edited by: Tracy Coenen,
Accounting Editor
Tax planning and ensuring that you have enough paid in to avoid penalties has never been crazier. The Feds have reduced withholdings and given rebates to encourage spending in the economy; while the geniuses in Sacramento are trying to force California taxpayers to intentionally overpay their withholdings as an interest free loan [...]
War Is the Health of the Taxman. Democrats want a temporary war tax on the rich, like the one from 1898. – Kevin Williamson gives an excellent recap of the “temporary” taxes that were supposed to be only for the evil rich over the past 150 years in this [...]
Q:
Tax Guru
In 2005 you recommended the use of the BeneTrends rainmaker plan for using your 401k funds to finance a company. Have you had anymore experience with them in the last four years? I am thinking of using them, but am worried that there may [...]
Using multiple entities for tax, liability, and other business reasons has been a very common and useful strategy for longer than I’ve been in this business. Why many tax pros are unaware or unwilling to recommend them is still surprising to me.
Q:
Subject: Estate Tax Exclusion
Mr. Kerstetter,
I found your writeup on estate and gift taxes via google search, and then I read your blog with great interest.
Thank you for publlishing it.
You have this text on your page:
If you do give any one [...]
Snipes Appeals Overly Taxing Prison Sentence – The Hollywood lunkhead’s tax planning strategy is still on course for him to stay at Club Fed for at least a few years.
[...]
CCH has calculated the inflation adjustments for the depreciation limits on business vehicles first placed into service in 2010. Based on past experience, they expect IRS to release their official version of the calculation in April 2010.
Ever since the ridiculously low luxury car limits on depreciation were initiated [...]
From the latest issue of Intuit’s ProConnection Newsletter:
New Rulings Impact 2009 Form 1040
[...] I’ve lost track of the number of CPAs and tax professionals who have asked me for advice on building up a clientele. I always advise against paying those “marketing” firms that promise to attract new accounting and tax clients via their deceptive advertising. Those are scams.
I have been telling [...]
It’s not a cut and dried answer as to the maximum that can be claimed, as I explain in this vidcast Q&A.
If the embedded player doesn’t work, you can access the video directly on YouTube.
[...] This is going to be an evolving process as we become [...]
As someone who buys almost everything over the internet, where some out of state vendors charge sales tax and others don’t, I have long suspected that many of those vendors don’t actually send the tax money to Arkansas and other “foreign” states. Given a choice, I’d obviously prefer not to pay [...]
There has already been a lot of press coverage of the fact that there will be no increase in the monthly benefits paid to Social Security recipients in 2010 because of the low inflation rate for the past year.
For the first time I can recall, we also have [...]
Tax refugees staging escape from New York – As always, any State rulers who didn’t see this as the inevitable result of increasing taxes are complete idiots.
[...]
Costly fraud and error reported in home buyers' tax program
Wow! Who would have suspected that a refundable $8,000 tax credit would be an invitation for un-deserving people to cheat? Of course, the answer is that our imbecile rulers in DC obviously weren’t able to anticipate what anybody with half' [...]
For those folks not satisfied with the CCH calculations of the 2010 inflation adjustments that I posted a month ago, IRS has officially released their figures.
21 page pdf file with all details
[...]
Tax Hike in a Lab Coat… Dare to say no to Baucus-care.
– And anyone opposing this socialist takeover of the medical profession is going to [...]
Eight Year-End Moves That Can Cut Clients Tax Bills for 2009 and 2010 – Some good ideas from the most recent issue of the Intuit ProConnection Newsletter.
These are obviously not the only ways by which to reduce taxes. For example, they don’t mention the huge potential [...]
Tax the Rich? How's That Working? – Idiotic politicians always assume that they can just continue to financially rape the people with the money and they will just stand still and allow it to happen. While that worked for Roman Polanski, who was able to prevent his 13 year [...]
It appears that our friends at the real IRS have even more competition in separating people from their money from imposters.
Earlier this morning, a client called and said that there was a voice mail message on her husband’s cell phone, claiming to be from the IRS and that they needed [...]
Q:
Subject: gifts of 13,000
Good Afternoon,
If I am reading it correctly, it states that a married couple can receive up to $52,000 a year.
Would it be done like this, My mother writing a check out for 13,000 to both my husband and I and [...]
Risky business: States tax the rich at their peril - Too many of our rulers have short term mentalities and have no concern for the long range consequences of their decisions to steal as much money as they can from the "evil rich."
I am very happy [...]
IRS scam now world's biggest e-mail virus problem – These phony IRS emails that I mentioned a few weeks ago are still floating around the net. I have been receiving at least one copy each day since then. As this article explains, they contain a nasty computer Trojan virus; so [...]
How many people would willingly invest everything they own with someone who has a lengthy track record of being 100% wrong on every single prediction? Any sane investor would stay miles away from anyone with such a history. However, that’s the case with anyone who believes a single financial fact [...]
Q:
Subject: Sec 179 depreciation.
Hello, just found you on the web and had a question regarding this tax law. If our business takes a loss the first year (this year) can we still use this for the over 6,000 lb. commercial truck we purchased this year [...]
Q:
Subject: C Corp Question
Good Morning,
I am looking at forming a C Corp, based on your advice online. One thing I do not understand is how one bleeds off income at the end of the personal tax year (12/31) back to the corporation, to limit [...]
Kerry M. Kerstetter, MBA~CPA~ATP~ATA
Family and friends of tax pros have long known that there are five seasons per year.
