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Itemized Deductions Series – Part 6: Casualty & Theft Losses

A casualty or theft loss is allowed only if the property is located within an area officially declared a federal disaster area. All emergency and major disaster declarations are made solely at the discretion of the President of the United States as provided by the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Recovery Act. In order…
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Itemized Deductions Series – Part 5: Contributions & Charitable Giving

Contributions First, let’s look at what type of organization qualifies to receive deductible contributions. The organization has to be a domestic nonprofit that operates for religious, scientific, charitable, or other qualifying purposes. A trust, community foundation or other organizations could qualify as well. If you don’t know and want to ensure your contribution qualifies, research…
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Itemized Deductions Series- Part 3: Deduction for Taxes

Generally, state and local taxes, real estate taxes, personal property taxes and foreign taxes (real property and income taxes) are all deductible but could be limited. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act capped the total federal deduction for state and local taxes to a total of $10,000. Let’s look at each line of the taxes…
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Itemized Deductions Series – Part 4: Deducting Mortgage Interest & Investment Interest

Mortgage interest for up to two residences is deductible on Federal Schedule A. If you have a third home, the interest might be deductible as business or investment interest, depending upon the use of the proceeds, which we’ll discuss later. A loan that is used to buy, improve or construct a first or second home…
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Itemized Deductions Series – Part 2: Deductions and Medical Expenses

When evaluating the tax benefit of medical expense payments, it is important to know that you must incur significant medical expenses before the first dollar becomes deductible. On Federal, taxpayers must meet a 7.5% of adjusted gross income (AGI) threshold before they receive any benefit. So, for a taxpayer with $200,000 of income, uncovered medical…
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Itemized Deductions Series – Part 1: The Basics

Itemized Deductions:  From Common and Easy to Unusual and Tricky For most taxpayers, questions about what is deductible far outnumber the questions about what is taxable. Why? Most income is reported on standard documents —W-2’s, K-1’s and 1099’s. The recordkeeping for deductions mainly falls on the taxpayer. While certain deductions are reported on IRS forms…
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Is Your Retirement Plan Viable?

Most retirement discussions begin with how large a nest egg is needed for retirement and an estimate of the correct percentage withdrawal rate. While these questions are important, they are generalizations that don’t answer the most important questions. The Big Question Focusing on what your investments will generate is important but does not mean you’ll…
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Why Businesses Should Review Fidelity Coverage

Employee embezzlement, the act of an employee misappropriating company funds or assets for personal gain, is a pervasive risk that businesses cannot afford to ignore. While organizations often implement internal controls and monitoring mechanisms to mitigate this risk, no system is foolproof. Fidelity coverage, a specialized type of insurance that protects businesses against losses caused…
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Confused About Inherited IRA Rules? These Charts Simplify the New Guidelines

There seems to be a great deal of confusion about the required minimum distributions from inherited IRAs.  A wide variety of factual situations can occur, making a simple explanation impossible.  The following chart attempts to summarize the new rules for inherited IRA distributions. Due to confusion, the IRS has provided relief for beneficiaries who inherited…
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