AMT - What is it and should you care?

Category: Tax Law and Planning

A client came in yesterday and his questions turned to concern about the Alternative Minimum Tax or AMT. My first response - see your accountant. On further thought, I was considering how misunderstood and under-publicized the AMT is and looked for some resources for a better understanding. I found this Guide to the AMT as a sort of AMT for Dummies. It has helpful subtopics like Alternative Minimum Tax 101 and Top 10 Things that Cause AMT Liability.

As to why you should know about and care about the AMT? The fact is that the number of taxpayers that the AMT reaches is growing each year due to the reach of the AMT expanding downward to taxpayers with lower incomes. Many taxpayers who don't owe AMT still need to go through the calculation, at additional time and expense. Also, if you find yourself owing AMT, some traditional tax strategies that work in a non-AMT environment may not benefit you in an AMT environment.

The Guide to the AMT explains the AMT as follows:

"The alternative minimum tax (or AMT) is an extra tax some people have to pay on top of the regular income tax. The original idea behind this tax was to prevent people with very high incomes from using special tax benefits to pay little or no tax. But for various reasons the AMT reaches more people each year, including some people who don't have very high income and some people who don't have lots of special tax benefits. Congress is studying ways to correct this problem, but until it does, almost anyone is a potential target for this tax.

The name comes from the way the tax works. The AMT provides an alternative set of rules for calculating your income tax. In theory these rules determine minimum amount of tax that someone with your income should be required to pay. If you're already paying at least that much because of the 'regular' income tax, you don't have to pay AMT. But if your regular tax falls below this minimum, you have to make up the difference by paying alternative minimum tax."

Savings Bonds (Part 2) - What Happens when the Bond Owner Dies?

Category: Estate and Inheritance Tax, Tax Law and Planning, Probate and Estate Administration, Financial Planning

Savings bonds are a ubiquitous asset. However, dealing with savings bonds as part of an estate can in many ways be more complicated then dealing with other investment assets, such as mutual funds, stocks and bonds, where a broker can coordinate transfer and liquidation efforts. In a prior post Saving Bonds (Part 1) - Learning More about those Bonds - I discussed resources to learn more about the value of any bonds. Here, we are looking at what to do with the bonds as part of an estate, or if you inherit bonds as a result of a person's death.

A few general rules, regardless of what series of bonds (E/EE, H/HH or I):

• Single Ownership: If the savings bonds are owned by one person, and that person dies, the bonds are now owned by the person's estate. The executor, personal representative, or administrator, as the case may be, is the only person authorized to deal with the bonds after a person's death. This means that a probate proceeding will need to be opened so that a person is named by the court to liquidate or transfer title to the bonds.
  
  
• Joint Ownership: If the bonds have co-owners, and one owner dies, the bond now belongs entirely to the co-owner. The co-owner may now liquidate the bond, change title to his or her own name, or change title to the surviving owner and another person of the owner's choosing.
  
  
• Named Beneficiary: If the bond owner named a beneficiary to the bonds on the bonds (not through her will) then upon the bond owner's death, the bond ownership is automatically transferred to the beneficiary. The named beneficiary may now liquidate the bond, change title to his or her own name, or change title to the named beneficiary and another person of the beneficiary's choosing.
  
  
• Estate Tax Consequences: Where the bonds are owned by one person (or by one person who names a beneficiary), 100% of the value of the bonds as of date of death is includible in a person's taxable estate. Where the bonds are owned by more then one person, there is a presumption that 100% of the value of the bonds is includible in the taxable estate of the first person to die. This presumption can be rebutted if the surviving co-owner actually contributed money to buy the bonds. The more likely scenario is that grandma bought a bond naming grandchild as co-owner with grandma's money. In this situation, 100% of the value of the bond on the date of grandma's death is included in her estate, even though she had a co-owner.
  
  
• Income Tax Consequences: Interest income on bonds is generally reported only when the bonds are cashed, disposed of (note: a change of ownership is considered a "disposition" of the bonds and interest accrued to that date must be reported at that time), or reach final maturity. Unlike other types of investments, there is no "step up in basis" for savings bonds, and the accrued, but as yet untaxed income, must be reported as some point by the estate or the beneficiaries.
  
  If a person owned bonds in their own name with no beneficiary, reporting the interest on those bonds for federal income tax purposes is the responsibility of either (a) the estate if the executor, personal representative, or administrator as the case may be, redeems the bonds; or (b) the beneficiaries of the estate if the bonds are transferred to them as new owners, in the year in which they redeem bonds or the bonds reach final maturity.
  
  Where there is a co-owner or beneficiary named, the co-owner or beneficiary is the new owner and as such is required to include on his or her return interest earned on the bonds for the year the bonds are redeemed or disposed of (including re-registration by substituting a new owner for the original living owner) or the bonds reach final maturity, whichever occurs first. Alternatively, even when there is a surviving co-owner or beneficiary, the person filing the decedent's final 1040 has the option of reporting on that return all interest earned on the bonds to the date of death. This option might be used where a person on a low income tax bracket has died, leaving the bonds to a person in a higher tax bracket.

The Bureau of Public Debt, on the Treasury Direct website, has detailed articles specifically outlining how savings bonds are to be treated in the event of the death of a bond holder.

• Series EE/E - What To Do When a Bond Owner Has Died
  
• Series HH/H - What To Do When a Bond Owner Has Died
  
• Series I - I Bond(s) Owners Deceased
  

Time to get Serious about 2005 Tax Planning

Category: Tax Law and Planning

From James Jimenez, CPA of Fass & Associates, P.C.. James can be reached at jnez@fasscpa.com:

"IT’S TIME TO GET SERIOUS ABOUT 2005 TAX PLANNING

Interested in saving taxes? Now’s the time to act. Reviewing your business or personal situation before year-end can help lower your 2005 tax bill. Here are some strategies to consider.

Keep an eye on your tax bracket. Moving upward from bracket to bracket costs you at least two percent higher tax on the additional income. Knowing when to take — or delay — earnings such as bonuses or commissions allows you to control your tax bracket. If you’re a business owner, think about adjusting your salary between years.

Boost contributions to your 401(k) or other retirement plan. The benefits are two-fold: current taxable income is reduced, and you enjoy tax deferral on the plan growth.

Delay sales to qualify for long-term rates. The tax rate for most long-term capital gain assets is 15% (5% for those in the lower two tax brackets). Short-term gains are taxed at ordinary income rates, which can be as high as 35%. Consider holding assets long enough (more than 12 months) to qualify for the lower rates.

Elect the installment method. If delaying an asset sale is not an option, you still might be able to defer the income and related tax. For sales of certain property, you can choose installment reporting.

Regulate your investment income. Delay interest income until 2006 by purchasing a certificate of deposit (CD) or other security that matures after year-end.

If you’ve made a loan that you’re now unable to collect, you may be entitled to a bad debt deduction. It’s important to be able to show that you tried to collect, so take the necessary steps before year-end.

More tax-saving strategies to implement before year-end include transferring assets to children, making charitable contributions, bunching itemized deductions, and taking advantage of increased business asset expensing amounts."