If you own a highly appreciated vacation home that you’re ready to unload, the sale will generate a large gain — and a sizable tax bill. However, if you’re still bullish on real estate and don’t need cash right away, there’s a way to minimize the tax hit. Instead of selling the property outright, you could instead swap your vacation home for another vacation home (or virtually any other type of real property) in a tax-deferred like-kind exchange under Section 1031 of the federal tax code. (more…)

Do you own a life insurance policy that’s no longer essential to your financial goals? You may have purchased a policy long ago, when your children were infants or before their college years. Now that you’re no longer raising a family, your focus has probably changed to your own future needs, which could include some form of long-term care. An extended nursing home or assisted living facility (ALF) stay could substantially erode — or even wipe out — your life savings. (more…)

Are you contemplating some significant improvements to your home? Whether it’s adding a pool to assist with a medical condition, finishing a basement or installing energy-saving equipment, you may be in line for generous tax breaks under current law. Here are four potential building blocks. (more…)

As you are probably aware from recent accounting updates (including our firm updates), lease accounting has changed significantly. Calendar year-end private entities were required to adopt the new lease accounting rules (ASC 842) on January 1, 2022. For many companies, there will be significant work gathering documents and data to properly apply these new accounting rules at year-end.

In this effort, we have partnered with LeaseCrunch (https://www.leasecrunch.com/). LeaseCrunch is a user friendly cloud-based software solution that will streamline adoption of the new rules. We were sold on this software when we learned it enables us to directly invite you to participate in the lease accounting process online, thereby helping to maintain independence.

As we are adopting this software firmwide, we are able to pass on our savings as a major vendor directly to you. These fees will be billed annually on a per lease basis. For additional pricing information, see LeaseCrunch pricing and related KWC support services here.

Your assigned engagement team has been trained on this software and we encourage you to attend a free training with LeaseCrunch on November 17, 2022 at 1:00 p.m. This session will cover a background on lease accounting and give you a brief introduction to how the software works. Please RSVP using this link.

There’s good news for owners and designers of commercial buildings that are energy efficient. In 2021, the energy-efficient commercial buildings deduction (also known as Section 179D) was made permanent, thanks to the Consolidated Appropriations Act. Now, the recently passed Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) has significantly changed the tax deduction again. The IRA boosts the potential value of the deduction and provides new avenues for architecture, engineering and construction firms to qualify. Here are the details. (more…)

With year end fast approaching, it’s time to consider tax planning moves that may lower taxes for the 2022 tax year — and possibly set you up for tax savings in future years as well. (more…)

It’s time for year-end tax planning. Every fall, small business owners should review their tax situations to determine steps they should consider to reduce their federal income taxes for the current year — and beyond. Fortunately, no significant unfavorable federal tax law changes are expected this year. So, there’s more certainty regarding the tax rules today than this time last year. Here are five ideas to help reduce business taxes for 2022. (more…)

Most people already understand the tax rules for individual charitable donations, including generous deductions that may be available to itemizers when they give cash or property to charity. But your business may also reap tax rewards for helping out a qualified charitable organization. Though the rules for business entities are similar to those for individuals, there are a few twists and turns to consider. (more…)

Saving for retirement on a tax-advantaged basis should be on nearly everyone’s financial “to do” list, though in this current economic crisis, you may need to put it on the back burner for a time.

Making contributions to a Roth IRA is one tax-wise way to save, because you can take withdrawals after age 59 1/2 that are free from federal income tax, assuming you’ve had at least one Roth account open for more than five years. Of course, Roth contributions are nondeductible, but they are valuable because you reap tax savings on the back end of the deal. (more…)

Two things in life are certain: death and taxes. While you can’t live forever, there are still some ways to collect tax-free income. Here’s a list of common federal-income-tax-free opportunities for individuals. (more…)