Phoenix-area home buyers know all too well that a hot housing market isn’t guaranteed to be a permanent fixture. While job numbers and housing starts are currently skyrocketing, there are signs a perfect storm is brewing on the economic horizon. Arizona’s last jobs report featured an unemployment rate at 4.7 percent, a strong number buoyed […]
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 […]
The Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) has issued a new Accounting Standards Update, ASC 606: Revenue from Contracts with Customers,that addresses revenue recognition under U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles. The new rules are an attempt to standardize the revenue recognition process across different industries and geographic locations. The Standard was the result of a multi-year […]
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 […]
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 […]
Target Departure Date You simply cannot create a roadmap for your successful exit without a stated departure date. We suggest that you set that date by asking yourself questions designed to help you establish a time frame for your departure. You can design your own departure in terms of when it occurs and how your […]
Once upon a time, some parents and grandparents would attempt to save tax by putting investments in the names of their young children or grandchildren in lower income tax brackets. To discourage such strategies, Congress created the "kiddie" tax back in 1986. Since then, this tax has gradually become more far-reaching. Now, under the Tax […]
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) provides a valuable new tax break to noncorporate owners of pass-through entities: a deduction for a portion of qualified business income (QBI). The deduction generally applies to income from sole proprietorships, partnerships, S corporations and, typically, limited liability companies (LLCs). It can equal as much as 20% of […]
Because donations to charity of cash or property generally are tax deductible (if you itemize), it only seems logical that the donation of something even more valuable to you — your time — would also be deductible. Unfortunately, that’s not the case. Donations of time or services aren’t deductible. It doesn’t matter if it’s simple […]
"Going green" at home — whether it’s your principal residence or a second home — can reduce your tax bill in addition to your energy bill, all while helping the environment, too. The catch is that, to reap all three benefits, you need to buy and install certain types of renewable energy equipment in the […]
