Category Archives: Tax Topics

What Are the Tax Issues Associated With a Gain or Loss on a Primary Residence?

By admin | Published: September 20, 2011
You may be able to exclude from income any gain up to $250,000 for a single taxpayer and $500,000 for a joint return. To exclude the gain, you must have owned and lived in the property as your main home for two of the five years prior to the date of the sale. If you [...]
Also posted in Financial Planning, Real Estate Planning, Retirement Issues | Comments closed

What Happens to My Retirement Assets in the Event of a Divorce?

By admin | Published: August 23, 2011
Federal law requires that participants in employer-sponsored retirement plans designate their spouse as their beneficiary unless the spouse waives this right in writing. Assuming that you and your spouse adhered to this practice, a document known as a Qualified Domestic Relations Order (QDRO), which is part of a divorce settlement, specifies how retirement assets are [...]
Also posted in Affluent Families, Retirement Issues, Wealth Protection | Comments closed

Financial Planning for Higher Education: College Loans

By admin | Published: May 27, 2011
Given the current malaise in the credit markets, many private lenders have tightened standards and made it more difficult and more expensive for borrowers (both students and parents). At the same time, many families, facing dwindling personal assets and rising college expenses, are searching for strategies to pay the bill. Deciding whether parents or students [...]
Also posted in Affluent Families, Financial Planning | Comments closed

Ways to Analyze Charities and Give Smarter

By admin | Published: May 16, 2011
This year may not be an exception given the outpouring after the Haitian earthquake. But if you’re going to give, give smart. It makes sense to develop a long-term giving strategy that dovetails with your current finances, your estate-planning strategy and your values. A visit to Haisman Wealth Management and your tax adviser is a [...]
Also posted in Affluent Families, Charitable Gift Strategies, Estate Planning, Financial Planning | Comments closed

Caring for Your Aging Parents

By admin | Published: May 9, 2011
Many baby boomers find that their aging parents need health care assistance. Luckily, there are options to help parents grow old gracefully, either in their own home or in a facility, and several ways that you can finance the cost of their care.  Healthy seniors who can look after themselves generally are eligible to enter [...]
Also posted in Affluent Families, Financial Planning, Insurance & Healthcare Information, News | Comments closed

4 Social Security Changes for 2011

By admin | Published: April 18, 2011
The Social Security program will be tweaked in several important ways in 2011. Workers will get a temporary tax break on the amount they pay into the entitlement program, and several claiming options for retirees will be eliminated. Here’s a look at how the Social Security program will change this year. Lower Social Security taxes. [...]
Also posted in Affluent Families, News | Comments closed

2010 Healthcare Act Highlights

By admin | Published: January 18, 2011
By Eric Belisle, CPA Highlights of some of the tax provisions of the 2010 Health Care Act as Amended by the 2010 Health Care Reconciliation Act COST OF EMPLOYER-SPONSORED HEALTH COVERAGE INCLUDED ON W-2 New Law- Effective after 12/31/10 employers must disclose on each employee’s form W-2 the value of the employee’s health insurance coverage [...]
Also posted in Affluent Families, Articles from Our Experts, Business & Non-Profit Organizations | Comments closed

For a Higher Yielding Investment – The Return of the Personal Loan

By admin | Published: April 27, 2010
With continued low interest rates, most people are looking for a better yielding investment. At the same time, lending requirements are relatively tight for most consumers. Both needs could be addressed by borrowing outside the banking system from family or friends. It is likely that the lender could obtain a higher interest rate than the [...]
Also posted in Affluent Families, Articles from Our Experts, Financial Planning, Investment Topics | Comments closed

The Federal Death Tax Might Be Taking a Holiday, But Keep an Eye on Inheritance Tax Policy

By admin | Published: March 31, 2010
With the 24/7 rush to get health care reform legislation through the U.S. Senate in the waning days of 2009 and so far in 2010, Congress let the federal estate tax die for 2010 as planned by the Bush Administration back in 2001. That’s not expected to stay the case for long. Many experts anticipate [...]
Also posted in Affluent Families, Estate Planning, Financial Planning, News, Retirement Issues, Wealth Protection | Comments closed

Too Rich For A ROTH? Things Have Changed

By admin | Published: December 31, 2009
Beginning in 2010, new tax rules will give more people access to a Roth individual retirement account, one of the most valuable plans in which to accumulate money for retirement or heirs. The changes permanently eliminate both the income and tax return filing status limitations on transferring money from a traditional IRA to a Roth [...]
Also posted in Affluent Families, Investment Topics | Comments closed