Tax Planning Tips
If your home office has been a detached garage, etc. the taxpayer can still eliminate the capital gains tax by proper planning. When it is foreseen that the taxpayer is going to sell the home in the near future, the taxpayer should stop using the garage as a home office and then wait to sell for two years. If the home is used at least two out of five years exclusively for personal use, no capital gain tax is recognized.
If you have established a trust as part of your estate plan, make sure you are reviewing and updating them on a regular basis. Start with adding property to your trusts so they are properly funded. Periodically review and reconfirm the trustee and the successor. Lastly, remember to update your beneficiaries on any changes.
A recent IRS change says that a single person who is co-owning a residence with another person may be entitled to an increase in interest deductions over the current and prior years. Contact Tedder CPAs for more information if you feel this applies to you.
Business retirement plans must be determined by October 1. SIMPLE (Savings Incentive Match Plan for Employees) allows you to deduct employee contributions and offset the cost of enrollment.
If you need a copy of your tax transcripts, you may request one by mail from the IRS, or go online to their website and use the Get Transcript application. The IRS recently updated the security features connected to this application, so you don’t need to worry about tax fraud!
