Posts Tagged ‘2008’
The Worlds Best Investments For 2008!
This 100 Page Book Will Change The Way You Invest Forever. Find Out What The Rich Have Known For Years. 2008 Edition Now Out.
The Worlds Best Investments For 2008!
OK Capitalists, it’s time to play “Justify This” Why did Wall Street have it’s 6th best year for Bonuses 2008?
Amid spiraling employment Figures, Massive Bailouts,.. The Average upper echelon Wall Street Banker received 2.4 Million In performance bonuses ?
a total of 18 Billion, not Including Hidden “Perks” ?
Here’s that silly divide that always pops up on my “Justify This” questions..
Half of you self identifying Capitalists, say..
“That’s not Real Capitalism” and the Other half says, “Blame the Liberals”
what you both seem to either forget, Ignore or hide from.. is that this is “Capitalism” Capitalism played to the end results in a very small group with a big pile and the rest scrambling for their share of the remaining Crumbs..
It doesn’t work.. It’s never worked, Supply Side economics is a failure.. plainly put, it creates Wealth from Debt and devalues the labor of the citizens in the process..
sorry but you loose on this one big time..
Not one compelling answer.
I take that last statement Back,,
“Crunch” .. makes a good point.
JDM” .. Socialism is the main form of Governance in Western Europe.. funny that they lead the entire planet in every quality of Life Index.. true enough they have their struggles, but the people are not starving, they are not slaves and they do NOT have totalitarian Governments…
That is false.
The Top Ten Changes to Tax Law 2008
Top Ten 2008 Income Tax Law Changes
By David Roberts
Every year for whatever reason whether it be political or an exchange of favors for lobbyists, our Congress adds additional changes to our already complicated tax law. Sometimes these changes are beneficial, sometimes they are not, but this article will briefly examine the changes that have been made for this 2008 Tax Year.
First, the tax rate on net capital gains and qualified dividends has been reduced! For those tax payers in the lowest two tax brackets who were formally paying 5% in capital gains tax will in the next few years pay 0%. For those interested in the effect on the Alternative Minimum Tax, yes, the 0% rate will apply for both regular tax and the AMT. This is great news and should help encourage those in the lower tax brackets to invest. Of course this begs the question of where are lower income tax bracket tax payers going to get the extra money to invest?
Perhaps if those who actually HAVE money to invest were given a reduction they might see fit to invest MORE money in hopes for a higher return! These increased investments would then benefit those who don’t have the ability to invest because this investment activity would create jobs. For more information, Google ‘Reaganomics’ or the ‘trickle down economics’.
Second, the IRA contribution limit for both traditional and Roth IRA’s have increased to $5000. ($6000 for taxpayers over 50 who are playing ‘catch-up’). This is going to encourage more people to save more for retirement. The subject of which kind of IRA is best for you is a little long for this article. The short version is that a traditional IRA lets you invest money pre-tax and reduce current tax liability. The Roth IRA is after tax but upon retirement the individual can withdraw the funds tax free. So it comes down to do you want to be taxed on $5000 now and pull it out when it’s $50000 tax free, (Roth) or would you rather avoid the taxes on the $5000 now and pay them when the amount is at $50000 when you pull it out? (traditional)
Three, for those who wish to make the decision to rollover their traditional IRAs to Roth IRAs you can now rollover funds from:
•a. A qualified pension, profit-sharing or stock bonus plan (including a 401(k) plan.)
•b. An annuity plan.
•c. A tax shelter annuity plan (section 403(b) plan) or
•d. A deferred compensation plan of a state or local government (section 457 plan)
Although there would be a 10% additional tax on early distributions, there would be the benefit of these funds growing tax free from this point on.
Four, the phase out of reductions of Personal exemptions and itemized deductions. For those of us who are fortunate enough to have this problem, it means that the government feels that we are making WAY too much money to deserve our standard deductions and itemized deductions, which in the past have been phased out because we are of the fortunate ones and we need to be punished with ever increasing taxes for our achievements. THIS year however, this amount is only 1/3 of the amount that would otherwise apply. That means that even though we will not get the standard $3500 for a personal exemption, that we will at least get a personal exemption of $1167. Isn’t our government generous?
Five, the Kiddie Tax Rules are now expanded to include any child who is over 18 at the end of the year and whose earned income is not more than half of the child’s support. And, any student who is under age 24 at the end of the year and whose earned income is not more than half of the child’s support. Both groups of children will still be taxed at the parent’s tax rate and this does NOT apply to those who are full time students at a strictly online college or institution. This is a good reason to make sure your new college students are concentrating on studies and NOT on making money! Of course that may not be an option for some.
Six, a First-time Homebuyer Credit of $7500! First, let’s define a first time homebuyer according to our IRS. A first time homebuyer is someone who hasn’t owned a home for three consecutive years before the purchase date. Second, how does this credit work? Honestly this credit is more like a loan than it is a tax credit. The homebuyer will receive the benefit of a $7500 credit the year of the purchase of the home, which will then be repaid, beginning the second year after the purchase of the home, in increments of 1/15 for 15 years. If the home is sold at anytime during those 15 years the balance must be repaid all at once. This information will be reported on the new IRS Form 5405.
Seven, the exclusion on the Sale of Main Home. Now those widows and widowers will be able to exclude the full $500000 from the gain of the sale of their home IF: the sale occurs no later than 2 years after the date of their spouses’ death, and if the ownership requirements were met before the date of the death. This is of course, unless there was a sale of a main home by either spouse less than 2 years prior to the death occurring. Situation: Rita Smith and Evan Josephs meet and decide to marry. She sells her home with a gain of over $500000 and within two years she passes away, Evan cannot sell his home with the exclusion because the exclusion has already been taken by his wife. If she had waited to die until the third year, he would be free to claim the full exclusion of $500000.
Eight, this is actually a good one! Due to the ever increasing gas prices, the Congress has decided to allow 58 cents per mile for business miles driven during the later half of 2008. And, the medical mileage has increased to 27.5 cents per mile for the latter half of 2008. Accurate records is a must for this one, because the IRS is NOT going to believe that you drove 100% of your miles beginning in June!
Nine, our local heroes, the emergency responders will be receiving rebates or reductions of property and income taxes! They will also be receiving qualified payments of up to $30 per month for providing emergency responder services.
Ten, the Recovery Rebate Credit. Taxpayers will receive a refundable credit that will be figured in the same manner as the 2007 Economic Stimulus Payment, except that the amounts will be based on tax year 2008 instead of 2007. If there is a difference and the credit is less than the payment received, the difference does not have to be repaid! So this is completely unlike the initial stimulus package passed in 2001 in that they won’t ask us for this one back!
The next article will explore the remaining changes to the tax law for 2008.
Homesoon Accounting servicing Kissimmee, St. Cloud, and Southeast Orlando offers help in tax preparation, Quickbooks consultation and fraud prevention management, with ten years experience in helping individuals and small businesses with their tax issues and bookkeeping. Since this is a home based business we don’t have to pay rent on an office for 12 months with a 4 month income, like the national franchise offices do and we pass that savings on to you.
New Tax Legislation Could Save Dentists $$thousands$$ in 2008
Have you thought about upgrading your equipment to the newest industry standards but were afraid of the cost? Or perhaps you want to improve your office to make it more comfortable for your patients? Do you need to upgrade your reception area to make it more efficient for your administrative staff or look nicer for your patients?
If you have been thinking about any of these improvements for your practice, consider that if you do it in 2008, the Government will help pay for them. That’s right, Uncle Sam is ready to pay for a significant part of your cost of improvements, but only if you make your purchases and do your improvements in 2008. How? The good old American way – through major tax deductions.
In February 2008, President Bush signed into law the Economic Stimulus Law of 2008. Most people think of this as the bill that gave millions of Americans a tax rebate check of $600-$1,200. You may not have been eligible for this benefit because your income was too high, but other parts of this legislation could be worth far more to a dentist than a small rebate check.
There are two parts of this legislation that could be particularly lucrative to you in 2008. First, there is the change to the Section 179 rules. Most of you know that if you buy new equipment then you can elect to deduct the full cost of this equipment up to certain limits. What you may not know is that these limits were increased substantially for equipment purchased and placed into service in 2008.
There are two limits that increased as part of the 2008 Tax Act. The first is the total amount of equipment that can be deducted in a single year. The rule is $125,000 for years before and after 2008. But, for 2008 only, the limit has been increased to $250,000.
And the deduction is not limited to equipment. It also applies to computer software and to certain leasehold improvements.
The second limit that was increased is the maximum amount of equipment you can buy and still get the Section 179 deduction at all. Before and after 2008, you only get the deduction if you buy less than $400,000 of equipment during the year. For 2008, this has been doubled to $800,000. What does this mean to you? If you are setting up a new office or multiple offices, you may have been disallowed ANY Section 179 deduction if you purchased more than $400,000 of equipment. With this limit doubled, most dentists will be able to deduct all of the equipment they buy in 2008 up to the increased $250,000 limit.
In addition to the changes to the Section 179 deduction, there is more good news for those of you expanding or renovating your offices. As you may know, Section 179 only applies to tangible personal property (i.e., equipment and furnishings). So what about all of those improvements to the office itself? Any benefit there? Absolutely!!!
The 2008 Tax Act allows a bonus deduction for depreciation on certain property equal to 50% of the cost. And you still get to depreciate the other 50% of the cost of the property over the normal depreciation period. Let me give you an example.
Suppose you decide to renovate your office in 2008. You buy new equipment for $150,000, new furniture for $30,000 and make leasehold improvements to the office of $40,000. If you get this all done in 2008, your current tax deduction will be in excess of $200,000. If you wait until 2009, you will only get a deduction in 2009 of about $138,000. The different of $62,000 would have to be depreciated over future years.
One more benefit from this new law should not be overlooked, and that’s the additional depreciation you can take on business vehicles placed in service in 2008. Because of the “luxury auto” limitations, depreciation deductions for automobiles are severely limited. But in 2008, the limits are increased by $3,600. Nothing like the increases in Section 179 or bonus depreciation, but still a nice additional benefit for 2008.
Now for the really important part of this story. What should you do? Should you spend the money? ONLY IF IT MAKES SENSE FOR YOUR BUSINESS!!! I never recommend spending money just for a tax benefit. After all, the maximum tax rate is on 35% and even with a state rate of as much as 11%, you still lose money if all you are getting is a tax deduction.
On the other hand, if you are planning to make improvements to your office and/or equipment in the next year or two, it might make sense to do it in 2008 so the Government can underwrite a substantial portion (35-50%) of the cost.
I strongly recommend you meet with your tax advisor before undertaking any tax planning. I especially recommend to our dentist clients that they work with their tax advisor to formulate a COMPREHENSIVE, LONG-TERM TAX STRATEGY.
Tom Wheelwright is not only the founder and CEO of Provision, but he is the creative force behind Provision Wealth Strategists. In addition to his management responsibilities, Tom likes to coach clients on wealth, business, and tax strategies. Along with his frequent seminars on these strategies, Tom is an adjunct professor in the Masters of Tax program at Arizona State University. For more information please visit http://www.provisionwealth.com
Can anyone give me the current 2008 list of army enlistment bonuses for each mos?
I know the 2007 list is posted on military.com, but I can’t seem to find a current list. And I have tried calling a recruiter. They won’t get specific about which mos has which bonus. Can anyone help? Thanks.
Wow Taylor. You sure know a lot about me! My priorities, why I am considering joining! I believe all I asked is if anybody had a list of the mos bonuses. I did not elaborate on my situation or my plans. Must be good to know so much. You don’t know me, so don’t presume to psychoanalyze me. Idiot!
Where can i find the signing bonus for 2008 MLB draft?
Two of my buddies i played against in high school got drafted this year and i know one got 150k signing bonus, so i was wondering if i could find a list somewhere?
Participate in the conversation by leaving your comment below.Big bonuses for wall street in 2008!!?
How do you feel about the fact that big bonuses were distributed on Wall Street, while the economy was crashing in 2008? Why do you think that Wall Street crooks can get away with this?. After all, this is the taxpayer money that they are stealing. And we are being asked that we have to bail them out, because they are too big to fail. Don’t you think this is theft, pure and simple? If someone gets caught shoplifting, he can be thrown in gail. Obama calls the act (paying big bonuses) shameful. Does he think that these people have any shame?. How many more Madoffs are we going to discover?.
I can tell you why. Because they think we are a bunch of sheep.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090130/ap_on_go_pr_wh/obama_bonuses
When confidence is lost, every thing else follows down-hill. It is not just the investors who loose money, it largely you and me.
Tax Planning 2008: Welcome to My Show!
Tax Planning 2008: Welcome to My Show!
Fighting the Alternative Minimum Tax
Many more of you find yourselves in this predicament. What can you do? Who can you call? Well, those dashingly handsome financial super heroes are here to serve. If you are using un-reimbursed employee business expenses on your itemized deduction schedule, get reimbursed. These expenses will cause the alternative minimum tax (amt) to rear its evil head. If you use your car for business, get your boss to reimburse you for these expenses as opposed to getting a bonus or commission payment. This will keep income out of your W-2 and helps to circumvent amt. This is good for employees and employers as the reimbursement of expenses follows the “accountable plan rules” issued by Internal Revenue. Following this simple technique will save everyone money. List your employee business expenses, including mileage at 50.5 cent for the first half of 2008, and 58.5 cents for the second half, and get your employee to reimburse in lieu of a paycheck. You get the money tax free, and your employer avoids payroll tax. Keep in mind that your employer might not want to reimburse for meals and entertainment as they are a limited to being 50% deductible for income tax purposes.
Real estate taxes and state income tax deducted on your “schedule A” will also help to create an amt situation. Consider making any state estimated payments in January as opposed to making them in December. In addition, you might also be able to pay part of your real estate taxes in January.
If you are typically deep in the alternative minimum tax, you might just have to embrace the concept. The marginal brackets are 26% and 28% respectively for amt which means you are not deep into the 35% regular bracket. In fact, it might make sense to accelerate income into 2008 to maximize the amt brackets. Remember, there’s a new administration in town in 2009 and all bets are off.
To Roth, Or Not To Roth
With the stock market down as much as it is, there might be opportunity for converting a traditional IRA to a Roth. This can only be done if adjusted gross income is $100,000 or less (not including the conversion of the IRA). Converting a traditional IRA to a Roth is a taxable event in the year of conversion. Because many IRA balances are down in value, this might be the time to make the conversion and minimize exposure to income tax. The idea in doing this is to pay tax now (or not at all if your income from other sources is significantly reduced) to avoid paying it at retirement age. This could be an important estate planning tool. Think about this carefully.
Buying a Home
If you are a first time homebuyer, it might make sense to arrange settlement to occur in 2009. Why is this you ask? There might be points (remember, seller paid points are also deductible by the buyer) or real estate taxes paid at settlement that will offer little or no tax benefit in 2008.This might be due to the fact that the new homeowner or homeowners will not have enough deductions to itemize deductions on federal form “Schedule A”. For taxpayers with adjusted gross income of $100,000 or less, mortgage insurance is treated as qualified mortgage interest for deduction purposes. This deduction phases out at a rate of 10% for each increment of $1,000 over $100,000.
Other Things to Remember
The section 179 limit for 2008 is at a one time level of $250,000. If you are starting a new business, this means that a deduction of $250,000 can be taken for depreciation in year one providing there is income from business sources. This business source income includes W-2 forms from both husband and wife.
There is also bonus depreciation for 2008 for 50% of qualified property. If the business is already in a loss position and ineligible for the section 179 deduction, this 50% could expand a net operating loss that would be eligible for carry back purposes.
It’s not too late to form a retirement for your business allowing as much as $46,000 to be contributed and deducted ($51,000 if one has reached the age of 50 or more). A qualified SEP plan can be funded by the due date of the return which is April 15th plus extensions.
Please, for goodness sakes do what the hell I tell you. You are free to do whatever you wish, but my way is better.
Ron Piner, CPA
Host of “Better Business”
Saturday mornings at 10ET
ON WBIS AM 1190
www.wbis1190.com
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