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
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%
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“HIGHWAY TRUST FUND” ACT – 7/31/15
• Mortgage reporting requirements
• 6-year Statute of Limitations
• Tax return due dates
• Basis consistency
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SAME SEX MARRIAGES
• Windsor and Obergefell
• Legally married for tax filing purposes
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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
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NYS FY 2015-2016 BUDGET
• No major income tax changes
• Extends charitable deduction limitation for 2 years
• Estate tax technical corrections
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YEAR END PLANNING IDEAS
• Basic Concepts
• Know Your Tax Bracket – 2015 & 2016
• Time Value of Money
• Income Character
• AMT
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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
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ACCELERATE (DEFER?) DEDUCTIONS
• Prepay bills
• Bunch itemized deductions
• Charitable deductions
• Harvest capital losses before year end
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NIIT PLANNING
• Monitor and document time spent on “business” activities
• Consider investment alternatives
• Make estate/trust distributions before year end
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RETIREMENT PLANS
• Maximize current year tax-deferred contributions
• Consider Roth conversion
• “Back door” Roth IRA
• Adopt new retirement plan for 2016 before year end
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BUSINESS PLANNING
• Equipment purchases
• Tangible property rules
• Cost segregation study
• Year end business meetings
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MISCELLANEOUS PLANNING
• Health Savings Account -
“HSA”
• Flexible Spending Account - “FSA”
• Income tax payment planning
• Planning with kids
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YEAR END ESTATE TAX REDUCTION PLANNING
• Annual exclusion gifts
• Stepped-up basis v. estate tax reduction
• Valuation discounts
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Martin S. Finn, CPA, JD, LL.M.
29 British American Boulevard
Latham, NY 12110
518-869-6227; Fax: 518-869-0572
188 Church Street
Saratoga Springs, NY 12866
518-584-6300; Fax: 518-584-5673
[email protected]
Copyright 2015 © Lavelle & Finn, LLP