There are many ways to give back. Some give back through donations of cash or property. Other people give back by donating their time or expertise. Some people do both. When you give cash to a public charity, for example, you can deduct your contribution up to 60% of your adjusted gross income. For example, Mary Smith had an adjusted gross income of $100,000. She made a contribution of $60,000 to her alma mater. This resulted in Mary being taxed on $40,000 instead of $100,000, which cut her … [Read more...] about Giving Back
Charitable IRA Rollover
New Year’s Greetings
There are many changes for 2018. Congress passed a last-minute tax law, which the President signed the last business day before the Holidays. Congress Passes New Tax Law Last week the Senate passed the new tax law, (which had been called the “Tax Cuts and Jobs Act” and due to Senate parliamentarian objections is now 'An Act to provide for reconciliation pursuant to titles II and V of the concurrent resolution on the budget for fiscal year 2018”) and then the House of Representatives passed … [Read more...] about New Year’s Greetings
New Year’s Greetings
There are very few changes for 2016. After years of uncertainty and a rollercoaster ride, we’ve reached stability. The exclusion changed a whopping 0.4%, from $5.43 million in 2015 to $5.45 million in 2016. That’s a change of only $20,000. Of course, the new exclusion is for estate and gift, as well as GST purposes. The present interest annual exclusion remains unchanged at $14,000. On the income tax front, the brackets and exemptions changed little, if any. As I mentioned last week, the … [Read more...] about New Year’s Greetings
Congress Gives an Early Christmas Present: Charitable IRA Rollover
Congress gave us an early Christmas present by passing permanent Charitable IRA rollover legislation, the Protecting Americans from Tax Hikes (PATH) Act of 2015. In the past, Congress would pass such legislation, but it would only be effective for that year. Typically, Congress would pass the legislation just before the holidays, and it would be effective only through the end of the year. So, taxpayers would need to scramble to take advantage of the “gift.” This time, Congress made it applicable … [Read more...] about Congress Gives an Early Christmas Present: Charitable IRA Rollover