Smart Ways to Trim Your Year End Tax Bill

Ken Dolans: Hi everybody! Welcome to Dolans.com I guess you probably know we’re Ken and Daria. We’re almost so glad you join us and I hope that you’ll tell all of your friends and neighbors about dolans.com. Okay! It’s that time in the air again, Daria. I tell you I love this. Daria Dolans: The holidays! Ken Dolans: No, you’re on tax tips. But listen, wait a minute. But if you can send a few on taxes next year but maybe you can buy a little stock, a little something not a lot here at the holidays. We’re making some news now. Daria Dolans: And who knows what the tax situation’s going to be like next year for whom and how much? So let’s take a look at some things. And a lot of people are selling their stocks and booking those losses now because they figure they’ll have something that they can write off this year and next year and maybe the year after that as well to give me a little tax from it. Ken Dolans: A lot of these things we talk about consultant tax pro. We’ll see how it would affect you specifically. We’ll run down a few quickly. The point of the video is to stay focus here between now at the end of the year. That’s some simple moves that you can make the size of big box. First of all, make maximum contributions to your company retirement plans. Do you think it’s tough, at least do it to the level of the employer much, at least. Daria Dolans: Because that will come right off the top one there. You won’t have to worry about paying taxes on that at all. For 2008, the maximum in those for one case is $15,500. You can add another 5000 if you’re over 50 years of age. Double check you’re withholding. If you’re under withheld, you know what I have to come up with tax money in April. You want to try at least for the last few weeks remaining to get some extra take it out of there so that you can at least walk away with the clean slate and not have the right checks in April on the flip side. Ken Dolans: Excellent, Daria! How did you know what I was going to say? Daria Dolans: I saw your finger. Ken Dolans: No, you want to get a big tax refund because and basically a tax-free loan. So as Daria says adjust you’re withholding so that number one, you might get a couple of extra box on one side and you don’t have a big tax refund because it’s a tax reloan. If you’re self-employed, take a look at the simples, simple plan set by IRA, solo 401K so I've met hundreds of business and starters too, hundreds of small business owners across America and they’re so bit to kill plan but I didn’t say kill. So many small business owners are still busy doing their business that they’re missing enormous, enormous tax advantage. Take a look at the IRF publication taxes for small businesses, real good stuff to look at. Daria Dolans: If you may guess you made a tax payments and you don’t think you’re in your account and sort of like can give you heads up on this one, don’t believe that you’re going to be subject to the goal turn of that minimum tax then you’d want to prepay your estimated taxes in December and not wait until the 15th of January because then you have to hold it over until next year to use it as your deduction. Ken Dolans: Also if you can, if your municipality allows it, some do, some don’t and you want to prepay some of your 2009 taxes before the end of the year. Daria Dolans: Your property taxes Ken Dolans: Your property taxes, yes if your municipality allows it. Daria Dolans: And if you’re a resident of the state of Florida, we just got our tax fill so I know that if I pay it, I can it a discount and I can get it paid in November and get he biggest discount of all not breaking it out until it’s due in April Ken Dolans: And between now and the end of the year and certainly next year, be sure if ever with if you think that taxes will increase. Yup, be sure to take a look at the municipal bonds that yields a particularly good, take a look at treasuries, take a look at treasury inflation protection security such as your tips so fixed annuity and so take advantage of tax advantage investments. That’s like 12 months a year Daria Dolans: And if you haven’t felt the need to be charitable this year maybe between now and the end of the year you might get that urge to do something charitable just for the tax reduction it might bring you. So if you have appreciated stock, if you could still find any. And you re going to make cash donation, donate the stock because you won’t have to worry about what happens to capital gains right next this year. Ken Dolans: And you could donate a full market value Daria Dolans: Right. Ken Dolans: Oh, I like that. That’s a double whamming when you donate stock rather than cash. Daria Dolans: If you’re donating cars, you got to be very careful this year because they have really cracked down on that because there is so many abuses so make sure you’ve got a true valuation on that car that you maybe donating. Ken Dolans: And there’s documentation you may need now that you didn’t before. Any ways we said with compliment, be sure to go to consult the tax pro. The bottom line is that all of last year end of the year tax tips. No, is that a start. Yes. It’s the worthy effort, oh, boy. That sure is.