The Medicare payroll tax is the primary source of financing for Medicare, which pays hospital bills for individuals who are 65 or older or disabled. Wages paid through December 31, 2012, are subject to a 2.9% Medicare payroll tax. Workers and employers pay 1.45% each. Self-employed individuals pay both halves of the tax, but are […]
Read more >>The Estate Tax is a tax on an individual’s right to transfer property at their time of death. It comprises a full accounting of everything an individual owns or has an interest in at the time of their death. This may include real estate properties, cash and securities, annuities, trusts, insurance as well as specific […]
Read more >>A final opportunity that should be noted is accelerating ordinary income into 2012. Perhaps the best way to do this would be to convert a traditional IRA to a Roth IRA in 2012, if a conversion otherwise made sense. Ordinary income could also be accelerated by selling bonds with accrued interest in 2012 or selling […]
Read more >>For tax years beginning January 1, 2013, the tax law imposes a 3.8% surtax on certain passive investment income of individuals, trusts and estates. For individuals, the amount subject to the tax is the lesser of (1) net investment income (NII) or (2) the excess of a taxpayer’s modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) over an […]
Read more >>Dramatic tax increases scheduled to go into effect in 2013 make 2012 tax planning imperative. The following taxes may be impacted: Not only are the Bush Administration tax cuts set to expire, but a new 3.8% surtax on investment income and a possible reinstated claw-back of itemized deductions could raise the tax rate on ordinary […]
Read more >>For many taxpayers it will make sense to harvest capital gains in 2012 to take advantage of the current lower rates. You would sell appreciated capital assets and immediately reinvest in the same or similar assets. You would then hold the new assets until you would otherwise have sold them, so there would be no […]
Read more >>