Are your beneficiary designations listed correctly on key documents? Are they up to date? I sure hope so because you may think that with the generous $1.4 million federal estate-tax exemption, your estate wouldn’t owe any federal estate tax. Or that your estate plan is in good order. But things change. Your wishes change. And things can turn ugly fast if your beneficiary … [Read more...]
Life Insurance
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Life Insurance Policy Loan—A Tax Nightmare
Do you have an insurance policy that has built up an internal cash value? Are you taking loans from your policy, or letting the policy ride with premiums being paid from the cash value? If the answers to these questions are “yes,” be very careful. You see, if you don’t handle things correctly, you can fall into the life insurance policy-loan trap. Allowing your life … [Read more...]
Statutory insurance agent wins the 199A tax deduction
How does the tax code treat a W-2 statutory employee for income tax, payroll tax, business deduction, and Section 199A qualifications? This is the question we’ve been asked by a concerned insurance agent. He wants to know if he’ll qualify for the Section 199A deduction on his W-2 statutory income. He also wants to know how he should handle his net 1099 mutual-fund sales … [Read more...]
Beyond the FBAR: Discover Little-Known Tax Traps in Foreign Reporting
It’s a fact … The IRS is going after taxpayers who fail to report their offshore accounts. Yes. You may have filed your FBAR and/or form 8938 and think you’re in good shape, but be aware … Uncle Sam has piled on a bunch of little-known international reporting requirements plus stiff penalties for non compliance. Want to stay out of big trouble with the IRS? Easy! Read … [Read more...]
Should your S corporation buy life insurance?
Benjamin Franklin said, “nothing is certain except death and taxes.” True. But there are often great ways to slash your tax bill (as readers of this publication know!). And life insurance can help survivors, even though it won’t do much good for you. So… what about having your S corporation buy life insurance? Is this a good idea? Sometimes it is a great idea. But … [Read more...]