Profit or Loss (aka Income Statement) The
Taxes on Selling Your Home
Spring and summer are busy seasons for selling a home. Interest rates are currently good and buyers are out looking for a new place. Freddie Mac reports that the average 30-year fixed mortgage rate was 4.14% during the week of May 2, 2019, while the 15-year mortgage rate was 3.6%.
Classifying Workers: Employee or Independent Contractor?
Many employers prefer to classify workers as independent contractors to lower costs, even if it means having less control over a worker’s day-to-day activities. However, the government is on the lookout for businesses that classify workers as independent contractors simply to reduce taxes or avoid their employee benefit obligations. Why
Buy or Lease Business Equipment
Life presents us with many choices: paper or plastic, chocolate or vanilla, regular or decaf. For businesses, a common conundrum is buy or lease. You’ve probably faced this decision when considering office space or a location for your company’s production facilities. But the buy or lease business equipment quandary also
Deducting Business Start-Up Expenses
Have you recently started a new business or are thinking of starting one? A new venture is exciting and as you know, you generally have to spend a lot of money just to open the doors. Expenses may include training workers, rent, utilities, IT, marketing, and more. Many new business
Tax Savings for Electric Vehicles
While the number of plug-in electric vehicles (EVs) is still small compared with other cars on the road, it’s growing — especially in certain parts of the country. If you’re interested in purchasing an electric or hybrid vehicle, you may be eligible for a federal income tax credit of up
Estate Planning for Single Parents
According to Pew Research Center’s most recent poll, the percentage of U.S. children who live with an unmarried parent has jumped from 13% in 1968 to 32% in 2017. While estate planning for single parents is similar to estate planning for families with two parents, when only one parent is
Have a Business Turnaround Strategy
Many businesses have a life cycle that, as life cycles tend to do, concludes with a period of decline and failure. Often, the demise of a company is driven by internal factors — such as weak financial oversight, lack of management consensus or one-person rule. External factors typically contribute, as
Help Your Grandkids With College Financing
The staggering cost of college makes it critical for families to plan carefully for this major expense, and in many cases grandparents want to play a role. As you examine the many financing options for your grandchildren, be sure to consider their impact on your estate plan. Make direct payments