Tag Archives: Tax Reform

Tax Reform Act Update – Holiday Schedule Reminder

You may have noticed we have been stealth as it relates to the 48 hour old Tax Reform Act.

There have been many already speaking of the new tax law changes … with multiple last minute adjustments and it being one of the largest tax reforms in several decades, we want to get educated before discussing our thoughts in too much detail.

We do know that as of April 2018 the old laws will apply for 2017 settle up. In a “Lets not get the cart before the horse way!“, we will be speaking of both tax planning ideas over the next few months.

Holiday ScheduleHolidays christmas-3026690__340

Physically, we will be in and out over the holidays, including the week AFTER New Year’s due to a weird kids schedule this year.

Always tethered electronically, we will not be far!

Happy Holiday Season!

John A. Kvale CFA, CFP

Founder of J.K. Financial, Inc.
A Dallas Texas based fee only
Financial Planning Total Wealth
Management firm.
www.jkfinancialinc.com
www.street-cents.com

Tax Reform Comments from the Road …

As mentioned last week, the road is calling and this time the internet connections are struggling due to the location. Returning mid-next week so short posts until.

Hold the Horses on Tax Reform TalkUncle Sam

Even from a weak internet, cell, and wifi location, much of the tax reform talk was received.

While there will certainly be headlines today, before making any rash judgments, let’s see what actually comes of the current talk and final compromise. It’s a 400 page document (scribd link, if you want a peek-we did of course-nerds) that is certain to look much different when completed.

Enjoy your Friday and your weekend!

John A. Kvale CFA, CFP

Founder of J.K. Financial, Inc.
A Dallas Texas based fee only
Financial Planning Total Wealth
Management firm.
www.jkfinancialinc.com
www.street-cents.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

April 2017 Podcast Video, Financial Planning Tax Review and Earnings Update- By John Kvale

Whew, that was easy…. tax season is finally mostly over ….

We wanted to look back one last time on our personal taxes before we sunset those tax strategies for the high point of the season….

As a reminder,  we started with an Audio Podcast format for those that are unable to SEE the video or just prefer to listen to the audio… this makes the review slightly longer, but more descriptive.

Enjoy!

April 2017 Video

 

Financial Planning Tip(s)-

AMT Tax Reminder

We ran across a lot of AMT or Alternative Minimum Taxes this season

Here are the key thoughts from our detailed post on AMT earlier this month-

  • Incomes between $170k and $313k joint and singles over $100k – you are in the cross hairs of AMT
  • Deferring income may be useful
  • Accelerate income

There is not a lot of planning changes with AMT, but in this case knowledge may be power!

Possible MAJOR tax reform

Late in the month an overview of major tax reform was released.

Here is a link from the White House

Here is a link from Barron’s that does a pretty good analysis

Here is our article on the possibilities earlier this month

What to do if you overfund your 401k/retirement plan

In our overfunding 401k post here, we discuss how your 401k/retirement plan can get overfunded….. here are the main points

  • Refund the extra amount ASAP
  • Apply the extra to the new year
  • If its a super small amount, its not the end of the world

Capital Market Comments

First Double Digit Earnings growth since 2011 expected

From our friends at Factset, who do a terrific job of outlining historic and future earnings.

Earnings are the ultimate driver of capital markets!

4-27-17 SP earnings estimates - Factset

What is nice about these estimates are that historically companies have been beating the street estimates … if this continues, the actual earnings may be even better double digit growth…. time will tell and we will be watching!

Hello May!

John A. Kvale CFA, CFP

Founder of J.K. Financial, Inc.
A Dallas Texas based fee only
Financial Planning Total Wealth
Management firm.
www.jkfinancialinc.com
www.street-cents.com,

High points of the Tax Reform Announcement due out today… Our favorite and least favorite

So we finally get through Tax Season, sunset the tax discussions until next year, and along comes an announcement that tax reform plans are due out today.

Keep in mind, no one knows for sure what the final outcome will be even after today’s announcements as approval and compromises will ensue.

Here are the high points from our perch.

Standard Deduction AdjustmentUncle Sam

An announcement for a large increase in the standard deduction is expected. If passed the net result could be tax savings for many especially those that do not itemize. In our view, this change, if approved would likely have the largest total number of filing changes. Needless to say the tax planning possibilities are huge….

Corporate Tax Changes

There is much anticipation of lowered corporate rates. US corporate tax rates according to many , are too high, a proposal for relief from higher corporate tax rates is expected.

There is also a possibility of smaller, flow through entity corporation, think S corporation income i.e. K-1 tax rate relief.

Tax Repatriation

Our favorite, and hopeful agreed upon, tax change would allow stranded income, already taxed in a foreign country, to move more freely back to the US with less tax burden.  International corporations would have greater access to foreign country stranded capital if this were to be approved.

We have heard less of this lately and hope it does not hit the cutting room floor!

Estate Tax Reform

There has been much talk of an Estate Tax reform as well. The gist is a disallowance of a step up in basis but a removal of the $5.49 million Estate tax rate.

If passed as mentioned, and the current tax laws held “as is” on capital gains, this could be a huge nightmare. We think there may be major compromises on this before actually passed. We will keep you posted on this as it develops. This is our least favorite possible reform at this point.

Have a Great “Tax Reform Announcement” Day!

John A. Kvale CFA, CFP

Founder of J.K. Financial, Inc.
A Dallas Texas based fee only
Financial Planning Total Wealth
Management firm.
www.jkfinancialinc.com
www.street-cents.com