More about Paul Neiffer
Paul Neiffer is a certified public accountant and business advisor specializing in income taxation, accounting services, and succession planning for farmers and agribusiness processors. Paul is a principal with CliftonLarsonAllen in Walla Walla, Washington, as well as a regular speaker at national conferences and contributor at agweb.com. Raised on a farm in central Washington, he has been immersed in the ag industry his entire life, including the last 30 years professionally. Paul and his wife purchase an 180 acre ranch in 2016 and enjoy keeping it full of animals.
Blog Posts by Paul Neiffer:
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The Budget is Your Road Map
Most farmers prepare a budget at the end of the year to present to their bankers and then promptly put it away and forget about it until the following fall. I like to envision a budget is similar to a road map. A map has many ways to get from point A to point B. […]
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Estate Tax Law Changes are Coming
I have been reading several articles lately on the possible estate tax law changes that will be coming. The Bush changes from about 8 years ago will be changed and soon. Most agree that the estate exemption will most likely be around $3.5 to $5 million and indexed for inflation. Also, the gift tax exemption […]
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Life Insurance Company Stock Sales May Be Tax Free
The US Court of Federal Claims issued a decision in 2008 indicating proceeds from selling life insurance stock companies that had de-mutualized were in fact tax free. There have been serveral large life insurance companies such as Metropolitan, Principal, Prudential, etc. that have de-mutualized over the last several years. The IRS had argued that when these […]
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Get a Do Over
Kiplinger magazine has an article on a great way to borrow money from the government on an interest-free basis and, then pay it back and start getting extra benefits. This method applies to all people who apply for social security. It allows them to start their benefits at age 62, collect and invest the money until age 70. […]
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Uncle Sam Helps with Home Purchase
For those who have not owned a personal residence in the last three years, Uncle Sam is wanting to help you buy a new home. If you purchase a home this year and your income is below certain levels, then Uncle Sam will refund you $8,000 when you file your income tax return. You can […]
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Great way to test for moisture
On a recent episode of Agday, there was a small feature on a product from Reichhardt called a minibatt. This is a very small hand-held portable combine that allows the farmer to harvest a small amount of grain and get a very quick reading on moisture levels of the crop. I know growing on our farm, […]
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Bonus depreciation extended to 2009
The recent Stimulus Tax Package includes an extension of bonus depreication from 2008 into all of 2009. This means that for all new equipment (including single purpose ag buildings) qualifies for 50% of the cost being deducted in 2009 with remainder being depreciated over the normal tax life of the equipment. For example, if a […]
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A freebie from the IRS
There was a new law passed last year that allows all taxpayers that use the standard deduction to take an extra deduction of up to $1,000 for real estate taxes paid on a personal residence. This deduction is in addition to the standard deduction. This deduction applies to farmers who do not itemize their deductions. […]
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The Old Way to Make Money – Earn It!
I saw a great post by Chuck Schwartau from the University of Minnesota Extension deparment. The post was related to the dairy industry, but is applies to all farming and any business. For the last twenty years or so, it seems that most people thought they could make easy money by borrowing more than they […]
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March 1 is file your taxes time
Farmers are unique. The IRS allows them to pay their income taxes later than almost anybody else. Noramally all returns are due on April 15 of each year and taxpayers need to pay in their taxes by either having enough withholding taken out of their wages or paying 4 equal quarterly estimated tax payments in order to not […]