Tax
How to Handle Early Distributions: Qualified Plans, Non-Qualified Plans, and IRAs (Part 2)
General Penalty Waivers There are expenses and circumstances that can waive the 10% early withdrawal penalty on a distribution regardless of what plan type the taxpayer has: Plan asset rollovers (not conversions) Qualified higher education expenses Being age 59 ½ at the time of distribution Deductible...
How to Handle Early Distributions: Qualified Plans, Non-Qualified Plans, and IRAs (Part 1)
Early Distributions Have Increased In the austere economic climate the US has experienced in the past decade, early distributions from retirement plans have become a more frequent occurrence as our clients struggle with protracted unemployment and underemployment. Some dismal statistics embody this pathos. Americans...
Conflicts of Interest: Staying Circular 230 Compliant (Part 2)
What IS the Ethical Thing to Do? It may not always be possible for a tax professional to retain impartiality. Using the divorcing couple as an example, it is possible for the tax professional to competently and impartially represent both spouses assuming they have an arm’s length relationship. Going back to the...
Conflicts of Interest: Staying Circular 230 Compliant (Part 1)
The term “conflict of interest” is a go-to phrase in the legal realm frequently referred to in professional misconduct suits where an engaged company or individual (usually a lawyer or law firm) winds up simultaneously representing two conflicting parties. The most common examples of a cut-and-dry conflict...
Self-Employed Taxpayers and the Affordable Care Act: Specific Impacts on the Self-Employed (Part 2)
AGI & Advanced Premium Tax Credit A headache currently faced by many self-employed taxpayers is the simple question of eligibility, particularly if desiring relief with monthly advanced premium tax credit (APTC). If one wants to claim this subsidy now opposed to waiting until they filed their return, the...