With the rising cost of college, many families are in search of scholarships to help pay the bills. If your child is awarded a scholarship, you may wonder about how it could affect your family’s taxes. Good news: Scholarships (and fellowships) are generally tax-free for students at elementary, middle and high schools, as well as
tax planning Archives - Crawford Ellenbogen
Nov 14, 2023
Jul 5, 2023
Reduce the impact of the 3.8% net investment income tax
- By Joan Ellenbogen
- Taxes
- 0 Comments
High-income taxpayers face a regular income tax rate of 35% or 37%. And they may also have to pay a 3.8% net investment income tax (NIIT) that’s imposed in addition to regular income tax. Fortunately, there are some ways you may be able to reduce its impact. Affected taxpayers The NIIT applies to you only
Jun 22, 2023
4 tax challenges you may encounter if you’re retiring soon
- By Joan Ellenbogen
- Retirement
- 0 Comments
Are you getting ready to retire? If so, you’ll soon experience changes in your lifestyle and income sources that may have numerous tax implications. Here’s a brief rundown of four tax and financial issues you may contend with when you retire: Taking required minimum distributions. These are the minimum amounts you must withdraw from your
Oct 5, 2022
Year-end tax planning ideas for individuals
- By Joan Ellenbogen
- Taxes
- 0 Comments
Now that fall is officially here, it’s a good time to start taking steps that may lower your tax bill for this year and next. One of the first planning steps is to ascertain whether you’ll take the standard deduction or itemize deductions for 2022. Many taxpayers won’t itemize because of the high 2022 standard
Nov 5, 2021
Vacation home: How is your tax bill affected if you rent it out?
- By Victor Dozzi
- Taxes
- 0 Comments
If you’re fortunate enough to own a vacation home, you may want to rent it out for part of the year. What are the tax consequences? The tax treatment can be complex. It depends on how many days it’s rented and your level of personal use. Personal use includes vacation use by you, your relatives
Sep 10, 2021
Planning for year-end gifts with the gift tax annual exclusion
- By Joan Ellenbogen
- Estate, Gifts, Taxes, Uncategorized
- 0 Comments
As we approach the holidays and the end of the year, many people may want to make gifts of cash or stock to their loved ones. By properly using the annual exclusion, gifts to family members and loved ones can reduce the size of your taxable estate, within generous limits, without triggering any estate or
Jul 13, 2021
Tax-favored ways to build up a college fund
- By Victor Dozzi
- Fraud
- 0 Comments
If you’re a parent with a college-bound child, you may want to save with tax-favored vehicles. For example, if used to finance college, eligible families don’t have to report the interest on Series EE U.S. savings bonds for federal tax purposes until the bonds are cashed in. And interest on “qualified” Series EE (and Series
Jun 23, 2021
Hiring your minor children this summer? Reap tax and nontax benefits
- By Joan Ellenbogen
- Business
- 0 Comments
If you’re a business owner and you hire your children this summer, you can obtain tax breaks and other nontax benefits. The kids can gain on-the-job experience, spend time with you, save for college and learn how to manage money. And you may be able to: Shift your high-taxed income into tax-free or low-taxed income,
Jun 16, 2021
An S corporation could cut your self-employment tax
- By Victor Dozzi
- Business
- 0 Comments
If your business is organized as a sole proprietorship or a wholly owned limited liability company, you’re subject to both income tax and self-employment (SE) tax. There may be a way to cut your tax bill by operating as an S corporation. SE tax is imposed on 92.35% of SE income at a 12.4% rate
Dec 2, 2020
Small businesses: Cash in on depreciation tax savers
- By Joan Ellenbogen
- Business
- 0 Comments
As we approach the end of the year, it’s a good time to think about whether your business needs to buy business equipment and other depreciable property. If so, you may benefit from the Section 179 depreciation tax deduction for business property. The election provides a tax windfall to businesses, enabling them to claim immediate