How much is getting to your child’s Little League game worth?  How would your child answer that same question?  “We do find the time to do what is important to us,” notes Kay I. Dempsey, CLU, ChFC, in an article in a recent issue of the Journal of Tax Practice Management.  As the rush of tax season comes to a close, it might be time for a hard look at the management of your most valuable resource — you.  Dempsey walks you through the process with a short series of soul-searching questions and practical, real-world suggestions for how to get work and life back in balance and make yourself more successful at the same time. 

Read a free copy of this article — it might be the most important two pages you read this month.

The problem with conventional wisdom is just that — it’s conventional.  Some situations fall outside the conventions and it is just these situations that Peter J. Melcher, J.D., LL.M., M.B.A, highlights in describing how taxable investments may be a better choice than contributions to an IRA or a 401(k) that doesn’t feature employer-matching funds.  Taxpayers who are now in lower marginal income tax brackets and who expect to be in a higher tax bracket when distributions are made are the exception to that “conventional” wisdom, he notes. 

Read the full copy of Melcher’s three-page article in the Journal of Retirement Planning for detailed examples and more information on this retirement planning tip.

• Taxation of Investments Handbook
• Investments and Taxes: A Practical Guide for Financial Advisors
• Retirement Planning Guide

Determining how much sales tax to remit to a state requires careful calculations based on an understanding of that state’s statutes and regulations.  Tax professionals know that “gross receipts” are only the starting point in determining the basis for sales taxation.  Sales tax expert Robert J. Fields, M.B.A., provides an excellent primer for the novice and refresher for the expert in his chapter on measuring the sales tax in the just-released Sixth Edition of Understanding and Managing Sales and Use Tax.  Fields points out that a patchwork quilt of “exclusions” and “exemptions” will drive how much tax should really be paid. 

Read a free copy of this 13-page chapter from Fields’ book and learn how these factors and others, such as bad debt write offs, can set traps for the unwary.

As baby boomers look toward retirement, real estate investments are on the top of some of your clients’ minds.  You may have even fielded some questions on this topic as you prepared 2003 returns.  (And, if you read the first item in Focus on Tax this month, you might even be thinking about a second home for yourself!)  Deducting the interest and other expenses associated with a vacation home has some critical exceptions to the similar rules that apply to primary residences.  Rental income further adds to the complexities of second home tax planning — what, when, and how to deduct expenses are critical considerations.  Tax experts Sidney Kess, J.D., CPA, and Barbara Weltman, J.D., provide up-to-date guidance on second home tax planning considerations in the recent issue of CCH’s CPE Credit Service. 

Get a full copy of these course materials complete with relevant tax planning tips that will help your clients save money.