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Making investments is a great way to both plan for your future and build your personal wealth now. With the right stock management, investments have allowed many people to quit their day jobs and follow their dreams. But one thing that scares some potential investors away is the complexity of tax laws surrounding investments and the fear of getting smacked in the face with mega-bill from Uncle Sam when tax time rolls around. Well, fear not. Give these five savvy tax tricks a try to help you get the most out of your investments by giving the IRS the least you possibly can.

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These days, people are conducted as much business as possible online. It saves those painful trips to the post office, lets you pay bills in an instance, and let’s you do your shopping while you’re lounging in front of the TV. The federal government and the IRS have heard the calls of consumers and have now made it possible to file your taxes electronically. While filing online can work out perfectly for some people, for others, it may not be the best choice. Before you file online, weigh the pros and cons.

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Taxes are an inevitable part of life in the United States of America.  Taxes are due in April to be reviewed by the Internal Revenue Service, and there are actually a surprising number of events that can affect how and what kinds of taxes a person will pay or will be required to pay in April.  Everyone who is a citizen within the country is required by law to file his or her taxes.  Sometimes people will get refunds for their taxes that they have paid throughout the year, and sometimes a person will actually be required to pay more money as taxes. 

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When you’re planning your will and making provisions for your final expenses, plus provisions for the distribution of any wealth you leave behind, understand how estate taxes work is an important part of the plan. If you fail to understand these laws, you may unintentionally leave your loved ones in a bind, facing complicated tax procedures, not to mention a hefty bill. For the sake of your heirs, plus your own peace of mind, take the time out now to education yourself about estate tax laws and make sure everyone involved with your state understands these laws and restrictions as well.

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There are a lot of good reasons to buy energy efficient products. They are good for the environment, they reduce dependence on oil, and they are often more affordable to own and operate. Add to this list of reasons that energy efficient products add up to major tax deductions. The Energy Policy Act of 2005, also known as EPACT, offers home owners and business owners alike tax credits for purchasing energy efficient goods. Note that this is a tax credit, which translates to a dollar for dollar reduction in your tax bill, unlike a tax deduction, which only reduces your bill a percentage of the deduction amount. The dollar for dollar tax credit can knock a significant chunk off of your total tax bill.

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Property tax is a hot button issue that never fails to get people up in arms. Taxes have been on the rise for years; outpacing inflation in most places; and the increased taxes have forced long time residents out of their homes, especially in tourist areas or wealthy areas like beaches or big cities. On South Carolina’s Sullivan’s Island, families who have lived on the island for generations and who help rebuild the community after the devastation of 1989’s Hurricane Hugo are now being forced to give up their homes to developers or wealthy newcomers and head inland, because they can no longer afford to pay the taxes on the family home. The scene is being replayed over and over again across the country. With out of control property taxes now the norm, can you ever get your bill under control? There are eight simple steps you can take to help take the bite out of your tax bill and bring your property taxes in line.

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If you have an old car taking up space in the driveway, but you can’t bring yourself to face the hassle of trying to sell the car in the newspaper classified ads, there’s another way you can rid of it. Contact your favorite charity and see if they are interested in taking the car off your hands. Not only is giving your car away to a charity good for deposit in your karma bank, when tax time rolls around, that donation can help keep some of your cold hard cash in the bank as well by allowing you to take a potentially sizable deduction.

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You’ve been a good citizen all year long, donating your hard earned cash and possession to help you favorite charities thrive. While you love the feel good factor that comes along with your charitable donations, you also wouldn’t mind getting some credit for your good work from Uncle Sam in the form of tax deductions. Turns out that the tax man is almost as generous as you are when it comes to charitable donations and will let you write off a substantial amount – up to 50% of your adjusted income – if you’ve been a big giver. The trick is, however, that you have to have all the paperwork in place. Without the proper documentation, you won’t be able to claim your donation on your tax return.

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Tax Notes, the leading source of federal tax news, provides blanket coverage this week of a development with huge  implications for taxpayers and the government — that tax advisors are increasingly obtaining federal patents for strategies
to cut their clients’ taxes.

Tax strategy patents could give a few individuals a virtual monopoly over some interpretations of the tax code, and they could force tax advisors to pay licensing fees to other advisors that might hold patents on certain strategies, Tax Notes writes in its April 23 issue.

With Tax Notes’ coverage of tax patent strategies, the magazine shines the light on an important and growing phenomenon in the tax world. To read the coverage, go to the Web site of Tax Analysts, at http://www.taxanalysts.com.

When you do something nice for someone, like giving them a financial gift, the last thing you want is to be smacked in the face at the end of a year with a tax bill for that money. Gift tax is something many people overlook when they are helping out their family and friends, and it can sneak up on you and land you with a hefty fine, if you don’t play your cards right. The good news is that there are lots of ways to give financial gifts without being subject to the gift tax and recent increases to the limit for tax free financial gifts has made this even easier.

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