By Kenneth H. Bridges, CPA, PFS August 2011
When discussing tax planning with our clients, we often use the terms “marginal tax rate” and “effective tax rate”. Marginal tax rate generally refers to the rate of tax to be incurred …
By Kenneth H. Bridges, CPA, PFS August 2011
In 1986, concerned with the erosion of the tax base from the proliferation of tax shelters, Congress enacted the “passive loss rules” which provide, in general, that the losses from rental activities …
By Kenneth H. Bridges, CPA, PFS August 2011
One of our clients recently forwarded us an e-mail (apparently originated by an attorney) warning that under new tax rules you will incur a tax of 3.8% on the sales price of …
By Kenneth H. Bridges, CPA, PFS March 2011
Unfortunately, many of our clients have residences which are worth less than what they paid for them, and in some cases worth less than the mortgage on them. This is especially true …
By Kenneth H. Bridges, CPA, PFS March 2011
Let’s assume you have a tract of land which could potentially be developed into a residential subdivision, but you don’t want to ever see the land developed, desiring for it to forever …
By Kenneth H. Bridges, CPA, PFS March 2011
As mentioned earlier in this newsletter, one of the hot-button issues today is the alternative minimum tax (“AMT”). The alternative minimum tax is a separate but parallel system to the regular income …
By Kenneth H. Bridges, CPA, PFS March 2011
With the corporate accounting scandals of the past few years and the bursting of the stock market bubble in 2000, stock options have lost some of the luster they held in the …
By Kenneth H. Bridges, CPA, PFS March 2011
Real estate has always received very favorable treatment under our tax laws. For your residence, you get to take deductions for the interest and taxes, and then, when you sell it at …
By Kenneth H. Bridges, CPA, PFS March 2011
Many of our clients are quite philanthropic. Fortunately, the tax law greatly rewards philanthropy. Here is a brief synopsis of the general rules and suggested strategies.
Cash donations – The most common …
By Kenneth H. Bridges, CPA, PFS March 2010
You can begin to claim social security benefits at any age between 62 and 70. The longer you defer, the larger the monthly benefit. Accordingly, clients sometimes ask us when they should …