Guest Article

Performing artists are everywhere. Whether you’re a fan or indifferent, they’re tough to ignore. They color our world with print, broadcast, and social media coverage. We have actors, musicians, newscasters, and podcasters performing live, streaming online, captured on film/radio/television, and just about everywhere in an expanding online universe. We celebrate their triumphs, empathize with their trials, feel shocked at their gaffes, and grieve for and with them. We may not think we have much in common with performers, but we do have one commonality: We’re all taxpayers! A performer’s life may seem glamorous, but it’s hard work and not always financially predictable. The tax lives of performers are complicated. They have income and expenses, but with many twists and peculiarities. Twists and peculiarities can make it both interesting and complex when navigating the Tax Code, but performing artists need tax reduction, too. Tony Nitti said, “It has to suck to make your living as an artist.” But paying taxes as an artist doesn’t have to suck when you have a great tax plan. To read more about the unique tax planning opportunities available to performing artists, continue reading.

Early last month Adam Markowitz faced a storm of criticism over a tweet that suggested that people upset about increased IRS funding should maybe just be compliant. It got rather ugly. #TaxTwitter came to his defense despite some of us disagreeing with details of his tweet. All of my GOP friends who are worried about 87,000 IRS enforcement agents coming after the little guy... How about just don't cheat on tax returns? A fully truthful and accurate tax return is bulletproof in an audit. I never understood the fear of an IRS audit. Don't lie. Period. For somebody whose return has more than a few moving parts there is a lot of effort in putting together information for an audit. And there will usually be some things that can be viewed differently. Further you can sometimes catch the agent from hell. AFH is sure that your client is a crook and it will be hard to convince them they should go fight crime someplace else. With all that said many tax pros would still like an IRS that audits more, although they might want them to fix some other things first. To learn more about what is expected in the coming months, learn more here.

Value is in the eye of the beholder; or was that beauty? This is especially true for those infamous monkey portraits on the internet. Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) have exploded in popularity and can carry with them substantial tax consequences. Due to the volatile nature of the digital asset market and coupled with the lack of similar assets, it can be exceptionally difficult to determine the fair market value (FMV) of NFTs. Gift giving and donations can become much more complicated when NFTs are involved. New Fangled Technology For the noobs, an NFT is a type of cryptographic token that exists on a blockchain. As the name suggests, the tokens are not fungible, meaning each asset is unique and can't be interchanged for one another, the way that dollars or bitcoins can. Every NFT represents a unique asset with a unique value, however, determining what that value is can be quite difficult; The market for buying and selling NFTs can be extremely volatile. Some NFTs may quickly lose value or have no value at all. When a taxpayer donates an NFT to a qualified charitable organization as a way to reduce tax, the FMV is a required piece of information. To find out how to do this properly, keep reading.

You don’t have to be a tax geek to know the IRS has trouble picking up the phone. Old habits die hard. If you have a tax question, what do you do? You call the IRS. Good luck with that. You’ll be on hold for a long time if you can get through at all. The IRS initiated a call-back feature, but it’s not always available. The hold music is uninspiring; sometimes, after holding for hours, you get the dreaded “courtesy disconnect.” Yikes! Let’s face it. The IRS has a full plate; years of doing more with less have crippled the agency. Congress is quick to excoriate the IRS for poor service but keeps piling on more tasks (without necessary funding). Luckily, the IRS is working hard to provide more and better online applications and resources. There’s a lot out there, some well-known, some not so well-known, click here to take a tour and discover which shortcuts will help you most.

Office security. It’s for you and your small business clients. Sometimes small business clients who have relatively low-tech operations don’t think they need to think much about office security. That’s just not true. Almost every small business has some level of liability exposure for theft of client information or their own information (banking, credit cards, account passwords, etc.)—even businesses that don’t consider themselves “web based” or “high tech” may have client or company proprietary information they want to keep secure and private. Often business owners focus on cyber security (and with good reason). But a good, comprehensive security plan creates a safety triangle around important information and the property that holds it. The three sides of this triangle are cyber security, physical security, and (at the base of it all) operations security. Keep reading to secure your future!

A ROTH conversion can be a very powerful tool for your retirement. While you don’t receive a tax break for deposits to your ROTH account, qualified withdrawals from the account are tax-free, even earnings. This is an excellent way to avoid tax increases. Let’s say your taxes rise due to increases in tax rates, or because you earn more, which catapults you to a higher tax bracket, ROTH IRA conversions can save you a ton of money in taxes over the long term. The disadvantage, of course, is that tax is due on the amount you convert based on the value at conversion. But many times, such as when you are in a temporarily low tax bracket, have large deductions during the year, or in a year with business losses, can provide optimal opportunities to convert with little to no tax expense. Looking for more strategic times to convert? Keep reading to learn more.

In Part One of this series, we looked at strategies to reduce adjusted gross income (AGI). But the planning doesn’t stop there. We call deductions that reduce AGI “above the line” deductions. But wait, the tax saving opportunities don’t stop with AGI. Even with the higher standard deductions courtesy of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), there are many opportunities for taxpayers of modest means to find “below the line” tax savings. Let’s explore the many ways you can reduce your taxable income and whether you maximize your tax benefits even more with tax credits. Keep in mind that a tax deduction reduces your taxable income A tax credit reduces your tax dollar for dollar and, in some cases, the credits are refundable, meaning you can get additional tax benefits even after reducing your taxable income to zero . Read on for some tax planning tips reducing taxable income and maximizing credits that may work for you.

It's hard to escape the news covering numerous methods high net-worth clients use to minimize their taxes. A ProPublica (June 8, 2021) headline trumpets, “The Secret IRS Files: Trove of Never-Before-Seen Records Reveal How the Wealthiest Avoid Income Tax.” CNBC (September 20, 2021) highlights, “The wealthy may avoid $163 billion in taxes every year. Here’s how they do it.” Even Teen Vogue dives into the topic. If you're a taxpayer of more modest means, you may think, Hey, what about me? I can’t afford the team of high-priced tax advisers or consider many of these tax reduction techniques. Are there ways I can minimize my taxes that are legal, easy to implement, and affordable? The answer is a resounding YES. And how do I qualify? Read on for some tax planning tips that will work for you. Part One (of this two-part series) covers strategies to reduce your adjusted gross income.