02 Jan 2023
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Save for Retirement by Getting the Most Out of Your 401(k) Plan

Roger Rossmeisl, CPA
Individual Tax Briefs
Saving for Retirement by Getting the Most out of your 401(k) Plan

Socking away money in a tax-advantaged retirement plan can help you reduce taxes and help secure a comfortable retirement. If your employer offers a 401(k) or Roth 401(k), contributing to the plan is a smart way to build a substantial nest egg. If you’re not already contributing the maximum allowed, consider increasing your contribution. Because of tax-deferred compounding (tax-free in the case of Roth accounts), boosting contributions can have a major impact on the amount of money you’ll have in retirement. With a 401(k), an employee makes an election to have a certain amount of pay deferred and contributed by an employer on his or her behalf to the plan. The amounts are indexed for inflation each year and not surprisingly, they’re going up quite a bit....

02 Jan 2023
0

Sold Stock Before Year-End? Watch Out for the Wash Sale Rule

Roger Rossmeisl, CPA
Individual Tax Briefs
Sold Stock Before Year-End? Watch Out for the Wash Sale Rule

If you sold stock shares at a loss at the end of 2022 to offset gains that you’ve realized during 2022, it’s important to watch out for the “wash sale” rule. The loss could be disallowed Under this rule, if you sell stock or securities for a loss and buy substantially identical stock or securities back within the 30-day period before or after the sale date, the loss can’t be claimed for tax purposes. The rule is designed to prevent taxpayers from using the tax benefit of a loss without parting with ownership in any significant way. Note that the rule applies to a 30-day period before or after the sale date to prevent “buying the stock back” before it’s even sold. (If you participate in any...

10 Dec 2022
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Answers to your Questions about Taking Withdrawals from IRAs

Roger Rossmeisl, CPA
Individual Tax Briefs
Answers to Your Questions about Taking Withdrawals from IRAs

As you may know, you can’t keep funds in your traditional IRA indefinitely. You have to start taking withdrawals from a traditional IRA (including a SIMPLE IRA or SEP IRA) when you reach age 72. The rules for taking required minimum distributions (RMDs) are complicated, so here are some answers to frequently asked questions. What if I want to take out money before retirement?  If you want to take money out of a traditional IRA before age 59½, distributions are taxable and you may be subject to a 10% penalty tax. However, there are several ways that the 10% penalty tax (but not the regular income tax) can be avoided, including to pay: qualified higher education expenses, up to $10,000 of expenses if you’re a first-time homebuyer and...

10 Dec 2022
0

Strategies for Investors to Cut Taxes as Year-End Approaches

Roger Rossmeisl, CPA
Individual Tax Briefs
Strategies for Investors to Cut Taxes as Year-End Approaches

The overall stock market has been down during 2022 but there have been some bright spots. As year-end approaches, consider making some moves to make the best tax use of paper losses and actual losses from your stock market investments. Tax rates on sales Individuals are subject to tax at a rate as high as 37% on short-term capital gains and ordinary income. But long-term capital gains on most investment assets receive favorable treatment. They’re taxed at rates ranging from 0% to 20% depending on your taxable income (inclusive of the gains). High-income taxpayers may pay an additional 3.8% net investment income tax. Sell at a loss to offset earlier gains  Have you realized gains earlier in the year from sales of stock held for more than one year...

10 Dec 2022
0

Year-End Giving to Charity or Loved Ones

Roger Rossmeisl, CPA
Individual Tax Briefs
Year-End Giving to Charity or Loved Ones

The holiday season is here and many people plan to donate to their favorite charities or give money or assets to their loved ones before the end of the year. Here are the basic tax rules involved in these transactions. Donating to charity  In 2022, in order to receive a charitable donation write-off, you must itemize deductions on your tax return. What if you want to give gifts of investments to your favorite charities? There are a couple of points to keep in mind. First, don’t give away investments in taxable brokerage accounts that are currently worth less than what you paid for them. Instead, sell the shares and claim the resulting capital loss on your tax return. Then, give the cash proceeds from the sale to charity....

08 Dec 2022
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How Savings Bonds are Taxed

Roger Rossmeisl, CPA
Individual Tax Briefs
How Savings Bonds are Taxed

Many people have savings bonds that were purchased many years ago. Perhaps they were given to your children as gifts or maybe you bought them yourself. You may wonder how the interest you earn is taxed. And if they reach final maturity, what action do you need to take to ensure there’s no loss of interest or unanticipated tax consequences? Interest deferral  Series EE Bonds dated May 2005 and after earn a fixed rate of interest. Bonds purchased between May 1997 and April 30, 2005, earn a variable market-based rate of return. Paper Series EE Bonds, issued between 1980 and 2012, are sold at half their face value. For example, you pay $25 for a $50 bond. The bond isn’t worth its face value until it matures. New...

13 Nov 2022
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Adopting a Child? Bring Home a Tax Break Too

Roger Rossmeisl, CPA
Individual Tax Briefs
Adopting a Child? Bring Home a Tax Break Too

Two tax benefits are available to offset the expenses of adopting a child. In 2022, adoptive parents may be able to claim a credit against their federal tax for up to $14,890 of “qualified adoption expenses” for each child. This will increase to $15,950 in 2023. That’s a dollar-for-dollar reduction of tax. Also, adoptive parents may be able to exclude from gross income up to $14,890 in 2022 ($15,950 in 2023) of qualified expenses paid by an employer under an adoption assistance program. Both the credit and the exclusion are phased out if the parents’ income exceeds certain limits. Parents can claim both a credit and an exclusion for expenses of adopting a child. But they can’t claim both a credit and an exclusion for the same...

13 Nov 2022
0

How Inflation Will Affect Your 2022 and 2023 Tax Bills

Roger Rossmeisl, CPA
Individual Tax Briefs
How Inflation Will Affect Your 2022 and 2023 Tax Bills

The effects of inflation are all around. You’re probably paying more for gas, food, health care and other expenses than you were last year. Are you wondering how high inflation will affect your federal income tax bill for 2023? The IRS recently announced next year’s inflation-adjusted tax amounts for several provisions. Some highlights Standard deduction. What does an increased standard deduction mean for you? A larger standard deduction will shelter more income from federal income tax next year. For 2023, the standard deduction will increase to $13,850 for single taxpayers, $27,700 for married couples filing jointly and $20,800 for heads of household. This is up from the 2022 amounts of $12,950 for single taxpayers, $25,900 for married couples filing jointly and $19,400 for heads of household. The highest...

13 Nov 2022
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You May Be Liable for “Nanny Tax” for All Types of Domestic Workers

Roger Rossmeisl, CPA
Individual Tax Briefs
You May be Liable for Nanny Tax for All Types of Domestic Workers

You’ve probably heard of the “nanny tax.” But even if you don’t employ a nanny, it may apply to you. Hiring a house cleaner, gardener or other household employee (who isn’t an independent contractor) may make you liable for federal income and other taxes. You may also have state tax obligations. If you employ a household worker, you aren’t required to withhold federal income taxes from pay. But you can choose to withhold if the worker requests it. In that case, ask the worker to fill out a Form W-4. However, you may be required to withhold Social Security and Medicare (FICA) taxes and to pay federal unemployment (FUTA) tax. 2022 and 2023 thresholds In 2022, you must withhold and pay FICA taxes if your household worker earns...

13 Nov 2022
0

Plan Now to Make Tax-Smart Year-End Gifts to Loved Ones

Roger Rossmeisl, CPA
Individual Tax Briefs
Plan Now to Make Tax-Smart Year-End Gifts to Loved Ones

Are you feeling generous at year end? Taxpayers can transfer substantial amounts free of gift taxes to their children or other recipients each year through the proper use of the annual exclusion. The exclusion amount is adjusted for inflation annually, and for 2022, the amount is $16,000. The exclusion covers gifts that an individual makes to each recipient each year. So a taxpayer with three children can transfer a total of $48,000 to the children this year free of federal gift taxes. If the only gifts during a year are made this way, there’s no need to file a federal gift tax return. If annual gifts exceed $16,000, the exclusion covers the first $16,000 and only the excess is taxable. Note: This discussion isn’t relevant to gifts made...

ROGER ROSSMEISL, CPA

Kho & Patel CPAs
160 E. Arrow Highway
San Dimas, CA 91773

(714) 325-0442
roger@khopatel.com

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