California is known for its high taxes, but careful planning can help you keep more of your hard-earned money in your pocket. In our blog, we share important tax planning tips, as well as advice for what to do when you find yourself facing an IRS collection action, levy, or lien.
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Is Your Company Ready for the New Partnership Tax Audit Rules? Unless You Take Action, You May Face Some Unpleasant Tax Consequences! Partnerships are one of the most commonly used business and estate planning tools, and they come in a variety of wrappers or names, such as traditional partnerships, multi-member LLCs, joint ventures, limited partnerships and limited liability partnerships. So, it’s significant that starting this year, the way they are audited and... -
An Income Tax Time Bomb Bypass trusts, or B trusts, have long been used as a strategy to help families avoid estate taxes. But with recent changes in income tax and estate tax rates, in many cases B trusts now trigger substantially higher capital gains taxes for beneficiaries or heirs without providing any estate tax... -
In The News: Estate and Income Tax Changes The total estate tax exemption is projected to increase to $5.6 Million dollars per person in 2018. This is up from $5.49 Million per person in 2017. The annual exclusion for gift tax exclusion is projected to increase to $15,000 in 2018. That is an increase from $14,000 in 2017.... -
In The News: John's Article in Born2Invest Discusses a Possible Tax Planning Opportunity for Foreign Investors Recent US tax court ruling provides tax savings opportunity for foreign investors The U.S. Tax Court rejected the IRS position about taxing foreign investments in a U.S. partnership, which can lead to the opportunity for tax savings. Published 2 weeks ago on August 14, 2017 By John Goralka On July... -
The Money Side of Divorce While divorce may end a marriage, it doesn't end obligations to one another. In many relationships, one spouse is more financially well-off than the other. In a divorce, this earning discrepancy means that the poorer partner is entitled to receive spousal support, or alimony, to help him or her establish... -
John Goralka's Latest Kiplinger Article Regarding President Trump and the Republican Party's Tax Proposals and What California's Proposed Senate Bill Will Do If Federal Estate Tax Is Repealed California is showing a much greater willingness now to tax its wealthier state residents. Five years ago, it boosted the top tax rates for its wealthiest residents, and now it has a new state estate tax proposal on the table that could come into play if the federal estate tax... -
The Ins and Outs of Deducting Legal Expenses Legal expenses incurred by individuals are typically not currently deductible under the federal income tax rules. Instead, they're most often treated as either personal outlays (which are nondeductible) or as part of the cost of acquiring an asset, such as real estate. In the latter situation, legal costs usually aren't... -
Estate Tax Repeal? Perhaps Not in California! Both President Trump and the Republican party's separate tax proposals recommend the repeal of the federal estate tax. California State Senator Scott Wiener sponsored Senate Bill (SB)726 which would create a California estate tax in the event that the federal estate tax is repealed. SB726 This new California estate tax... -
Home Mortgage Interest Deductions That Can Save You Money on Your Taxes If you own a home with a mortgage, you should receive an IRS form from your lender each year with information that is used to claim an itemized deduction for qualified residence interest. For 2016, that form should include additional information that could trigger unwanted attention from the IRS. Here's... -
Learn How You Can Reduce Capital Gains Taxes With a Two Year Sale Strategy If you plan to sell a substantially appreciated asset, property or business, you can save money with what's called a "two-year installment sale." Basically, it's a double-sale strategy to create a "taxation timing gap" between when the asset sale proceeds are received and when they're taxed. Here's how it works:... -
IRS to Use Private Debt Collectors Beginning in April, 2017 (this month) the Internal Revenue Services (“IRS”) plans to begin utilizing private debt collection agencies to collect past due taxes. -
How to Take Advantage of Planning Opportunities That May Not be Available at the End of The Year Many of us forget to jumpstart our income tax planning at the beginning of the year. We are accustomed to the last-minute rush of planning activities at year-end and are worn out by January 1st. However, planning at the beginning of the year can provide significant benefits. These benefits include,...