Tax strategies

The best-laid estate plans just got muddled.

President Barack Obama is dropping his proposal to tax the earnings on college savings accounts, responding to criticism of an idea the White House announced 10 days ago.

White House officials say they are seeking to dismantle a popular college savings tax break because it favors wealthy households and does little to encourage lower-income students to go to college.

Real estate partnerships pool funds from various investor groups, family offices and public entities to invest in property platforms seeking high cap rates and strong yields. Even though the investors within each fund have different tax structures and tax needs, the goal of enhancing each investor’s rate of return can be accomplished through sophisticated tax planning strategies.

With the top income tax rate at 39.6 percent, advisors need to be savvy about the tax-saving strategies they utilize for their high net-worth clients.

Tax strategy and investment management are important, but communicating with clients is one of the most critical aspects of any financial planner's practice, argued pioneering planner Harold Evensky.

President Barack Obama is proposing new taxes on the wealthiest Americans that would limit their profits from investments and make it harder for them to pass assets to heirs.

A recent court decision may have repercussions for colleges' star players

The end of the year is traditionally the time when taxpayers rush to get their last-minute charitable contributions made so they can write off the deductions on their taxes before April 15.

The Tax Increase Prevention Act extends the provision that allows certain IRA owners to make tax-free distributions to charity.

Bank Leumi Le-Israel Ltd. agreed to pay $400 million and admit it helped American clients evade taxes for a decade.

Naming a trust as an IRA beneficiary may offer many benefits. If drafted properly, a trust can protect the account from creditors and reduce the risk that money will be mishandled.

Companies planning for a merger or acquisition have various issues to consider as they prepare for the transaction. One of the issues is golden parachutes.

Outgoing House Ways and Means Committee chairman Dave Camp, R-Mich., officially introduced Thursday the comprehensive tax reform package he has been laboring over in recent years.

As year-end approaches, it would be worthwhile for practitioners to consider whether corporate clients could benefit from the following “last minute” tax-saving moves, including adjustments to income to preserve favorable estimated tax rules for 2015, deferral of certain advance payments to next year, and fine-tuning bonuses to make the most of the Section 199 domestic production activities deduction.

U.S. Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden said he expects Congress to pass legislation that would permanently extend three lapsed tax breaks for charitable contributions.

Our weekly roundup of tax-related investment strategies and news your clients may be thinking about.

Bloomberg BNA has released the inaugural edition of the Bloomberg BNA 2015 Federal Tax Guide, a quick-reference guide for tax practitioners to help with preparing 2014 individual and business tax returns and 2015 planning.

While the traditional end-of-year tax tip checklist contains such tried and true suggestions as defer income and accelerate deductions, there are a number of other steps Tom Wheelwright takes in advising his small business clients.

The House of Representatives voted to revive dozens of lapsed U.S. tax breaks for this year and set them to expire again on Dec. 31.