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Year-end Tax Planning: 10 Things to Keep in Mind

Nov 23, 2011

The window of opportunity for many tax-saving moves closes on December 31. So set aside some time to evaluate your tax situation now, while there’s still time to affect your bottom line for the current tax year. With that in mind, here are 10 things to consider as the curtain closes on 2011.

1. Deferring income to 2012 means postponing taxes

Consider opportunities you might have to defer income to 2012. You might be able to delay a year-end bonus, for example. If you’re able to push what would have been 2011 income into 2012, you may be able to put off paying income tax on the deferred dollars until next year.

2. Paying deductible expenses sooner may help you in 2011

Does it make sense for you to accelerate deductions into 2011? If you itemize deductions, it might help your 2011 bottom line to pay deductible expenses like medical costs, qualifying interest, and state and local taxes before the end of the year, instead of waiting until 2012.

3. Income tax rates to remain the same in 2012

The same six federal income tax rates that apply in 2011 will apply in 2012. So, depending upon your income, you’ll fall into either the 10%, 15%, 25%, 28%, 33%, or 35% rate bracket. And, as in 2011, long-term capital gains and (more…)

Tags: Current Events, Tax Planning

A Financial Check-up from the Neck-up

Sep 8, 2011

We have all suffered through (and many are still suffering through) the second worst economic downturn in our country’s history. “I Was There” and no one is even handing out the proverbial free tee-shirt. But there have been signs of hope, as the stock market has rebounded well off its 2009 lows, corporations are in much better financial shape, investors have delevered, and many economic indicators are still moving in the right direction (albeit at a much slower pace than most would like to see). The most stubborn areas can still be seen today in the housing market and the elevated levels continuing in unemployment.  Add to that the US debt debacle, as well as European debt woes, slowing growth in the emerging markets, an S&P US rating downgrade and the media is once again having a feeding frenzy. (more…)

Tags: Current Events, Retirement Planning

Budget Cuts & The Debt Ceiling

Jul 19, 2011

If we slash trillions from the federal budget, what does that do to our GDP?

The summer of discontent stretches on. As July ebbs into August, we have no resolution on the federal debt limit issue. The possibility of default is still in play. Republican leaders want major cuts to entitlement programs as a condition of raising the debt ceiling; Democrats agree on the necessity of cuts but also want tax hikes for the wealthiest Americans to bring in added revenue.

A trillion-dollar divide. On July 14, CNBC.com reported that both parties had tentatively agreed on nearly $1.4 trillion worth of reductions to the federal budget. That’s not too surprising: $1.4 trillion is the projected size of the budget gap for the fiscal year ending in September. Republicans have called for $2.4 trillion in cuts.^1,2

This federal belt-tightening is going to lead politicians, economists and consumers into the second part of the debt cap (more…)

Tags: Current Events

The D Word Haunts Wall Street

Jul 5, 2011

Is there a chance that America could actually default on its debt?

When will the debt ceiling issue be solved?  The NFL, the NBA, the EU, Congress … wherever you look, it seems people would rather wrangle these days than resolve their differences. The U.S. Treasury has set a hard deadline of August 2 for Congress to settle its divide on the federal debt ceiling, and if partisan bickering interferes, the world economy could suffer a severe hit.

 What would happen if we miss the deadline? According to federal budget analysts at the Bipartisan Policy Center, the Treasury would only be able to make a slight majority of its 80 million monthly payments in August. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner would likely be put in the same position as a struggling consumer low on cash and behind on his bills: he would have to selectively decide which debts to pay for the month and which to ignore.¹

Should August 2 come and go without a solution, Congress’s inaction (and Geithner’s subsequent decisions) would have dramatic global repercussions. Most likely, his big priority would be to pay off bond investors so that a formal (more…)

Tags: Current Events