The most Wonderful Time of the Year

… for family and tax planning too! Hello everyone, Lynn Spencer here. Today I want to give you all encouragement to begin preparing for your 2017 federal and state income tax returns.  As we begin the final six weeks of 2017, most of us are focusing on the upcoming Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays. However, while you are busy with menu planning, travel itineraries, and gift buying, you should invest some critical time to make certain you take full advantage of tax deductions. Today’s post will be the first of a series helping you to not lose out on important tax deductions and opportunities for 2017.

The fourth quarter is the time of year we typically meet with our business owner clients to review their situation to determine the best way to handle the current year’s tax liabilities and the new year’s strategies, including purchase or lease a new business vehicle, whether or not you should incorporate your business, change the format, set up a retirement plan, etc. Actually, the checklist we go over if you are a business owner is quite detailed.

Taxpayers who do not own businesses, but do itemize and own assets, should also use tax planning as a tool. The stock market continues to reach record highs, and one of the most frequently missed opportunities is a failure to match up losses and gains to reduce your taxes. However, you must go over your portfolio to find and sell poorly performing securities to zero out the gains as much as possible. The IRS allows $3,000 net capital losses to reduce your overall taxable income. Are you considering giving away an auto, boat, or a piece of real estate to a qualifying 501c(3) charity? If so, view our YouTube® channel for this topic about what happened to a client of ours who gave his boat away.

Next time I will continue a list of things you should be looking out for to maximize your 2017 tax deductions. A little effort now can pay HUGE dividends to you and your family in the form of tax savings and peace of mind.