Many people’s estates don’t file a federal, estate-tax tax return. The filing thresholds are huge. In 2022, for example, your gross estate needs to exceed $12,060,000 before your executor or personal representative needs to file a federal Form 706 and potentially pay estate taxes. Washington state, unfortunately, sets a far lower filing threshold. And many […]
Avoiding Biden Tax Increases on Small Corporations
Right now, no one knows whether President Biden’s business tax proposals will become law. Which means planning for any changes is tricky. Yet the proposed tax laws change vast parts of the Internal Revenue Code. Especially for entrepreneurs and active investors. And then the real issue here: By the time we do know all the […]
WA Cares Fund and Small Business
Starting in 2022, most Washington state employees pay a new WA Cares Fund payroll tax. That new payroll tax supports a new long-term care insurance plan. Which sounds good. But the new tax will cost some workers large amounts of tax. And then this planning reality: people often can wriggle out of the tax. Accordingly, […]
Washington State Capital Gains Tax Planning
In the spring of 2021, Washington State enacted a 7 percent capital gains tax on some taxpayers’ long-term capital gains starting in 2022. Accordingly, individuals living or investing in Washington state need to learn how the law works. And also how to minimize its impact. A caution? The new law burdens both the state and […]
Covid-19 Relocations and Your Tax Return
If due to the Covid-19 pandemic, you moved out of your usual neighborhood or community, that move may impact your taxes. You may get some travel-related deductions in some special cases, for example. But you may also find yourself paying new state and local income taxes. Accordingly, you want to understand—at least in a general […]
Covid-19 Home Office Deductions
The Covid-19 pandemic pushed many to work from home. And that reality begs an obvious question: Do any of these people get a Covid-19 home office deduction? In many cases, the answer is “yes.” But the rules get tricky… The Home Office Deduction in a Nutshell Section 280A(c)(1) of the Internal Revenue Code creates the […]
Simple Trust Tax Planning Ideas Can Save Big Dollars
Many taxpayers understand—at least in a general way—how individual tax returns work. Someone earns or receives income. The taxpayer gets some deductions. Often including a big “standard deduction” that means someone doesn’t pay income taxes on the first $12,000 or $24,000 of income. And then the tax rates paid? A familiar set of percentages. Often […]
How Taxes Work for PPP Loans
Sometime in the next few days, the Paycheck Protection Program, or PPP, will restart. We’re just waiting now for the President to sign the bill the House and Senate already passed. For the millions of small businesses who have borrowed PPP money, the new law includes a windfall. The PPP loan money now counts as […]
Avoiding Taxes on PPP Loan Forgiveness
How a PPP borrower fills out the 3508 forgiveness application matters for taxes.