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Like everything to do with taxes, capital gain & loss taxation carries plenty of fine print. Here it is in plain English: A "realized" gain or loss is from something you have sold and must be reported to the IRS. "Unrealized" means it's something you still hold and so no tax is due nor deduction cl...

I am interrupting my "Year End Tax Planning" series, please check in tomorrow for post 4 of 4. Let's talk about energy - everybody else is. With the big climate conclave in Copenhagen there's a lot of buzz about clean and renewable energy. In our business we get asked about opportunities to make...

A reminder for our retired friends and clients age 70 1/2 or older. Once again in 2010 the federal government will require minimum distributions from retirement plans in an effort to collect tax revenues from those of you who saved for your golden years. We will help you make informed decisions...

As we approach the end of the year, it appears that our representatives in Washington are up to their old tricks finding time to write "extender" tax bills so they can claim they voted to reduce our taxes. As usual, we predict it will pass. On December 9, the House of Representatives approved H.R....

Time to talk about how to avoid the most common pitfall that could cause you to lose a capital loss deduction. Many people are happy to have a few capital gains from securities sold during 2009. It is a welcome relief to see a little black ink after 2008's red tide. But nobody is happy to pay tax...

How can you not love December? Sure, the snow and cold can certainly get to you, but the promise of a visit from old Saint Nick quickly puts that thought in the back of our minds. People are out spending money and spreading holiday cheer. There is so much happiness surrounding December that even...

In the first post I talked about the taxability of mutual fund distributions. December is the month when most funds pay out capital gains if they have them. The distributions are taxable, so how to reduce the bite? One way is to look at the your total tax cost for your fund. Mutual fund investors o...

Let's review how mutual fund investments affect your taxes and what you can do to shrink the bite. If you own mutual funds, this is the time of year when many funds pay capital gains distributions. Even if your fund reinvests the distributions, they are taxable (unless your fund is held in a reti...

Today, women are playing an ever-increasing role in making important financial decisions - whether for themselves or for their families. While many of the basic rules of investing hold true for all investors, some life events will affect women differently than they will men, and these can also have...

Payroll and income tax issues have become increasingly complex. My weekly blog post will attempt to explain many of the new changes that might affect you without also putting you to sleep - let's see if that's possible: For the first time since 1971 the Social Security wage base will not increase!...