Year End Tax Tips That Will Save You Money

Straight Talk: Year End Tax Tips That Will Save You Money

Welcome to Straight Talk.  Straight Talk is just that. I don’t mince words. I tell it like it is.

I have reached an age where the nonsense, the B.S. and the snake oil salesman who don’t know what they are talking about just won’t do. I have over 35 years of experience in my industry, advanced degrees and countless hours coming alongside business owners to build rock solid foundations and use the most advanced business, legal and tax ideas and strategies to save tens of thousands to hundreds and yes even millions of dollars, protect what you have and increase your lifetime net worth.

I appreciate your enjoyment of our insights on growing your business by design, changing your wealth and increasing your choices.

The days are getting shorter.  We have more to do. Where is the time?

There is no time like the present.  When it comes to year-end planning for your business, planning for taxes, planning for next year there is no time like the present.  

Once the year is over, from a tax perspective there is no planning.  It’s purely compliance. What did you do and now we have to record it.  That’s why the accountants are called bean counters. They count what has been done and they report it on the tax return.  And if the IRS comes a calling, the information and the actions taken have all been accounted for.

Occasionally, it is possible to take information and re-characterize it in a way that is favorable to you.  

Was the skin cream you sold as part of Mary Kay or that juice part of Juice Plus a business or just a hobby.  Were you really a real estate professional. Did you have to use your home for business and were you running a business or did you get a W-2 from your employer and that’s your income.  

One and done.

Here are some time-honored rules and principles.

Tax Saving Tip #1:

The new tax law should reduce people’s tax rate. That means that pushing more income into the current year and delaying deductions will benefit the business because there will be less taxes even on more income.   

Tax Saving Tip #2:

Look at your investments and sell some of the losers to offset the winners.

I know you will all get a kick out of this one.  Passive income and losses from real estate is different from than passive income and losses from investments.  Passive losses from real estate have medieval type rules to keep you from taking those losses to offset income from wages or a trade or business.  Worse yet, income from real estate can’t be offset by losses from stocks. Guess who made up these rules and the effect on you is take more of your money.

Tax Saving Tip #3

One I always like is if you drive in your business keep track of the miles you drive.  It’s a free one that the IRS gives you.

Think about it.  The IRS gives you about 50 cents per mile.  If you drive 20,000 miles you get a 10,000 deduction and it didn’t cost you anything other than the gas and repairs you would make anyway.  

Tax Saving Tip #4:

Last on the list is if you have your children working in your business there are some tremendous advantages you can use to save taxes.

Our vision is for people to have a legal that will make them proud. What better way to do this than to bring kids into the business where you can pay them, get a deduction and begin putting their money into investments that could turn them into millionaires when they are older. How good is that?

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