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Most people feel like their taxes are a sleeping giant. They tiptoe around them as if staying away from the topic will keep it from waking up. Then at tax time when the giant awakens, they often act as if the final tax refund or bill is a surprise. Many working people try to change their withholding to get their tax outcome “dialed in”, but that joy of having a refund of “XYZ” coming is so often way off from what was expected and they are shocked. That’s because taxes are dealt with one time a year for most and their scenarios that lead to a consistent outcome change. For example, they go from no kids, to having kids. Children

Sometimes “tax planning” can be easy: “Open an IRA and it reduces your taxable income.” Other times it can be quite complex: “Cost segregation” on a building means hiring an engineering firm and having a structure broken down into its many components on paper, with each value separately listed; the frame, wiring, heating systems, etc., and taking write-offs, generally much faster than simply taking a standard approach. These are both ways to lower federal or state taxes.   For the people who have made large amounts of money or have larger estates, the year to year tax bill is not as much of a concern as the “Death Tax Bill.” Planning for them can be simple or complex as well,

We talk a lot about people not doing tax planning and not spending more time creating the tax outcomes they want. We urge people to understand that it’s within their own control and that tax outcomes can be legally and ethically manipulated. We go on and on about the benefits.  But…we understand why it’s so rarely done! It is because almost nothing in people’s lives has more constant change than taxes, and keeping up with all the changes can be an overwhelming challenge. What if every four years your banking rules changed, “Oh I’m sorry John, we no longer pay you interest, now you pay us interest to keep money here.” Or “Now you have to send in your mortgage payment daily,

Most business owners in any five year period can answer yes to at least one of these life event questions that would cause them to need to know what their company is worth. 1. Are you contemplating the sale of your business? 2. Are you working with or bringing in a partner? 3. Are you contemplating or currently going through divorce proceedings? 4. Are you potentially going to have to defend yourself or your company in court? 5. Are you looking for financing? There are other possible reasons of course, but the point is that there are many times a business owner finds himself or herself needing to obtain a proper business valuation for their company. Unfortunately, it’s often an

People who earn more than a certain amount and who are enrolled in Medicare Part B or Medicare Part D, or both, will face additional premiums, called The Medicare Income-Related Monthly Adjusted Amount (IRMAA). IRMAA “surcharges,” which is a replacement word for a tax, are based on income earned two years prior to the coverage year. So, for example, a client enrolling in Medicare in 2026 would pay an IRMAA surcharge based on their 2024 tax return. Generally there are two types of people that pay IRMAA surcharges: Those who might be affected and those who will always be affected. Because it is income based, people with an unusual income event may only be affected once, while people with higher incomes may always