MAKING THE MISSION POSSIBLE: UNCOVERING THE LATEST YEAR-END TAX PLANNING STRATEGIES MARTIN S. FINN, CPA, JD, LL.M. LAVELLE & FINN, LLP [email protected]

MAKING THE MISSION POSSIBLE:UNCOVERING THE LATEST YEAR-END TAX PLANNING STRATEGIES

MARTIN S. FINN, CPA, JD, LL.M.

LAVELLE & FINN, LLP

[email protected]

WWW.LAVELLEANDFINN.COM

COPYRIGHT 2015 © LAVELLE & FINN, LLP

mailto:[email protected]


TAX RATES FOR 2015

• Top Ordinary Income Tax Rate – 39.6%

• Capital Gains/Dividends Rate – 0% (10% and 15% brackets), 15% (25%, 28%, 33% and 35% brackets) or 20%

• Alternative Minimum Tax Rate (“AMT”) – 26%/28%

• Medicare Surcharge –

• Net Investment Income Tax (“NIIT”) – 3.8%

• Additional Medicare Wage Surcharge – 0.9%


“HIGHWAY TRUST FUND” ACT – 7/31/15

• Mortgage reporting requirements

• 6-year Statute of Limitations

• Tax return due dates

• Basis consistency


SAME SEX MARRIAGES

• Windsor and Obergefell

• Legally married for tax filing purposes


TAX EXTENDERS BILL

• Nothing yet

• “Extenders” at risk

• Sales tax deduction

• Educator’s expenses

• Charitable contribution of IRA

• Expanded Section 179 deduction

• Special “bonus” depreciation


NYS FY 2015-2016 BUDGET

• No major income tax changes

• Extends charitable deduction limitation for 2 years

• Estate tax technical corrections


YEAR END PLANNING IDEAS

• Basic Concepts

• Know Your Tax Bracket – 2015 & 2016

• Time Value of Money

• Income Character

• AMT


TRADITIONAL YEAR END PLANNING

• Defer (Accelerate?) Income

• Year end bonuses

• Retirement plan distributions

• Delay Roth conversions

• Defer billings and collections

• Postpone sale of appreciated assets

• Postpone US Savings bonds redemptions


ACCELERATE (DEFER?) DEDUCTIONS

• Prepay bills

• Bunch itemized deductions

• Charitable deductions

• Harvest capital losses before year end


NIIT PLANNING

• Monitor and document time spent on “business” activities

• Consider investment alternatives

• Make estate/trust distributions before year end


RETIREMENT PLANS

• Maximize current year tax-deferred contributions

• Consider Roth conversion

• “Back door” Roth IRA

• Adopt new retirement plan for 2016 before year end


BUSINESS PLANNING

• Equipment purchases

• Tangible property rules

• Cost segregation study

• Year end business meetings


MISCELLANEOUS PLANNING

• Health Savings Account - “HSA”

• Flexible Spending Account - “FSA”

• Income tax payment planning

• Planning with kids


YEAR END ESTATE TAX REDUCTION PLANNING

• Annual exclusion gifts

• Stepped-up basis v. estate tax reduction

• Valuation discounts

Copyright 2015 © Lavelle & Finn, LLP

Martin S. Finn, CPA, JD, LL.M.

29 British American BoulevardLatham, NY 12110

518-869-6227; Fax: 518-869-0572

188 Church StreetSaratoga Springs, NY 12866

518-584-6300; Fax: [email protected]

mailto:[email protected]

Documents

MAKING THE MISSION POSSIBLE: UNCOVERING THE LATEST YEAR-END TAX PLANNING STRATEGIES MARTIN S. FINN, CPA, JD, LL.M. LAVELLE & FINN, LLP [email protected]