Because health care costs can have serious detrimental effects on savings and lifestyle, understanding what Medicare covers and the difference between Medicare supplements and Medicare Advantage plans is an essential part of helping clients with retirement planning.
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Personal Financial Planning
Estate Planning While We Sit, Watch, and Wait
Despite the impending confusion, there are some steps tax practitioners can take in working with clients to ensure their estates are in the best position over the next few years.
Financial Planning Using a Client’s Form 1040
CPAs can provide valuable assistance to their clients by taking some time after busy season to use the tax return as a guide to helping their clients deal with the current economic difficulties.
Ponzi Schemes: The Implications for Defrauded Investors
The losses incurred in a Ponzi scheme may be deductible as theft loss under Sec. 165(a) as an ordinary deduction in the year the loss was discovered, with certain limitations. A taxpayer cannot deduct losses as long as there is a possibility of recovery and litigation is ongoing.
Be Careful Making Disclaimers Where Trusts Are Involved
Disclaimers are very useful tools for estate planners, especially in postmortem planning. However, if an estate planner is not diligent in the planning and execution of a disclaimer, it can have adverse transfer tax consequences.
Communicating with Clients in Difficult Times
The trusted, knowledgeable adviser must be proactive. Clients trust their CPAs and the advice, information, and education they provide.
Taxation of Long-Term Care Insurance
Discussing LTC insurance should be a priority for all professional advisers in order to help protect the best interests of their clients and families as they enter the “golden years” of their lives.
Income Splitting: Issues and Opportunities
Tax law generally prohibits a parent from shifting income from personal services to a child; however, a parent can in some cases effectively shift income to a child by transferring income-producing property to the child.
Riding the Estate Planning Roller Coaster for the Next Three Years
As 2010 approaches, tax legislators and policy makers are sharply divided on a more permanent approach to taxing the transfer of wealth from one generation to the next.
When Are Payments Treated as Child Support?
Payments are child support for tax purposes if they are either so designated in the divorce or separation agreement (fixed child support) or deemed to be child support.
Using Debt to Leverage a Taxable Gift to a QPRT
A qualified personal residence trust is a trust created to own a personal residence of the grantor for the benefit of the grantor’s spouse, children, or charity. The grantor makes a gift of a personal residence into the trust while retaining a right to occupy the residence for a term of years.
Asset Protection Planning with Limited Liability Companies
The basic objective of asset protection engagements is to transfer assets to reduce or eliminate any exposure to liabilities in conjunction with the client’s estate plan or other financial concerns.
Guidance Issued on Dividing CRTs, Assisting Divorcing Couples
The IRS recently issued Rev. Rul. 2008-41, confirming that charitable remainder trusts (CRTs) can be divided into separate but equal trusts for each recipient without adverse tax consequences.
Tax Planning for Elderly Clients
With the rapid increase in the number of elderly clients, tax practitioners will need to become familiar with the special issues that affect tax compliance and planning for the elderly.
An Analysis of the New Roth 401(k)/403(b) Plans
The Roth 401(k)/403(b) provisions combine characteristics of Roth IRA and traditional 401(k)/403(b) plans in one retirement program.
Guiding Clients Through the Transfer-for-Value Maze
Editor: Michael David Schulman, CPA/PFS One of the most attractive aspects of life insurance as an estate and financial planning tool is the tax treatment of the death proceeds. Generally, the proceeds of a life insurance policy received by a beneficiary are entirely free from income tax (Sec. 101(a)(1)). However,
CPAs Can Take the Lead in Boomer Financial Planning
Baby boomers will need a wide range of financial planning services and have the money to pay for them.
What Is Long-Term Care and Who Is Responsible for Its Cost?
Long-term care is defined in the Code as “necessary diagnostic, preventive, therapeutic, curing, treating, mitigating, and rehabilitative services, and maintenance or personal care services” for a chronically ill individual.
Baby Boomers Brace for Longevity Risk with Guaranteed Annuities
How can baby boomers continue to increase and protect their lump-sum nest eggs throughout their retirement years without the fear of running out of money?
Private Annuities Can Still Save Estate Taxes
Editor: Michael D. Koppel, CPA, PFS In October 2006, the IRS issued Prop. Regs. Secs. 1.72-6(e) and 1.1001-1(j), which propose to substantially reduce the income tax benefits of private annuities (REG-141901-05). Basically, the proposed regulations require the annuitant (the person transferring the property) to recognize the entire gain or loss
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.
