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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 ...

Successful estate planning generally involves passing on your assets to your heirs at a low tax cost. To help achieve that goal, there are a few things to keep in mind about retirement accounts. ...

You may have heard people say that it's wise to avoid probate. But is it true and do you understand why? Probate is the court-supervised process for distributing the assets in your estate . It ...

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 ...

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 ...

In today's world, it's not uncommon for a U.S. citizen who lives in this country to be married to a non-citizen who is a resident. Or two non-citizens may be married to each other while living here. ...

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 ...

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 ...

C haritable giving is growing at a healthy pace, a sign that Americans are a little more confident about the economy and their own finances. Individuals, corporations and foundations donated $316.2 ...

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 ...

If you pay for services from independent contractors, your legal obligations to those individuals are far more limited than those involving statutory employees. But the growing importance of so-called ...

By 2026, nearly one in four workers will be 55 and older. That's compared to about one in five today, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. So, the proportion of younger workers in the ...

Estate planning isn't just for the rich and famous. Many people mistakenly think that they don't need an estate plan anymore because of the latest tax law changes. While it's true that the Tax Cuts ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

Do you own a beach house, ski chalet, resort condo or other vacation getaway? Perhaps it's the place where cherished family reunions take place with your children and grandchildren. Many people with ...