The dust has not yet settled from the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), passed into law in December 2017, and the House Ways and Means Committee is already considering another round of tax changes. The committee chair, Kevin Brady, Republican from Texas, wants to include input from stakeholders such as business groups, think tanks…
Not all plans offer hardship withdrawals, but the ones that do will be required to comply for plan years beginning in 2019. In order to take a hardship withdrawal from a 401(k) or similar plan, a plan participant must demonstrate an “immediate and heavy financial need,” as defined by the IRS. (For details, visit the…
Taxpayers with higher 1040 taxable incomes who are self-employed but are not “specified service businesses” may find it beneficial to structure new businesses, or restructure an existing business, as an S corporation to avoid taxable income limitations that apply to the new 20% Sec. 199A pass-through deduction. To make up for the tax reform’s reduction…
Taxes are similar to vehicles, in that they sometimes need a check-up to make sure they are performing as expected. That is especially true for 2018, with all of the changes brought about by tax reform. One area of major concern is the amount of taxes individuals are withholding from their wages. Tax reform was…
In today’s Marietta Daily Journal, Bil Lako, CFP®, explains that despite sweeping tax reform, there are still tax advantages to homeownership.
A frequent question is whether inheritances are taxable. This is a frequently misunderstood question related to taxation and can be complicated. When someone passes away, all of their assets will be subject to inheritance taxation, and whatever is left over after paying the inheritance tax passes to the decedent’s beneficiaries. Sound bleak? Don’t worry, very…
To fully understand the impact of the law changes, we need to compare the prior tax law to the new tax reform. Under prior law, a taxpayer could deduct the interest he or she paid on up to $1 million of acquisition debt and $100,000 of equity debt secured by the taxpayer’s primary home and/or…
Senior Managing Associate and Principal Jennifer J. Thomas, CFP® and Tax Consultant Jessie Thomas, C.P.A. join Chief Investment Officer Troy Harmon, CFA, CVA for a discussion on planning for the first required minimum distribution from tax deferred retirement accounts at age 70 ½.
Gift taxes were created to prevent wealthy taxpayers from transferring their estates to their beneficiaries via gifts and thus avoid estate taxes when they pass away. But that does not mean only wealthy taxpayers need to be concerned with the gift tax provisions as, under many circumstances, even lower-income taxpayers may find they are liable…
Your actual student loan payments aren’t deductible, but the interest portion might be, thanks to the student loan interest deduction. In 2018, the maximum deduction is $2,500. You don’t need to itemize to claim this deduction. To qualify, you must meet a few requirements: First, the student loan on which you’re paying interest must be…
