Taxes

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Plan now for year-end gifts with the gift tax annual exclusion

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September 6, 2023 , ,

annual gift tax

Now that Labor Day has passed, the holidays are just around the corner. Many people may want to make gifts of cash or stock to their loved ones. By properly using the annual exclusion, gifts to family members and loved ones can reduce the size of your taxable estate, within generous limits, without triggering any estate or gift tax. The exclusion amount for 2023 is $17,000.

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Selling your home for a big profit? Here are the tax rules

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August 29, 2023 ,

home sale profit

Many homeowners across the country have seen their home values increase in recent years. According to the National Association of Realtors, the median price of existing homes sold in July of 2023 rose 1.9% over July of 2022 after a couple years of much higher increases. The median home price was $467,500 in the Northeast, $304,600 in the Midwest, $366,200 in the South and $610,500 in the West.

Be aware of the tax implications if you’re selling your home or you sold one in 2023. You may owe capital gains tax and net investment income tax (NIIT).

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The tax consequences of employer-provided life insurance

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August 23, 2023 ,

life insurance income

If your employer provides life insurance, you probably find it to be a desirable fringe benefit. However, if group term life insurance is part of your benefits package, and the coverage is higher than $50,000, there may be undesirable income tax implications.

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Can you deduct student loan interest on your tax return?

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August 8, 2023

student loan interest deduction

The federal student loan “pause” is coming to an end on August 31 after more than three years. If you have student loan debt, you may wonder whether you can deduct the interest you pay on your tax return. The answer may be yes, subject to certain limits. The deduction is phased out if your adjusted gross income exceeds certain levels — and they aren’t as high as the income levels for many other deductions.

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Pocket a tax break for making energy-efficient home improvements

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August 1, 2023 ,

energy improvement tax break

An estimated 190 million Americans have recently been under heat advisory alerts, according to the National Weather Service. That may have spurred you to think about making your home more energy efficient — and there’s a cool tax break that may apply. Thanks to the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, you may be able to benefit from an enhanced residential energy tax credit to help defray the cost.

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Moving Mom or Dad into a nursing home? 5 potential tax implications

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July 25, 2023 , ,

nursing home

More than a million Americans live in nursing homes, according to various reports. If you have a parent entering one, you’re probably not thinking about taxes. But there may be tax consequences. Let’s take a look at five possible tax breaks.

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Inheriting stock or other assets? You’ll receive a favorable “stepped-up basis”

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July 11, 2023 , ,

estate tax basis planning

If you’re planning your estate, or you’ve recently inherited assets, you may be unsure of the “cost” (or “basis”) for tax purposes.

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That email or text from the IRS: It’s a scam!

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July 5, 2023

IRS scam

“Thousands of people have lost millions of dollars and their personal information to tax scams,” according to the IRS. The scams may come in through email, text messages, telephone calls or regular mail. Criminals regularly target both individuals and businesses and often prey on the elderly.

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The best way to survive an IRS audit is to prepare

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June 27, 2023

IRS Audit

The IRS recently released its audit statistics for the 2022 fiscal year and fewer taxpayers had their returns examined as compared with prior years. But even though a small percentage of returns are being chosen for audits these days, that will be little consolation if yours is one of them.

Continue Reading: The best way to survive an IRS audit is to prepare