Taxable investors are right to be concerned with measuring performance on an after-tax basis. However, to put after-tax performance in perspective requires a benchmark, just as pretax performance measurement does. Yet unlike pretax performance, after-tax performance is unique to each investor’s tax situation and asset flow patterns.
This report summarizes certain state and local tax relief efforts relating to coronavirus. The taxes that were impacted include corporate income tax, individual income tax, and sales and use tax.
The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act contains multiple tax-related provisions intended to offer relief to both businesses and individuals. We outline key provisions of which businesses and individuals should be aware, including those governing retention credits, payroll tax deferrals, recovery rebates, and modifications to charitable contributions limitations.
The stimulus package provided from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act includes the Keeping American Workers Paid and Employed Act, which offers financial relief to help prevent workers from losing their jobs and aid businesses affected by the economic downturn. Here is a summary of the Act’s key sections that provide substantive support, reforms, or appropriations aimed at small businesses and small business owners.
As we learn to cope with the unprecedented changes to our daily lives imposed by the COVID-19 crisis, many are rethinking about the steps to take to confirm that their affairs are in order. Now is the time to perform an estate plan wellness check-up and learn about the opportunities to implement planning techniques geared toward economic downturns.
On March 27, 2020, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act ("CARES Act") was signed into law. The CARES Act provides emergency assistance to individuals, families, and businesses affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. The CARES Act is divided into two divisions: Division A includes programs to benefit individuals, companies, and the health care system affected by COVID-19; and Division B describes the supplemental appropriations to help the government respond to COVID-19. A summary of the CARES Act outlines and details the assistance available.
In this Part Four of the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act (SECURE Act), we take a look at the use of qualified charitable distributions (OCDs) that impacts estate planning.
While today’s health, economic, and market concerns have created a challenging environment, there is a silver lining for wealth and estate planning opportunities. Compelling opportunities include gifting assets with depreciated value; using the low interest rate environment to your advantage through vehicles such as grantor retained annuity trusts, intrafamily loans, and sales to intentionally defective grantor trusts; converting a traditional individual retirement account (IRA) to a Roth IRA; and tax loss harvesting.
After the death of a retirement plan participant or IRA owner, non-eligible designated beneficiaries of a retirement account (other than a Roth) will experience an acceleration of taxable income and the loss of tax-deferred growth that was available before the enacted SECURE Act (Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement).
The IRS recently released the April 2020 interest rates used for estate planning purposes. As expected based on recent market conditions, these rates are at or near all-time lows. These low rates, combined with potentially-depressed asset prices and temporarily-high estate and gift tax exemptions (currently over $23 million for a married couple, but scheduled to sunset after 2025), make the economics of current estate planning transactions very attractive.