IRS Increases Annual Gift Tax Exclusion for 2018
The IRS has announced that the annual gift tax exclusion is increasing next year due to inflation. After five years of being stuck at $14,000, the exclusion will be $15,000 per recipient for 2018 — its highest point ever. Section 529 Plans: Make Five Years of Gifts in a Year Normally, a gift made directly to…
Keep Tax Reform Proposals in Mind When Making Last-Minute Year-End Moves
As 2017 winds down, it’s time to consider making some moves to lower your federal income tax bill and position yourself for tax savings in future years. This year, the big unknown factor is whether major tax reform proposals will be enacted. Even if all goes according to the GOP timeline, the changes generally won’t take…
HSAs: A Great Tax-Saving Opportunity
Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) are gaining popularity. These accounts were originally created in 2003, to provide tax-favored coverage for individuals with high-deductible plans. Later HSAs got a facelift when a law was passed which made these accounts even more beneficial. Thanks to the Tax Relief and Health Care Act of 2006, HSA participants are now allowed greater deductible…
Get the Money You Need
You know the drill: It’s midnight and your grant proposal is due tomorrow. Your assistant left hours ago, and the words on the computer screen start to blur. “It’s not worth it,” you think. And besides, only a few grants pan out anyway. Grants are a big part of the not-for-profit world. And yet, according to…
Yes, You Need a Contract
Whether you’re an environmental organization raising funds for a lawsuit or a community group needing new equipment, you may want to sell something to raise money. You may not think it’s necessary for product vendors and not-for-profit groups to have written agreements, but most professionals generally agree that some form of contract is prudent and accomplishes…
Rx for Itemizing Medical Expenses
Medical expenses can be costly — and they’re not always covered by insurance. But there may be a silver lining: You may be able to claim an itemized deduction for the amounts you pay for medical, dental and vision care, if you incur enough costs to exceed the applicable threshold for the tax year. Here are…
How Does Divorce Affect Social Security?
If you’re divorced, it’s possible to claim Social Security spousal and survivor benefits from your ex-spouse, and to keep the entire matter private. The Social Security Administration (SSA) will not inform your former spouse about the application or the payment of benefits. Gaining access to this benefit can provide an extra boost in income when it’s…
Avoid Premature IRA Splits Before a Divorce
If a couple is getting a divorce, transfers of cash and property between them generally have no immediate federal tax consequences. This general rule allows divorcing individuals to divide up cash, CDs, investments held in taxable accounts, real property, personal property, business ownership interests and other assets without owing anything to Uncle Sam. Such tax-free transfers…
Enhance Customers’ Phone Experience
It’s been a long road from Alexander Graham Bell’s invention of the telephone in 1876 to today’s voice recognition phone systems that make statements like: “If you want to discuss your bill, say one.” Some consider the telephone to be man’s greatest communication development. Other’s say it’s the Internet. And now, with voice recognition, there is a hybrid. Although…
Five Reasons to Move to the Cloud
Cloud computing is popular among businesses with good reason. Putting your business’s IT in the cloud eliminates the costs and complexity of purchasing, configuring, and managing hardware and software. Cloud providers create and use applications that offer safe storage of your company’s critical data in secure data centers maintained by IT professionals. These applications are available…