495 entries
Taxes
Investor-facing tax concepts: capital gains, qualified dividends, cost basis, tax-advantaged structures.
- Vesting Schedule Employer Timeline for employee earning ownership of employer contributions to retirement and equity compensation accounts.
- Wash Sale Rule How the 30-day repurchase window disallows a harvested capital loss for tax purposes.
- Wash-sale 30-day rule The wash-sale 30-day rule specifies that you cannot deduct a capital loss if you buy a substantially identical security within 30 days before or 30 days after the sale.
- Wash-sale rule The wash-sale rule disallows a capital loss if you repurchase a substantially identical security within 30 days before or after the sale. It prevents loss harvesting abuse.
- What Happens If You Modify a 72(t) Distribution Schedule Modifying or stopping 72(t) SEPP distributions before 59½ triggers retroactive taxes and penalties on all prior exempt withdrawals, requiring immediate remediation.
- What Is Included in the Gross Estate for Tax Purposes The gross estate includes all assets owned at death—cash, property, life insurance, retirement accounts, joint holdings, and certain retained interests—used to calculate federal estate tax.
- What Makes a Roth IRA Distribution Qualified A qualified Roth IRA distribution must satisfy two conditions: a five-year holding period from account opening and a triggering event such as age 59½, death, disability, or first-home purchase.
- When Life Insurance Proceeds Are Included in the Taxable Estate How the three-year look-back rule and policy ownership tests determine if life insurance death benefits face federal estate tax.
- When Rental Income Triggers the Net Investment Income Tax on Form 8960 Which rental activities count as passive income subject to the 3.8% NIIT and reported on Form 8960.
- Which Itemized Deductions Are Disallowed Under AMT The alternative minimum tax disallows specific itemized deductions, including state taxes, miscellaneous items, and some home-equity interest. Here's what is and isn't allowed.
- Which Real Estate Closing Costs Are Tax Deductible Which closing costs are tax deductible in real estate: points, origination fees, prorated taxes, and what gets added to basis vs. expensed.
- Who Must File Form 706: Estate Tax Return Filing Threshold Estate tax filing requirements depend on gross estate size and exemption amounts; estates below the threshold may still need Form 706 for portability.
- Why a Low-Income Year Is Ideal for a Roth Conversion How a Roth conversion in a low-income year minimizes federal tax by filling lower brackets. Commonly used during early retirement, gap years, and high-deduction years.
- Why Foreign Property Does Not Qualify for a 1031 Exchange Foreign property cannot be exchanged under Section 1031 because the rule requires both properties to be U.S. real estate; swapping U.S. property for foreign property triggers capital gains tax.
- Year-End AMT Tax Planning: Strategies to Reduce Tentative Minimum Tax How to use timing moves—deferring income, accelerating deductions, and managing ISO exercises—to lower AMT liability before year-end.
Looking for something specific? Use the search box up top, or browse every category →