Stranger, Tallman & Lautz Accounting

  Tax-Saving Tips   May 2022   Donor-Advised Funds: A Tax Planning Tool for Church and Charity Donations   Do you give money to 501(c)(3) charities?   Do you get a tax benefit from those donations?   Recent changes in the tax code have done much to destroy your benefits from church and other tax-deductible 501(c)(3) donations. But there’s a way to donate the way you want, get revenge on the tax code, and realize the tax benefits you deserve.   This get-even tool is the donor-advised fund, an increasingly popular way to donate to your church and other 501(c)(3) organizations. Indeed, donor-advised funds have exploded over the past few years, with over one million donor-advised fund accounts in existence as of 2020.   Example. You donate $100,000 to the fund today. You get the $100,000 deduction now. From the fund, you donate $10,000 a year to a charitable organization (probably more as your money in the fund grows tax-f...

  Tax-Saving Tips   April 2022   Health Savings Accounts: The Ultimate Retirement Account   It isn’t easy to make predictions, especially about the future. But there is one prediction we’re confident in making: you will have substantial out-of-pocket expenses for health care after you retire. Personal finance experts estimate that an average retired couple age 65 will need at least $300,000 to cover health care expenses in retirement.   You may need more.   The time to save for these expenses is before you reach age 65. And the best way to do it may be a Health Savings Account (HSA). After several years, you could have a fat HSA balance that will help pave your way to a comfortable retirement.   Not everyone can have an HSA. But you can if you’re self-employed or your employer doesn’t provide health benefits. Some employers offer, as an employee fringe benefit, either HSAs alone or HSAs combined with high-deductible health plans...

  Tax-Saving Tips   March 2022 New Hope for Restoring and Fixing the Employee Retention Credit   As you may remember, two bad things happened to the Employee Retention Credit (ERC):   1.       On November 15, 2021, Congress retroactively repealed the ERC for the fourth quarter of 2021 (except for start-up businesses). 2.       On August 4, 2021, the IRS issued the clearly irrational Notice 2021-49, stating that a corporate owner with certain living relatives does not qualify for the ERC.   Hope in the House   On December 7, 2021, Rep. Carol D. Miller (R-WV-3) and three co-sponsors offered H.R. 6161, the Employee Retention Tax Credit Reinstatement Act, which would reinstate the ERC for the fourth quarter. On the day it was presented, the House referred the bill to its Committee on Ways and Means—a good thing.   Today, there are 54 bipartisan co-sponsors. The bill has some legs. ...