Thinking of selling your home sometime in the next couple years? If so, consider this: In order to try and pay for all the goodies included in Obamacare, Congress created a 3.8 % Medicare surtax on investment income starting in 2013. This surtax is placed on top of the normal tax on all investment [...]

While statistically speaking your chances of being audited by the IRS are very low, It is important to prepare each tax return as if you will be audited. Having proper documentation for expenses claimed and being certain to declare all income items is far more effective if you do the work when its fresh [...]

The California Legislature is very adept at killing jobs and increasing unemployment, but this may be the only time that nobody will object. The Assembly has come to the rescue of one constituent who has a problem. It seems that his ex wife keeps hiring hit men to “off” the guy. Ex wife is [...]

Many popular tax breaks that folks have previously used to reduce their personal income taxes were either repealed or allowed to expire for 2010 and may not be around this year to help reduce your taxes. These breaks include the college tuition deduction, deductions for teaching supplies, deductions for state sales taxes, deductions for [...]

Coming in second place in most contests is not best, but it ain’t all that bad. Some notable exceptions: Wars, Ultimate Fighting, and the latest US News and World Report study of states that raised taxes the highest in 2009. Guess what? California had the second highest per capita tax increase in 2009 (right [...]

Most folks don’t think much about taxes until around April when they start to ponder what kind of damage the IRS will inflict on them for the prior year. We encourage, beg and cajole our clients to be proactive about taxes, and in so doing we can minimize the damage and also help plan for [...]

From time to time people forward me chain emails related to tax issues that are swirling around the internet, asking me if they are true or not. Lately, a couple of them have been sent to me repeatedly. Let’s deal with them here: Scam #1AN EMAIL SAYS THE NEW HEALTH CARE LAW WILL REQUIRE [...]

Here in California, the State granted Registered Domestic Partners (RDPs) the same legal status and rights as married couples. For tax purposes, this change forced RDPs to file income tax returns as either married jointly or married filing separately. Anyone who is a RDP must use the married rates on their California state tax [...]

Ever since the inheritance tax was temporarily repealed on January 1, 2010 (for only one year), there have been many that have called for its reinstatement. Regardless of how you feel about taxing estates, it can be argued that it is inherently unfair for a wealthy person’s estate to completely escape tax simply because [...]

There currently is a bill wending its way through the House called the American Jobs and Closing Tax Loopholes Act. Wait a minute - why don't they ever label one the "We're going to stick it to you act"? What happened to truth in advertising? Sorry. I digress. Anyway, this bill has a lot [...]