We have written previously stressing the need to have an estate plan, so you do not leave a mess, and why you may need life insurance to protect others. Few people will disagree with the need to have a current plan and to provide for survivors, but not everyone acts.
So, why is it that people fail to take action? Rick Kahler wrote recently about Overcoming Client Procrastination with Financial Planning. In his post, he lists factors that cause people to put off action that agree is important to address:
Avoidance. Feelings of self-doubt, fear of pain or anxiety around the task, depression, fear of asking for help, lack of trust.
Perfectionism. Fear of failure, fear of being criticized (both externally by others and – often more powerfully – internally by parts of yourself).
Ambiguity. Lack of clarity about the task, feeling overwhelmed, difficulty prioritizing in the absence of a crises, being focused on immediate tasks.
Narcissism. Over-confidence in getting it done at the last minute. Needing chaos or pressure to provide adrenaline, the ability to focus to the exclusion of everything else, and a feeling of being fully alive.
Physical Issues. Fatigue, illness.
Lack of knowledge. Not knowing what you don’t know, unsure how to get needed help and information.
Financial. Not having the funds to take the necessary action.
Do any of these apply to you? If so, we can help so please contact us.
Why you should:
One reason to review your estate plan is that the Biden administration may seek changes to the estate and income tax laws; you want to make sure your documents have the flexibility to address these changes. The current federal gift and estate tax credit is close to $12 million. However, it is scheduled to drop to between $5.5 and $6 million in 2025 and the administration may push for a lower credit to be imposed sooner. Also, the administration may try to eliminate the step-up in basis at death. We will continue to monitor any proposed law changes and post updates.
There are other tax law changes to address, such as the elimination of the “stretch IRA.” You may need to revise your beneficiaries. Also, you will want your executor or personal representative to elect portability of your federal credit to minimize taxes and may want your documents to address the generation skipping transfer tax credit.
Another reason to act is to provide for your digital assets, something old documents may not address. For example, you can give your attorney-in-fact under your durable power of attorney access to your digital assets and you can assign your digital assets to your revocable trust so your trustee has access. Digital assets include e-mail and text messages, photographs, videos and other files on your computer, on-line accounts such as your investments and social media, or even intellectual property and patent rights. You may also have collectibles that need to be addressed,
Another reason to act is to ensure that someone knows how to access all your passwords if something happens to you. Create your own “Rosetta Stone,” a document telling them how to access your digital life, with IDs and passwords, and then make sure an immediate family member or close friend knows where to find it. This way, they can locate all your important documents, find assets and insurance, and handle your social media if something happens. You may also want to provide a memorandum to your personal representatives and trustees detailing your wishes, including thoughts on when to distribute to children, protecting from creditors, and even burial or cremation.
If you to take the time now to review and update your plan, be sure:
that you have documents that are in order,
that the documents are correctly executed,
that you provided adequate resources for survivors, including life insurance, and
that your beneficiary designations and asset ownership all coordinate with your documents.
When you do, you will have improved matters for you and your family!
Contact our office if you have any questions or comments. And be well!
We face a challenging time for planning: The election resulted in a new President while the rate of Covid-19 infections (and deaths) continues to rise. This has affected the economy, resulted in some tax law changes and may yield more stimulus to restore the economy. Also, there may be more changes in 2021. This post is intended to help you make the best tax-efficient moves before 2021 begins.
2020 year-end tax planning – update on using the tax laws to save you money
In 2018, we provided a three-part series explaining the impact of the new tax law. In our first part, we discussed the impact of the new law on personal taxes and in our second part, we discussed planning for small businesses. This update replaces the third part from December 2018, as updated December in 2019 – it is our guide for year-end moves to reduce total taxes between 2020 and 2021. But, before getting to the planning steps, we address the uncertainty caused by possible tax changes in 2021 and review some recent changes from earlier this year.
Possible Tax Law Changes under Biden
President-Elect Biden campaigned on raising taxes for corporations and for individuals making over $400,000 of income. However, even if the Senate seats in Georgia go to Democrats in January, the lack of a “Blue Wave,” a sweeping Democratic mandate, means that the tax hikes are unlikely to pass. Furthermore, the President-Elect has made clear that controlling Covid-19 and economic recovery are the top priorities of his new administration.
What did President-Elect Biden propose? He would restore the 39.6% bracket for couples making $622,050 or more ($518,400 for singles), add a 12.4% social security tax for income over $400,000, place a 28% limit on itemized deductions for high income taxpayers, restore the 20% long-term capital gains rate for high income returns (and even apply ordinary rates on gains of taxpayers over $1 million), and limit the Qualified Business Income Deduction and opportunity zone credits. For estate taxes, he would reduce the current $11.58 million exemption to a lower amount, perhaps $5 million or even $3.5 million, and eliminate the step-up in basis at death.
While none of these changes are likely, there may be narrow tax hikes to fund infrastructure building and small tax breaks for lower earners (child/dependent care and elderly long-term care credits). There may also be more stimulus action, such as more Paycheck Protection Program loans and business tax breaks for worker safety measures, as well as retirement savings incentives, tax extenders for items expiring this year, and tax breaks to encourage US manufacturing. We will monitor activity on these matters for comment in future posts.
Changes from the SECURE and CARES Acts for 2020
We wrote about the CARES act earlier this year, which waived the 10% penalty for coronavirus-related distributions from qualified plans of up to $100,000, with three years to pay the taxes due or redeposit as a roll-over, and suspension of required minimum distributions (“RMDs”). The act also allows larger plan loans.
The Secure Act delayed RMDs to age 72 and allowed individuals to contribute to IRAs after age 70 ½ if still working. But the Act also limited the distribution of IRAs to a 10-year maximum for beneficiaries other than spouses and certain others, thus eliminating the “stretch IRA.”
The Families First Act created credits for people unable to work due to Covid-19 illness and due to caring for others. If you are affected, check to see if you are eligible for any of these tax credits.
A reminder on the mortgage interest deductions
As you may recall, mortgage interest on new home purchases is deductible only for loans of up to $750,000 used to purchase your primary and secondary residences. Interest on home equity loans is not deductible, except when the home equity indebtedness is used to purchase or improve your primary or secondary residence.
Check taxes already paid
Make sure your total paid to the IRS and state via withholdings and estimates meets the safe harbor rules. If not, you could owe interest for under-withholding.
Now to the planning: Can you act at all?
Each year, we advise that you be practical, focusing on where you can actually make moves. For many, the $24,800 standard deduction for married couples (more for over 65 taxpayers, and $12,400 for single taxpayers) means you will not itemize (i.e., your total for itemized deductions is less than the standard amount so you take the higher standard deduction). And, if you are not itemizing, you have fewer ways in which to affect change in the taxes due in either year (but you can also stop collecting receipts for those deductions).
There is one exception from the CARES Act, which provides a $300 above the line charitable deduction for cash contributions. You get this regardless of itemizing.
Some possible deduction strategies
One technique for getting around the limit on deductions is to bunch certain deductions from two or more years into one year. However, the only deduction that you can easily move is for charitable donations, because your state, local and real estate taxes are limited to a $10,000 maximum and you cannot accelerate, or delay, significant amounts of mortgage interest.
If you do not want any one charity to receive the full amount in one year, you can still use this bunching strategy to donate to a donor advised fund, from which you may be able to designate donations to particular charities in future years.
The tax planning steps
What can you move? If you are able to itemize, determine what income and deductions you can move from 2020 to 2021 or vice versa. You want to minimize total taxes for both years. Make sure your planning includes the 3.8% Medicare tax on high income and a review Roth conversion. Roth distributions are not taxed, so converting a traditional or roll-over IRA to a Roth could be beneficial, as long as the tax cost now is not too great – see more at Roth or not to Roth? With the waiver of the 10% penalty for early withdrawals, a Roth conversion may be more attractive. Business owners will want to review our post on planning under 199A for QBID.
What is the effect of moving? Next, review the impact of moving income and expense to see what happens if you shift any of these amounts from one year to the other year.
The AMT – Finally, watch for the Alternative Minimum Tax (“AMT”). The AMT affects fewer people, but it is still wise to review so you avoid it.
Retirement contributions
If you have not maxed-out your 401(k) plan, IRA, Health Savings Account or flex plan account, consider doing so before the end of the year. The contributions reduce your tax able income while adding to savings. But check out our post on paying debts vs. investing.
If you are 70½ or older, you have the option of distributing up to $100,000 from your IRA or other qualified plan to an IRS-approved charity and having none of the distribution taxed. The provision was great when you had an RMD to satisfy, but that was suspended for 2020. That should not stop you if you still have the charitable intent.
Business expenses
The deduction of unreimbursed business expenses was terminated by the new tax law. That hurts many who are working from home this year, as they cannot deduct associated costs.
We wrote about forming an LLC or S Corp. to report business expenses or taking expenses on Schedule C in our 2018 Part III post, but that applies to expenses for that business and we stressed that you will need a valid business purpose to form the LLC or S Corp. or use Schedule C for self-employment and take expenses. Be sure to consult with an attorney before trying any of these ideas.
Capital gains
Review your unrealized losses to see if you can “harvest” those losses to offset or “shelter” realized gains, reducing your total taxable income. If you have more losses than gains, you can take up to $3,000 of capital losses against other income.
If you sell an asset that you would prefer to retain, in order to shelter gains in 2020, make sure you do not run afoul of the wash-sale rule (any loss on an asset that you repurchase in 30 days will be disallowed, so you have to either wait 30 days or purchase a similar asset that fits your portfolio while not counting against the wash sale rule). N.B. – when buying mutual funds late in the year, check for distribution dates so you do not purchase just before dividend and capital gains distributions, as you will owe taxes on those distributions.
If you have significant unrealized gains, consider using appreciated stock for charitable donations – that way you avoid the tax on the gain while still getting the full fair market value for your charitable donation. That is very effective tax leverage!
Estate plan review
While you review your taxes, review your estate plan as well. The federal exemption is over $11 million in 2020, so fewer people will owe any federal estate tax. However, that may change in 2021; also, many states still impose estate taxes on smaller estates.
The individual gift and estate tax exemption is due to return to $5 million, adjusted for inflation, in 2026 and could be lowered sooner, as noted above. That tax rate could also go up.
If you have “excess wealth” and want to reduce your taxable estate by gifting assets to children or others, you can give $15,000 per person, per year now. If your spouse joins you, that is $30,000 per person. This includes funding a 529 plan for education cost – expanded to provide for more than just college – or an ABLE account for disabled dependents. Note, however, that holding appreciated assets for the step up in basis at death may be better than gifting, but this could be eliminated as noted above.
If you do review your estate plan documents, also review beneficiary designations to make sure everything is current. And review your medical directive and durable power of attorney.
Summary
Carefully review any income and deductions that you can still shift to see if moving will lessen the total taxes you pay for 2020 and 2021.
Good luck and best wishes for happy and healthy holidays!
I am reading about the impact of Covid-19 as I push to
get all client tax returns completed and filed by the deadline, which may or
may not be extended.
Everyone is concerned and I wanted to respond.
These are scary times, both
for personal health for you and your family and for your finances. We worry about who will get sick, possibly
die, and who will be out of work and have major life changes.
Much of the ultimate outcome depends
on how quickly governments respond – “stop everything immediately” contains the
infections and thus allows the economy to bounce back sooner, while delayed
responses mean many more infections and deaths, with a prolonged, deeper hit to
all economies.
On investing, to those who ask,
“should I cash out,” my answer is, “it’s already too late, the markets have
already gone down far, and even if you had sold a month ago, knowing when to
buy back in is so tricky that you would probably be worse off.” The truth is, when so many individual investors
ask if it is time to sell, that is often a signal to buy.
Here is an excerpt from a Merrill Lynch research post (credited to Jared Woodard, Derek Harris, Chris Flanagan, Justin Devery and Jordan Young) that I received last week, which crystalizes my experience from the downturns I lived through as well as the downturns I have studied:
Why stay invested?
Not staying invested means missing most of the long-term market upside…it’s simply too difficult to time the market. A strong impulse to hide out in cash is often a sign that a buying moment is near:
• We know that the best days often follow the worst and this has been the sharpest drop into a bear market in history (Chart 3);
• Since 1929, in the 24 months following a bear market, S&P 500 total returns have averaged 20%. Excluding the Great Depression, the average gain was 27% (Chart 4);
• Since 1931, an investor who missed the 10 best days of each decade made 91% in equities. Staying invested meant earning 14,962%;
• In the 2010s, missing the 10 best days meant gaining only 95% instead of 190%;
• Over any 10-year period, the odds of ending with equity losses are just 4%;
Let me know if this helps. And let me know if you want to talk.
This is my busy time, working long hours preparing income
tax returns, but I wanted to respond to your concerns.
News of the coronavirus spread and its impact on the
economy and stock markets is constant.
People ask: “can I get the virus from a package delivered
to me from China” (the answer via the CDC is “no”).
As some say, it’s not “if” but “when” in terms of you
being in contact. That is upsetting.
At that same time, experts ask us all not to panic. And financial people urge us to stay the
course.
If you do not already have a plan, here is a good overview with links to CDC posts on making a plan with your family – NY Times prepare for coronavirus.
In the end, if you developed a good long-term investment
strategy, staying the course should be the best response as it was in the 2008
financial crisis.
Let me know if you want to talk
and I hope you and your family stay healthy!
Last year, we provided a three-part series explaining the impact of the new tax law. In our first part, we discussed the impact of the new law on personal taxes and in our second part, we discussed planning for small businesses. In this part, we update the third part posted last year, which is our guide for year-end moves to reduce total taxes between 2019 and 2020.
Can you act at
all?
Each year we advise that you be practical, focusing on where
you can actually take action.
For many, the new $24,000 standard deduction for married
couples, $12,000 for single taxpayers, means you will not itemize (i.e., your
total for itemized deductions is less than the standard amount so you take the
higher, standard deduction). The
standard deduction goes up when you reach 65.
If you are not itemizing, you have fewer ways in which to
affect change in the taxes due in either year (but you can also stop collecting
receipts for those deductions!).
Some possible
deduction strategies
One technique for getting around the limit is to bunch
deductions from two or more years into one year. The one deduction that you can easily move is
for charitable donations. Your state,
local and real estate taxes are limited to a $10,000 maximum and you cannot
accelerate, or delay, significant amounts of mortgage interest.
If you do not want any one charity to receive the full
amount in a single year, you can still use this bunching strategy. Donate to a donor advised fund, from which
you may be able to designate donations to particular charities in future years.
IRA donations: If you are 70½ or older, you have the option of distributing up to $100,000 from your IRA or other qualified plan to an IRS-approved charity and having none of the distribution taxed.
Capital Gains: Review your portfolio. You may be able to “harvest losses” to offset capital gains realized on stock sales or mutual fund capital gains distributions. If you have substantial unrealized gains, consider donating to a charity. See below.
The tax planning
steps
If you are able to itemize, determine what income and deductions you can move from 2019 to 2020 or vice versa. You want to minimize total taxes for both years. Make sure your planning includes the 3.8% Medicare tax on high income and review Roth conversions (Roth distributions are not taxed, so converting a traditional or roll-over IRA to a Roth could be beneficial, as long as the tax cost now is not too great). And business owners will want to review our post on planning under 199A for QBID.
Next, review the impact of moving income and expense to see what happens if you shift any of these amounts from one year to the other year.
But, watch for the Alternative Minimum Tax (“AMT”):
The exemption for the AMT and the threshold
above which that exemption gets phased out are now higher than before 2018, so fewer
taxpayers will owe the AMT.
Finally, if you have not maxed-out your 401(k) plan, IRA, Health Savings Account or flex plan account, consider doing so before the end of the year.
Capital gains
Your mutual funds may have large capital gains distributions. Christine Benz says, “Brace yourself: 2019 is apt to be another not-so-happy capital gains distribution season, with many growth-oriented mutual funds dishing out sizable payouts.”
Review
your unrealized losses to see if you can “harvest” those losses to offset or “shelter”
realized gains, reducing your total taxable income. If you have more losses than gains, you can
take up to $3,000 of capital losses against other income.
If you sell an asset that you would prefer to retain, in order to shelter gains in 2019, make sure you do not run afoul of the wash-sale rule (any loss on an asset that you repurchase in 30 days will be disallowed, so you have to either wait 30 days or purchase a similar asset that fits your asset allocation while not counting against the wash sale rule).
If you have significant unrealized gains, consider using
appreciated stock for charitable donations – that way you avoid the tax on the
gain while still getting the full fair market value for your charitable
donation.
Some reminders on itemized
deductions
As you may recall, mortgage interest on new home purchases is deductible only for loans of up to $750,000 used to purchase or improve your primary or secondary residence. Interest on home equity loans will not be deductible, except when the home equity indebtedness is used to purchase or improve the residence.
Also, all miscellaneous deductions were eliminated. This includes investment and tax preparation
fees, safe deposit box charges and unreimbursed employee business expenses. And moving expenses are no longer allowed
(except for military personnel in certain cases).
Check taxes paid
Make sure your total paid in withholdings and estimates
meets the safe harbor rules. If not, you
could owe interest for under-withholding.
Estate plan review
While you review your taxes, consider reviewing your estate plan and your beneficiary designations. The federal exemption is just over $11 million in 2019, so fewer people will owe any federal estate tax. However, many states still impose estate taxes on smaller estates. If you have “excess wealth” and want to reduce your taxable estate by gifting assets to children or others, you can give $15,000 per person, per year. If your spouse joins you, that is $30,000 per person. This includes funding a 529 plan for education costs – expanded to provide for more than just college.
Note, however, that holding appreciated assets for the step up in basis at death may be better for your heirs than gifting.
Check on 2018
Check to see if you over-paid a penalty for
under-withholding. If you filed early,
the penalty calculation may have over-stated the total you owe, so you will
want to review your 2018 filing.
Summary
Carefully review any income and deductions that you can
still shift to see if moving will lessen the total taxes you pay for 2019 and 2020.
