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The Backdoor Roth IRA
With the expected increase in income tax rates next year due to the Medicare Surtax and the possible sunsetting of the Bush tax cuts, now may be a great time to set up a Roth IRA. Unlike a regular IRA, a ROTH is completely tax-free when funds are withdrawn (assuming you meet certain requirements on […]
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Elimination of Estate Tax Bill Proposed in Senate
Senator John Thune, R.-S.D. has introduced the Death Tax Repeal Permanency Act S. 2242, which would permanently abolish the federal estate tax. The Senate bill is identical to H.R. 1259 introduced by House Representative Kevin Brady, R-Texas. The tax is currently set at 35% on estates over $5 million. However, beginning January 1, 2013, the […]
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Intended Corn Plantings Up Over 7 Million Acres in 2 Years
I was reviewing the intended corn acre plantings just issued by the USDA and some of the numbers that jump out at me are: Total intended corn acre plantings of 95.9 million acres for 2012. This is up almost 4 million acres over 2011 and up over 7 million acres from 2010. This is the […]
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Number of Farms Get Smaller, But They Produce More
Most of you are aware that the number of farms in the US continues to get smaller, but they produce more and more. In the dairy sector, one report from the Idaho Dairymen’s Association indicated in 2008, there were over 800 dairies in the state of Idaho. Just three years later, this number had dropped […]
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Reprieve for Farmers Filing Late Due to MF Global
Most farmers file by March 1 of each year to escape having to pay estimated tax payments in January. This year, many farmers received their Form 1099 from MF Global very late and in many cases after March 1. The IRS just announced penalty relief for any farmers who had to file their return after […]
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If It Walks Like a Duck, Quacks Like a Duck, It is Probably a Duck
A recent Court Case reminded me that sometimes taxpayers and their advisors can sometimes go too far in trying to create favorable tax situations. For many years now, taxpayers have taking advantage of using cost segregation studies to allocate part of the construction or purchase cost of buildings to items more closely related to equipment […]
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One Month to Go!
Today is Sunday March 18, 2012 and tax due day this year is Tuesday, April 17, 2012. There is slightly more than 4 weeks of tax season left for all of my CPA friends out there. For our office, it has been a little bit stressful this year since converted to different tax software, but […]
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Top Estate Planning Mistakes Farmers Make – Conclusion
We just finished a three part series on the top estate planning mistakes farmers make and we had some readers ask which one was most important? This is strictly my opinion, but I think the first one listed “procrastination” is the worst mistake farmers and probably all business owners make. Many farmers will never have […]
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Top Estate Planning Mistakes Farmers Make – Part 3
We conclude our series on the top estate planning mistakes farmers make today with: Treat all the kids the same – In our seminars on this subject, the question of how to treat farm and non-farm kids can be the most vexing issues for farmers. Many farmers who control the farm and only pass down […]
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Top Estate Planning Mistakes Farmers Make – Part 2
Continuing our post from yesterday: I am worth less than $5 million, so who cares? – Well, for one thing your spouse might care. We have a new estate planning opportunity called portability which allows the unused estate exemption to be transferred to the surviving spouse. So let’s assume you pass away in 2011 worth […]
