Even if it is too late to do anything about this year’s returns, it is a good time to start planning for next year’s. At the root of the most common blunders are three types of taxable fund payouts: interest income, dividends and capital gains. While all three are subject to a complex web of tax rates and regulations, investors can limit their tax bills by understanding their funds, planning carefully and staying abreast of tax changes in Washington....
Did you know that almost everything you own and use for personal or investment purposes is a capital asset? Capital assets include a home, household furnishings and stocks and bonds held in a personal account. When you sell a capital asset, the difference between the amount you paid for the asset and its sales price is a capital gain or capital loss.
Republican candidate Mitt Romney recently bowed to pressure last week and released his 2010 tax return. What it showed is that Romney paid a little less than $3 million in taxes on $21.6 million of income. This equates to an affective tax rate of less than 14%–far below what the average taxpayer pays.
This past June, New York became the 6th state to legalize same sex marriage. Regardless of ones individual beliefs concerning same-sex marriage, this much is clear: Tax laws–which are already complex & confusing–are that much more baffling for same-sex couples. This is mainly due to the fact that the Federal Government does not recognize same-sex unions. Same-sex couples must file separate federal returns, however they can file jointly in New York State and some other states that recognize...
Taxpayers are waiting on pins and needles for the important decisions regarding income tax cuts or increases to be made by Congress. Will Bush’s tax cuts be extended or should taxpayers expect a surprise come tax time? Congress reconvenes on November 15th and hopefully we can get some answers quickly. Every year we wait for a patch to be issued that will apply inflation rates to the tax laws regarding Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT).
