Tax Planning

New Baby? New Tax Planning Required

Published on: March 3, 2016 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

The last thing most new parents are thinking about is taxes, but the addition of a new baby to your family has some nice tax perks, according to "The Most-Overlooked Tax Breaks for New Parents" from Kiplinger's. First step: make sure your new addition has a Social Security number.

You'll need an SSN to claim your new baby as a dependent on your tax return. If you don't report the number, it can mean a $50 fine and tie up your refund. Request a Social Security number for your newborn at the hospital when you apply for a birth certificate.

Dependency Exemption. Claiming your son or daughter as a dependent will shelter $4,000 of your income from taxes in 2015, which will save you $1,000 if you are in the 25% bracket. You will receive the full year's exemption, no matter when the child was born or adopted during the year.

It’s Shredding Season in Houston!

Published on: January 8, 2016 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

Keeping your financial house in order is not that complicated, according to the national newspaper USA Today in "Drowning in bank statements, etc.? Here's what you can toss." There are three overarching tasks: pay bills on time, file taxes and save more. Getting organized is the best way to start, and what better way to start the New Year than a clean sweep of paperwork?

Most of the documents you receive from banks, credit card companies and utility companies do not need to be kept, unless you anticipate having a problem.

For instance, bank accounts and bill balances can go. There's no real reason to keep those. These update you on balances at a moment in time but don't mean much in the future. Most of these don't need to be kept for more than a year or two, and typically electronic records will work just as well. However, tax-related financial documents are a different story. In the event of an audit, you'll need all the forms from that tax year to prove your return was accurate. The IRS says you should keep all your tax documents for at least three years. This includes your W-2s with your income for the tax year and your Form 1098 mortgage interest statement. If you have a claim for a loss from worthless securities or bad debt deduction, the IRS recommends you keep tax documents for up to seven years. After seven years, the only reason to hang onto tax documents is if you haven't filed a return at all or if you filed a fraudulent return, according to IRS record-keeping guidelines.

The Countdown to 2016 is On!

Published on: December 11, 2015 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

New Year's resolutions are a favorite tradition. But have you taken care of your end-of-year tasks concerning your finances. There's still time to finish off your 2015 list!

US News reminds us in "6 Financial Tasks You Need to Complete Before the End of the Year" that there are several opportunities for smart financial moves and some last chances to take advantage of financial benefits. The article lists six things to consider crossing off your 2015 list in the next few weeks:

Make a Charitable Donation. Your donation to a charity is tax deductible. Why not do this and take the deduction on your 2015 tax filings? Charitable donations are nice for homeowners who itemize because they get the full benefit of the deduction.

IRS Announces New Estate Tax Rule; Implementation Guidelines Not In Place

Published on: September 22, 2015 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

The IRS enacted a new law that required any estates filing Form 706 after July 31, 2015 to report the value of the estate within 30 days after filing the estate form. However, the IRS never issued any implementing regulations for the law. As a result, the IRS has recently announced that the requirements will be postponed until February 29, 2016. Mondaq.com reported this development in an article titled “IRS Postpones New Requirements For Estates To Report Asset Values.”

This does not mean that estate administrators should do anything different than they were already planning to do. It is still important to get proper valuations of estate assets as they will have to be reported for estate tax purposes.

The IRS will eventually implement regulations for the new rules and estate administrators should be ready to file at that time. On the upside, the postponement may give some administrators a little more breathing room.

Future Trends? Some Savvy Retirement Loopholes May Be Changed

Published on: August 19, 2015 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

Savvy individuals, estate planning lawyers and financial advisors are not averse to finding unintended benefits when Congress makes changes to laws regarding retirement accounts and Social Security payments. Unfortunately, when too many of these techniques are discovered and shared widely, the government sees revenue slipping away. Three of these loopholes have drawn the attention of various government agencies and may be changed in the near future.

A recent Reuters article, titled “3 Retirement Loopholes That Are Likely to Close,” discusses some of the loopholes that can be found, as an unintended result, due to changes in law.

Back-Door Roth IRA Conversions. Congress created this loophole by lifting income restrictions from conversions from a traditional IRA to a Roth IRA, but not placing such restrictions from the contributions to the accounts. As a result, those whose incomes are too high to put after-tax money directly into a Roth IRA so it can grow tax-free, instead are able to fund a traditional IRA with a non-deductible contribution then convert it to a Roth. Taxes are usually expected in a Roth conversion, but this work-around doesn’t cause much liability, the article explains, provided the contributor doesn’t have other money in an IRA.

Houston Families Have Tax Advantaged College Savings Options

Published on: February 5, 2015 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

There are three basic tax advantaged vehicles to help save for college: 529 plans, Coverdall Education Savings Accounts and Roth IRAs.

Saving for college? Consider three tax advantaged tools to help fund your child’s or grandchild’s education: 529 plans, Coverdall Education Savings Accounts and Roth IRAs.

A recent Forbes article, titled “How to Save for College,”reports that each of these plans allows the funds to be used for college tuition and fees, and some also permit the funds to go towards books and room and board expenses. In addition, the Coverdall accounts allow you to use the funds to pay for K-12 schooling. 529 plans have the fewest restrictions and so the broadest appeal.

Four Quick Facts About the U.S. Tax Court

Published on: December 5, 2014 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

Recently, I attended the American Association Attorney-Certified Public Accountants (AAA-CPA) symposium at the United States Tax Court in Washington, D.C. I heard U.S. Tax Court Chief Judge Michael B. Thornton discuss court operations in the context of assisting taxpayers "get their day in court." Chief Judge Thornton stressed that the Tax Court is considered a "people's court" and the operations of the court strive to be user-friendly for taxpayers.

A few facts about the U.S. Tax Court:

1. A tax case can be filed in the U.S. Tax court without the taxpayer paying the contested tax PRIOR to the proposed Tax Court hearing.

Houston Business Owners: Tax Tips-N-Tricks for 2014

Published on: November 24, 2014 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

Continual planning is essential for finding opportunities that will reduce the financial burden. Several options exist to help corporations retain wealth and reduce taxes legally.

At the end of the business year 2014, companies will be examining data to see if there are any tax savings available on defined contribution, benefit, cash balance and 401(k) plans.

A recent article on the InsuranceNewsNet website, titled “Important Tax-Planning Tips for Business Owners In 2014,” states that retirement packages can decrease tax liabilities by deferring income. The original article notes that gathering this data will allow business owners to make informed decisions about potentially accelerating deductions and deferring income into the next quarter. Compiling financial projections and reports is extremely important for proper tax planning.