Tax planning

Many considered Dec. 31, 2013, the final date for year-end tax planning, but there are numerous planning actions that you can take in 2014 retroactive to 2013. Here's a quick and easy guide to help with planning.

The IRS audited 0.96% of individual tax returns in fiscal 2013, declining for the second straight year and reaching the lowest rate since 2005.

The IRS has concluded that $720 million of student-loan bonds issued by a New Hampshire authority are taxable, leading the issuer to move toward requesting an administrative appeal and asking the IRS to reopen its audits of the bonds.

The Affordable Care Act -- along with its accompanying enrollment Web site and new taxes and tax breaks -- has opened up a host of questions for the taxpaying public, ramping up the usual levels of pre-tax season taxpayer confusion.

After a recent Tax Court ruling involving prohibited transactions inside an IRA, two investors face steep penalties.

The tax increases that took effect in 2013 should now be part of long-term planning because they aren't going away anytime soon.

The Internal Revenue Service is urging individuals and businesses that are making contributions to charity to keep in mind several important tax law provisions that have taken effect in recent years.

Here's how to prepare as you and your clients head into the tax-filing season.

The portfolio management tool has been a key selling point as the rapidly growing tax-focused independent broker-dealer continues to attract tax specialists to its network of nearly 5,000 advisors.

The IRS has issued guidance on rollovers within a retirement plan to designated Roth IRAs in the same plan.

Tax practitioners will be charging more this year for tax preparation, according to an annual survey by the National Society of Accountants.

For both Roth conversions and required minimum distribution purposes, be sure that the value placed on your investment is one that would pass IRS scrutiny.

Here's how to help clients maximize both the charitable and tax benefits of any donation.

The U.S. Treasury Department has signed intergovernmental agreements with the Cayman Islands and Costa Rica in an effort to combat offshore tax evasion as part of the implementation of the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act.

The IRS has released the final regulations for the 0.9% Additional Medicare Tax that was imposed as part of the Affordable Care Act.

The landscape is new and far more complex than it was a year ago. That requires some new strategies for clients.

Muni fund managers are trying a variety of strategies to protect holdings from volatility when the Fed starts to taper.

Not only are the requirements of the Affordable Care Act difficult and complicated for businesses to understand, but in many cases those aspects that businesses and their advisors think they understand are already slated to change in the future, according to one expert.

The IRS is starting this year's Earned Income Tax Credit due diligence compliance audits of return preparers.

Increased taxes on long-term capital gains has renewed interest in trusts that can sell donated assets, avoid tax, and pay a stream of income to the donors.