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In the good old days, business owners believed that as long as they served their customers effectively and made sure that their stock maintained or increased its value, all was taken care of. However, ...

Individual investors invest billions in financial markets based on factors including research, professional advice and trust -- trust that they have received the best information available to support ...

When a professional corporation sells its assets or liquidates, one important tax issue is whether the corporation or the shareholder-employees own any appreciated professional goodwill (with a fair ...

Estate planning is always important — but it takes on even greater importance if you have a special needs child who is not expected to be financially independent. The parents of children with autism, ...

Giving away money to reduce your taxable estate is a common strategy to reduce estate taxes. But in order to be valid, the gifts must be "complete" by the time the donor dies — meaning that checks ...

When your loved one dies, taxes may not be your first concern. But the IRS requires family members (or executors) to address unfamiliar and sometimes overwhelming tax considerations during this ...

Legislation enacted a few years ago made permanent changes to the federal estate and gift tax rules. Specifically, here are the significant estate changes in the American Taxpayer Relief Act: The 2019 ...

Beneficial rules for the generation-skipping transfer (GST) tax are currently in force, which may allow you to pass on assets to future generations without a federal tax bill. GST Tax Basics When it ...

The reason: Investments held in a Roth IRA are allowed to build up federal-income-tax-free. Later on, you can take federal-income-tax-free withdrawals. Obviously, a zero tax rate is the best rate ...

U.S. stocks dropped on Wednesday and the Dow Jones industrial average suffered its worst day since February as feeble quarterly reports from Walt Disney, Macy's and Fossil undermined confidence across ...

Ferrari Ottoboni Caputo & Wunderling LLP is proud to announce that Daniel S. Gonzales, of counsel to the firm, was honored with the Professional Lawyer of the Year Award by the Santa Clara County Bar ...

On Wednesday, January 2, 2013, President Obama signed the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 (the "Act") thereby averting the "fiscal cliff" and establishing a "permanent" set of estate and gift tax ...

If you're renovating a building in an historic part of town, you may be able to claim a 20% federal tax credit for the cost of the renovation work. The benefit has to do with the tax credit for ...

L ocation, location, location. You know how important it is for your business. So when choosing a location, you probably research foot traffic, car traffic and the occupancy rates of the neighboring ...

If you own commercial property, you're probably depreciating it over 39 years. That means that every year, you deduct 1/39th of the property's value (excluding land) from your taxes . Depending on the ...

The IRS uses "Collection Financial Standards" to help determine a taxpayer's ability to pay a delinquent tax liability. Allowable living expenses include those that meet the test of being necessary to ...

Many business owners fail to follow the strict tax rules for substantiating vehicle expenses. But if your business is audited, the IRS will most likely ask for mileage logs if you deducted vehicle ...

There's no doubt about it ... college is expensive. At top-rated private universities, the annual cost can be $55,000 and up. Some public schools charge out-of-state students $40,000 and up. With any ...

If you sell stocks with losses in your taxable accounts, you may offset losses against gains and deduct an additional $3,000 of excess losses against ordinary income. But what about losses in your ...

What's your real marginal tax rate? If you answer that question by looking at the tax rate tables that show rates of 10, 15, 25, 28, 33, 35 and 39.6 percent, you could be understating your real ...

If you have investments with substantial losses, consider these strategies to improve your results: 1. Use stock losses to offset other capital gains. You may use stock losses to offset other types of ...

Recordkeeping for reimbursing business travel expenses can be cumbersome. Instead of reimbursing employees for the actual costs they incur for out-of-town lodging, meals and incidentals, some ...

The stock market has experienced plenty of ups and downs this year. So some investors are poised to take big gains for 2019, while others are currently showing losses and many have both. What are the ...

Virtual currency has gone mainstream. AT&T recently announcedthat its customers can use Bitcoin to pay their phone bills. Other big companies that accept Bitcoin include Microsoft, Expedia and ...

Most of us know that a trust is a useful way to safeguard financial assets for your benefit or for someone else. But the common misconceptions about trusts could cause you to bypass them entirely, or ...

The U.S. survived the worst recession since the Great Depression. But believe it or not, there is a silver lining: this tough economy has driven applicable federal rates (AFRs) to rock bottom levels. ...

Depending on your situation, it may make sense to include the odd-sounding "Q-tip trust" in your estate plan . The name derives from a special estate tax break for "qualified terminable interest ...

If you receive group disability insurance from your company, you may think you have enough coverage to protect yourself in the event of a long-term sickness or injury. But take a closer look. One of ...

Some people are under the misconception that Social Security benefits are always free from federal income tax. However, depending on how much income you have from other sources, you may have to report ...

Custodial accounts for children are established for various reasons. Grandma gave $10,000 to little Jennifer: set up a custodial account. Mom and Dad want a tax shelter for little Johnny's college ...