Tax Planning

Getting ahead financially is easier if you keep your taxes as low as the law allows.  By reviewing your tax situation through-out the year and especially before year-end, you can identify moves you can make to minimize your tax bill.  This process can be complicated but critical to your tax liability.  

Loggins Kern & McCombs can keep you informed of tax law changes, expiring tax cuts and other tax-related legislation.  Our certified professionals understand the law and how the changes can impact your personal situation.

Deductions & Credits

Deductions can be a powerful tax-saving tool because they reduce the amount of income that is taxed.  Tax Credits can be an even more powerful tax-savings tool.  It is important to review with us before you incur deductible expenses, because the timing can affect the benefits.

Family & Education

Make saving tax dollars a family tradition!  There are numerous tax breaks for families which are available to parents, and in some cases grandparents and to students themselves.  There are even tax breaks for saving for future educational needs such as Section 529 plans and Coverdell Education Savings Accounts (ESAs).  Tax Credits can include Child Tax Credit, Dependent Care Credit and Adoption Credit.  Higher education credits include the American Opportunity Credit which covers tuition and a portion of expenses and the Lifetime Learning Credit which covers expenses beyond the first four years.  There are also deductions for tuition, fees and student loan interest. Make sure you and your family are taking advantage of the credits, deductions and other tax-saving opportunities that apply to you.

Investing

While tax consequences should never drive investment decisions, it is critical that they be considered before year-end.  Whether it means holding on to an investment to cut the tax on a gain.  With long-term investments usually time is the key, but sometimes timing can have a dramatic impact on the tax consequences of investment activities.  

Loggins Kern & McCombs can assist with loss carryovers, dividend-producing investments, interest-producing investments, bonds,  stock options, and the way they affect your tax liability.

Business

Each year tax breaks for businesses are changing; some are expiring while some are extended.  Individuals with flow-through income from a business can sometimes improve their tax liability by accelerating or deferring business income and expenses. There are many other strategies for your business that can affect your personal tax liability such as depreciation, employee benefit plans, vehicle-related deductions, net operating losses and tax credits just to name a few.  

Loggins Kern & McCombs can help you decide which business decisions will benefit you the most.

Retirement

Valuable opportunities to save on taxes now (and in cases later) are offered by tax-advantaged retirement plans.  You can plan now to make the most of these opportunities and avoid potential tax pitfalls due to limits and rules on both contributions and distributions.

Estate Planning

Estate, gift and generation-skipping transfer (GST) tax exemptions and rates are no longer scheduled to expire, making estate planning easier.  While exemptions are at record-high levels, Congress could pass legislation at any time making estate tax law changes.  It is important to review each year to take advantage of tax savings which may not be available in the future.