SOME people who lost money in the financial turmoil last year may be able to get a measure of tax relief. Daniel Acker/Bloomberg News People who invested with Bernard L. Madoff may want to file for an extension on taxes. The tax code provides help for losses in stocks and mutual funds, in homes that […]
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: Sec. 201 of H.R. 7327 suspends the 50% penalty for failure to take a required minimum distribution, for 2009, for distributions from defined contribution plans. Normally, if any individual passed his required beginning date, or any plan beneficiary, fails to take a required distribution during any year, the penalty is 50% of the amount that should have […]
Tens of thousands of small-business owners and sole proprietors may have invalid Keogh plans, and that a failure to fix the problem could prove to be very costly to them and to advisers.
Many people seem unaware how useful IRAs can be as savings vehicles Make no mistake about it: The IRA is America’s savings vehicle of choice. In 2007, assets in such accounts totaled $4.75 trillion, more than any other type of retirement account, according to an Employee Benefit Research Institute study published Wednesday. That’s the good […]
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) — When economic times get tough, finding dollars to donate can get tougher, but there are ways to make your charitable dollar stretch farther. Certainly, plenty of people find a way to give, no matter what the broader economic trends. While charitable giving declines during economic slowdowns, it doesn’t slow all that […]
The recent bear market has not affected all investors equally. Clients who are still working could potentially have years to buy stocks at fire-sale prices. Older retired clients have Social Security checks, pensions in some cases, bond interest and—with good planning—enough of a cash reserve to defer selling their depressed stocks.
When stocks slide, taking capital losses can be a savvy move. You’ll cut your taxes now and in the future. However, tax losses help you only if you take them in taxable accounts. If you take losses in a tax-deferred account such as an IRA, you won’t get any benefits. That said, there may be […]
Barry Picker has a clear idea about what workflow products are supposed to accomplish in his firm’s tax office. “The goal is to do as little possible with the keyboard when you are working with a tax return,” says Picker, a partner in a nine-person firm Picker and Auerbach, CPAs based in Brooklyn, N.Y. That hasn’t been […]