Homeowners should not overlook the opportunity to generate cash flow by using the equity in their residence. Not only are home-equity loans a relatively cheap source of financing (considering the after-tax effective borrowing rate), but also the repayment terms are often more generous than those on unsecured loans.
Advertisement
Topics
Personal Financial Planning
Life Insurance Funding Analysis Exhibit
This exhibit accompanies the Personal Financial Planning column in the June 2014 issue of The Tax Adviser.
The Universal Life Crisis: A Potential Fix for an Underperforming Policy
The prolonged low-interest-rate environment can have a dramatic effect on universal life insurance policies.
Retroactive Tax Planning After Windsor
Married same-sex couples must now file their federal income tax returns as either married filing jointly or separately, but they have a choice whether to amend their federal income tax returns for open years during which they were legally married.
A New Road Map for CPAs’ Professional Conduct When Providing PFP Services
The PFP Executive Committee issued a statement to provide guidance to members and help them uphold the highest levels of integrity, professionalism, objectivity, and competence.
Protection From Creditors for Retirement Plan Assets
This article will help tax practitioners come to grips with the unique intersection of the tax, bankruptcy, and ERISA laws in the area of retirement planning.
Immediate Year-End Planning Opportunity for Existing CRTs
The immediate planning opportunity for CRTs is to harvest short-term and long-term capital losses. Here is how it works and what changed from earlier years.
New Brackets, Net Investment Income Tax Expand Scope of Tax Planning
Virtually every financial decision for higher-income taxpayers now needs to be analyzed through the lens of the regular income tax, the alternative minimum tax, the net investment income tax, and new additional brackets.
PFP Resources
Author Robert Keebler’s firm is finalizing two software products for the AICPA. “Tax Rate Evaluator: A Graphical Calculator for Tax Planning After ATRA” was used to develop some of the exhibits in this column.
Sea-Change: Planning for Same-Sex Married Couples and the DOMA Decision
This column provides practitioners with an overview of the impact of the recent decision striking down a key provision in the Defense of Marriage Act ; a preliminary checklist of areas to be addressed with same-sex clients; and a discussion of the issues involved.
Cross-Border Pension Rollover Creates U.S. Taxable Income
As the global workforce becomes increasingly mobile, more and more workers must wade through the intricacies of cross-border taxation.
The Proposed Statement on Standards in Personal Financial Planning: What Does It Mean for You?
To adapt to this rapidly evolving area of practice, the AICPA released this spring an exposure draft of the Proposed Statement on Standards in Personal Financial Planning Practice.
Background and Methods of Integrative Tax Practice
CPAs must assess the methods, skills, and tools needed for family practice to better integrate clients’ most important personal finance concerns.
Pension Rescue and the Fair Market Value of a Permanent Life Insurance Policy
“Pension rescue” is a sales concept used to help sell life insurance. The problem with pension rescue is that it is based on a valuation of the life insurance policy that may not hold up to IRS scrutiny.
Top 10 Steps of Succession Planning for a Privately Held Business
Succession planning for the privately held business results in an orderly transfer of the ownership and management of the business to the next generation in a tax-efficient manner.
Tax and Financial Planning in 2012: Betting on the House?
This column reminds advisers of those tips that may be beneficial regardless of what tax changes are put in place in 2013.
Gift and Estate Tax Planning Considerations
With thoughtful planning, taxpayers can minimize gift and estate taxes while retaining some control of transferred assets by establishing trusts or limited partnerships and using the annual gift tax exclusion.
Advising Nonresidents and Recent U.S. Residents on Estate Tax Issues
Understanding the intricacies of residency and domicile is necessary to understand what will be included in a decedent’s estate for U.S. estate tax purposes.
Formula Marital Deduction Clause Not a Guaranteed Estate Tax Shelter
The Turner cases highlight the importance of properly transferring FLP interests during life in a way that avoids the trap of creating an estate tax when the decedent planned to have none.
Recent Developments in Estate Planning: Part II
This article covers recent developments in estate tax, including the portability election, proposed regs. on the alternate valuation date, FLPs.
TAX PRACTICE MANAGEMENT
2025 tax software survey
AICPA members in tax practice assess how their return preparation software performed during tax season and offer insights into their procedures.
