News About IRS And Tax: December 2016

Friday 30 December 2016

Weekend Reading for Financial Planners (Dec 31 – Jan 1)

Enjoy the current installment of “weekend reading for financial planners” – this week’s edition kicks off with the big news that a Court of Appeals has ruled the SEC’s process of hiring Administrative Law Judges (ALJ) into its in-house court system is unconstitutional, setting the stage for a potential Supreme Court case to decide its fate (with the possibility that Republicans will preemptively intervene to legislate against them first!). Also in the recent news is the announcement that a new Registry for Fiduciary Advisors from the Institute for the Fiduciary Standard has launched, and gathered its first member: former FPA president and CFP Board Disciplinary chair Dan Moisand.

From there, we have several practice management articles this week, including: a look at how Schwab’s standard account agreement could actually trigger custody for the RIAs that use its platform; how a white-label ETF provider works (for any advisors curious about what it takes to launch their own ETF!); and the differences between 3(38), 3(21), and 3(16) fiduciaries under ERISA as the new DoL fiduciary rules loom large in 2017.

We also have several technology-related articles, from a review of the new financial planning software provider RightCapital, to a new retirement planning solution called the “Big Picture App” that finally makes it possible to illustrate the 4% safe withdrawal rate strategy with clients (under various time horizon and asset allocation assumptions), to a look at how video conferencing and other technology tools are making it possible to “untether” financial advisors from the geographic location of their clients (or even needing to be physically at an office at all). There’s also a good article from Ryan Neal of Wealth Management on whether the real technology threat to financial advisors wasn’t “robo” automation, but the next stage of Artificial Intelligence (AI) that may come next.

We wrap up with three interesting articles: the first is a look at some of the questions you should ask yourself if you’re feeling “stuck” in your advisory career and business, and need to figure out how to take the next step forward; the second is a striking look at the real-world challenge of work-life balance, as told through the Four Burners analogy (that ultimately, we have to balance work, health, friends, and family, and there just isn’t time to support more than 2 or 3 burners at any given time without sacrificing them all); and the last provides some great tips on how to get “unstuck” in 2017 by making incremental changes to improve your business or career throughout the year… and recognizing that the biggest opportunity for a breakthrough is not about finding a magic bullet solution, but about making the commitment (of time and focus) to begin working on those needed changes as 2017 gets underway.

Enjoy the “light” reading, and have a safe and happy New Year!

How Do I Deduct Points Paid on My Mortgage?

Besides the financial benefits of owning property with some equity, there are some tax advantages, including deducting points on your mortgage. Find out more here.

source http://blog.turbotax.intuit.com/deductions-and-credits/how-do-i-deduct-points-paid-on-my-mortgage-9305/

Thursday 29 December 2016

Tax Preparation in Pearl River

The end of the year is here & w-2’s will soon be in the mail. Soon you’ll be faced with the chore of completing and filing your income tax returns.
J. Slattery & Company (www.slattax.com) has provided tax preparation services in Pearl River full-time since 1982. All taxes are prepared under the supervision & reviewed of an enrolled agent (EA) tax professionals licensed by the IRS to file & defend taxpayer’s returns. For the best in tax prepation in Pearl River, NY — we recommend you give us a call (845)735-2511.

The post Tax Preparation in Pearl River appeared first on Slattax.com | Irs Problems & Tax Preparers.

Source: http://www.slattax.com/tax-preparation-pearl-river/

source https://slattax.wordpress.com/2016/12/30/tax-preparation-in-pearl-river/

The IRS Announces 2017 Standard Mileage Rates

Calling all commuters! The IRS recently announced the 2017 “standard mileage rates”. Whenever you drive for business, medical reasons, moving for work or in support of a charitable organization, you may be able to get a mileage deduction and save...

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source http://blog.turbotax.intuit.com/tax-deductions-and-credits-2/the-irs-announces-2017-standard-mileage-rates-25399/

My Top 5 Tips For Blogging Success As A Financial Advisor

For financial advisors who want to get clients through digital marketing, blogging to demonstrate your expertise to prospective clients is a cornerstone of the strategy. The challenge, however, is that creating blog content – like saving for retirement – can be a slow and arduous process, with good habits and consistent actions repeated for a long, long time before there are any material results to show for it.

In this week’s #OfficeHours with @MichaelKitces, my Tuesday 1PM EST broadcast via Periscope, I share my top five tips for achieving blogging success as a financial advisor, based on my own experience in building this Nerd’s Eye View blog.

The first key is to create some structure for yourself with an editorial calendar. Having systematic deadlines that you’ve committed to meet on a regular basis is crucial for creating the self-accountability necessary for follow-through action, and can help you get into a steady rhythm of producing content.

Second, create a standard template for your actual blog posts. Whether you adopt a 3x3x3 structure akin to what I use here on Nerd’s Eye View, or something else that fits your own structure… a formal template for how you organize your thoughts can greatly expedite the writing process for your next article.

Third, have a system to capture content ideas, based on the conversations you’re having with clients and prospects. If you’re sitting down and trying at that moment to figure out what to write, you’re doing it wrong. Write down the ideas as they come up in conversation (or at least, jotted down immediately after the discussion ends), so that by the time you need to write, it’s simply a question of which article topic that’s already on your list will be the one you write up next.

Fourth, recognize that you don’t have to make your writing perfectly polished alone. Your job is to demonstrate your expertise; freelance editors are very affordable, and can be hired to review the article later, fix the typos and grammar, and help make the final product a little easier to read. There are even editors who specialize in working with financial advisors and investment writing.

And last but least, realize that results – in terms of new clients – aren’t going to come right away, so you need to measure what leads to future success, which is reader activity. Many advisors, when failing to see any immediate new client results from their efforts, get frustrated and give up too quickly. Fortunately, Google Analytics is an excellent tool for measuring what’s going on when it comes to your website, and help you track how many people are visiting and signing up to receive your content in the future. If the readership is growing, the new clients will follow as the trust builds over time.

Ultimately, blogging can be an effective way to demonstrate your knowledge and expertise with prospective clients, but because it takes time and consistent effort, adding some structure to your process is crucial to sustain blogging until it produces real results as a digital marketing strategy!

Wednesday 28 December 2016

Top Financial Resolutions For This New Year

With a new year, people tend to make new year’s resolutions. A recent study from Fidelity discovered that 36% of Americans are planning on making finances their focus. Besides the health goals people set year after year, there are some financial goals that...

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source http://blog.turbotax.intuit.com/income-and-investments/top-financial-resolutions-for-this-new-year-25294/

The PATH Act and What You Need to Know About Expiring ITINs

The Protecting Americans from Tax Hikes (PATH) Act of 2015, which was passed by Congress and signed into law last year, states that any ITIN not used at least once in the last three years and ITINs with middle digits...

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source http://blog.turbotax.intuit.com/tax-news/the-path-act-and-what-you-need-to-know-about-expiring-itins-24751/

How An S Corporation Can Reduce FICA Self-Employment Taxes

One of the fundamental differences between corporations and partnership or LLC business entities is that the former faces “two tiers” of taxation – once at the corporation level, and again when profits are distributed as dividends to the shareholder – while the latter are only taxed once to their owners as “pass-through” entities. Of course, the reality is that there are a lot of factors that go into determining the right kind of business entity, beyond just the pass-through taxation treatment or not, though in practice it is often a material factor.

A hybrid mid-point between the two is an S corporation, which is recognized as a corporation for legal purposes – including for liability protection, and transferability of stock shares – but still taxed as a pass-through business, similar to a partnership or LLC taxed as such.

However, in practice the pass-through tax treatment of an S corporation isn’t exactly identical to a partnership, because with a partnership or LLC all pass-through income is subject to self-employment FICA taxes (as high as 15.3%), while an S corporation only pays FICA taxes on salary compensation to its owners, and not the remaining profits paid out as nontaxable dividend distributions.

To prevent everyone from just converting partnerships and LLCs into S corporations that all pay their owners $0 in salary – to completely avoid FICA taxes – the IRS still requires that S corporation owner-employees be paid “reasonable compensation” for the services they render to the business.

Nonetheless, the reality is that for highly profitable businesses, especially with multiple owners and/or multiple employees, there is clearly a portion of profits, over and above just reasonable salary compensation, that can be distributed as a dividend to the S corporation owners, saving FICA self-employment taxes in the process. For profitable businesses, the tax savings can be thousands or even a few tens of thousands of dollars in savings.

Ultimately, not all small businesses can take advantage of these rules. Some don’t meet the ownership requirements of an S corporation, and others are so small and dependent on their owners that realistically, “reasonable” compensation would be 100% of the business profits anyway. Nonetheless, there are many high-income partnerships and LLCs that might benefit by switching to an S corporation, specifically to split the business profits into FICA-taxable wages and FICA-exempt S corporation dividend distributions. At least, until or unless Congress shuts down this perceived “loophole” and reunifies the taxation of S corporation dividend distributions with the pass-through income of partnerships and LLCs!

This Week Only – Beat the Tax Return Price Increase!

Beat our 2017 price increase and get your tax affairs in order before the January rush by coming in to see Taxfile for your Self Assessment tax return before December is over. It might be Christmas week for many but our staff are ready and waiting to help you get your figures correct and to […]

source http://www.taxfile.co.uk/2016/12/beat-tax-return-price-increase/

Tuesday 27 December 2016

New Side Job: What Do You Need Before Tax Time?

One of the best ways to improve your situation is to get a side gig. A new side job can help you boost your income and increase your financial stability. If you're thinking about a side gig, now's the time to start preparing - not next April!

source http://blog.turbotax.intuit.com/income-and-investments/business-income/new-side-job-what-do-you-need-before-tax-time-14807/

End of Year Retirement Tips for Employees and the Self-Employed

Contributing to your retirement account is one of the best ways to reduce your taxable income and increase your tax refund. While some retirement accounts have year-end deadlines for contributions and required distributions, others give you extra time to make...

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source http://blog.turbotax.intuit.com/self-employed/end-of-year-retirement-tips-for-employees-and-the-self-employed-25404/

Monday 26 December 2016

2016 Highlights – The Top 20 Nerd’s Eye View Blog Posts You Might Have Missed

As 2016 comes to a close, I am so thankful to all of you, the growing number of readers who continue to regularly visit this Nerd’s Eye View blog, and have been kind enough to share the content with your friends and colleagues as well (which I greatly appreciate!). Over the past year, the cumulative readership of the blog has grown yet another 35%, with more than 160,000 unique readers coming to Nerd’s Eye View last month. The continued growth has meant more reinvestments into features and even staffing, to continue to build this platform for the benefit of advisors. And we’ll be announcing a number of major new initiatives in early 2017 as well!

Yet notwithstanding how many of you have made reading the Nerd’s Eye View a weekly habit, I realize that the sheer volume of articles can feel overwhelming at times, and that it’s not always possible to keep up with it all. And blog articles, once published, are usually quite quickly left in the dust as the next new article comes along.

Accordingly, just as I did last year and in 2014, I’ve compiled for you this Highlights list of our top 20 articles of 2016 that you might have missed. So whether you’re new to the blog and haven’t searched through the Archives yet, or simply haven’t had the time to keep up with everything, I hope that some of these will (still) be useful for you! And as always, I hope you’ll take a moment to share articles of interest with your friends and colleagues as well!

In the meantime, I hope you’re having a safe and happy holiday season. Thanks again for another successful year in 2016, and I hope you enjoy all the new services we’ll be rolling out in 2017, too!

Friday 23 December 2016

Weekend Reading for Financial Planners (Dec 24-25)

Enjoy the current installment of “weekend reading for financial planners” – this week’s edition kicks off with a discussion of the latest RIA benchmarking study from Fidelity, which again finds that advisory firm fees are holding steady against robo-advisors, but that growth rates are falling… and suggests that perhaps growth rates are down precisely because advisors aren’t paying enough attention to industry pricing pressures. Also in the news this week is an SEC announcement that they will be putting more scrutiny on independent RIAs with multiple office (i.e., “branch”) locations. And the mutual fund industry still appears to be scrambling to find common ground regarding share classes for broker-dealers as the DoL fiduciary implementation date looms large in April.

From there, we have several practice management articles this week, including: why the “pitchbook” is dead, but advisors should consider making a “Capabilities” deck to present to prospects; tips on what to say in a bad prospect meeting to turn the conversation around; and tips to finding a financial advisor business coach (from a financial advisor who went through the process).

We also have a few more technical articles, from a look at how the combination of SPIAs to guarantee essential expenses and withdrawal-smoothing strategies for the rest fares better than using either technique alone, to a look at where it makes sense to use an ETN (exchange-traded note), and a recent Morningstar meta-analysis finding that SRI portfolios do not actually require the investor to sacrifice returns to meet sustainable investing objectives.

We wrap up with three interesting articles, all around the theme of improving and easing the management of household finances: the first is a series of tips from a financially independent retiree about how he’s simplified his financial life; the second is a look at personal finance tips from a meeting of ultra-wealthy investors; and the last is a series of 20 personal finance “rules” that, while relatively simple and straightforward, can be remarkably powerful in the aggregate to get any household on a better track towards financial independence.

And be certain to check out the video at the end… an interesting exploration by Myra Salzer of the topic of “Wealth Prejudice”, and how those who inherit substantial wealth actually face significant social challenges, as they are effectively “born into” a form of social minority that has a number of unfavorable stigmas associated with it!

Enjoy the “light” reading!

Schools Out for the Holidays! 6 Ways to Save On Childcare This Winter

With work, gift hunting, and out-of-town visitors looming over us this holiday season, it can be a scramble to find time to get anything done, especially when your kids are out of school! Before spending all your holiday savings, check...

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source http://blog.turbotax.intuit.com/tax-deductions-and-credits-2/family/schools-out-for-the-holidays-6-ways-to-save-on-childcare-this-winter-25217/