As year end approaches, you may be thinking about making some charitable donations. Here’s a rundown of the potential tax breaks for your generosity. Donating Clothing and Household Items When it comes to your old clothes, furniture, linens, electronics, appliances, and the like, the general rule is that you can claim deductions only for items…
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Thinking Through a QTIP Trust
The first trust, commonly referred to as a credit shelter or bypass trust, holds assets to preserve the estate tax exclusion amount. That amount is $5.49 million for 2017 (up from $5.45 million for 2016). The deceased’s spouse can then use the income and even some of the principal from the trust, with the remaining…
Think Like an Investor to Value a Business
When a professional appraiser values a business, he or she will likely seek input from the current owners of the business to get the inside scoop on how the business works. In fact, “nature of the business and history of the enterprise since its inception” is one of the eight factors to consider under IRS…