Many power of attorney and health care proxy documents that were created years ago should be revised now as a result of a federal medical privacy law. The law, known as HIPAA, generally prevents health care providers from disclosing your personal medical information to anyone but you and someone you’ve named as your “personal representative.” Medical privacy may be a good thing – but the law can create complications.
As part of their estate planning, many people want to give away property during their lifetime in order to reduce the size of their taxable estate. In general, you can give $13,000 a year to anyone you like without having to pay gift tax, and you can make additional gifts over this limit, over the course of your lifetime, up to the amount of your gift tax exemption (although these larger gifts will reduce your estate’s
If you’re moving (or considering moving) to another state, it’s a good time to update your estate planning. Of course, your estate plan should be updated any time you make a major change, such as buying or selling real estate. But even if you’re not buying or selling anything, it’s wise to review your estate plan when you move because different states have different laws about how estate documents are interpreted. For instance, New Yorker Rosanne
Widows and widowers who are considering remarriage should be aware that a new federal tax law could potentially make a huge difference in how much of their assets they are able to leave to their heirs after taxes. In general, anyone who is considering remarriage later in life should talk to an estate planner first in order to avoid possible tax problems. But this new law gives added urgency to this rule, because it potentially could
Health care legislation passed in 2010 included a tax credit for small businesses that provide health care coverage for their employees. Recent surveys have shown that the majority of small companies that might qualify for the credit have failed to take it. The reasons given for ignoring the credit ranged from being unaware of it to finding the credit too complicated to compute. * Take another look. If your business or nonprofit organization might be eligible,
To encourage taxpayers with offshore accounts to get current with their tax obligations, the IRS has reopened its “offshore voluntary disclosure program (OVDP).” Similar programs in 2009 and 2011 resulted in the collection of more than $4.4 billion of taxes owed. The 2012 program will be similar to the 2011 program; however, one difference is that there is currently no deadline by which taxpayers must apply.
If you own foreign investments, you may have an additional federal tax filing requirement this year. Form 8938, Statement of Specified Foreign Financial Assets, is due April 17, 2012, and is filed as part of your individual tax return. You’ll use Form 8938 to disclose interests in certain foreign financial accounts when your ownership exceeds the reporting requirements. What are the reporting requirements? They vary depending on where you live and your filing status. For example,
Congress passed an extension of the 2% payroll tax cut that had been scheduled to expire at the end of February. The extension means 160 million working Americans will continue to pay social security tax on their wages at a 4.2% rate for the rest of 2012, rather than at a 6.2% rate. Because Republicans and Democrats were unable to agree on how to pay for the extended tax cut, the law included no spending cuts
* March 1 – Farmers and fishermen who did not make 2011 estimated tax payments must file 2011 tax returns and pay taxes in full. * March 15 – 2011 calendar-year corporation income tax returns are due. * March 15 – Deadline for calendar-year corporations to elect S status for 2012.
A man agreed to buy a house on New York’s Fire Island for $1.2 million. He wrote a deposit check for $120,000, and signed a contract saying it was a cash deal and wasn’t contingent on his being able to arrange financing. However, the man told the seller that he needed some time to deposit the $120,000 in his account, and asked that the check not be cashed right away. The seller verbally agreed. After 12
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