Bruce Starks, CPA, CFP® – Page 17

Advanced Roth Strategies—Part II of II

Good to Know This article continues our goal to create or deepen a financial advisor’s awareness of the creative use of Roth IRAs or Designated Roth Accounts in special circumstances such as: Resolving the tension between building an emergency reserve and saving for retirement, Reducing income taxes on Social Security Benefits for retirees, and Lowering…

Distributable Net Income Application

Course: Estate PlanningLesson 9: Income Taxation of Trusts and Estates Student Question: Hi Bruce When a Trust has an income accumulation year, must the Trust pay taxes on that accumulation of DNI in the year of accumulation? If so, why do that – why would a Trust hold income at the confiscatory Trust income tax…

Results From March CFP Board Exam

CFP® Certificants in the News The results are in. We saw a continuation of existing trends and at least one surprise from the results of the March 2023 CFP Board Exam, including: Number of examinees taking the exam, Primary reason for taking the exam, Employer-provided financial support. Number of Examinees Taking the Exam An impressive…

Home Mortgage Interest Deduction

Course: Income Tax PlanningLesson 8: Arriving at Taxable Income Student Question: If a client has a $250k mortgage on a home worth $500k and they refinance to take equity out of their home, say $100k. Then they use that $100k to purchase a vacation home worth $300k (so they now have $450k in mortgage debt),…

Advanced Roth Strategies—Part I of II

Good to Know This article is intended to create or deepen a financial advisor’s awareness of the creative use of Roth IRAs or Designated Roth Accounts in special circumstances such as: Business Owners with Net Operating Losses and High-Income Clients that are ineligible for a Roth IRA contribution. Caveat—this article is meant to raise awareness…

Real Estate Income and IRA Contributions

Course: Retirement PlanningLesson 1: Using IRAs to Build and Distribute More Retirement Income Student Question: This page states that rental income is not included in the definition of earned income. If the client is a professional real estate developer whose income is derived mainly from rental income, would they be able to contribute to an…

Are You Being Scammed by IRS Impersonators?

Good to Know Scamming—especially income tax scamming—is on the rise yet again. Even if you’ve already filed your income tax return, you may not be immune from clever and, in one case, particularly loathsome villainy. The IRS recently published a list of common scams and we’ll focus on three in today’s article, including: IRS impersonators,…

Value of Life Insurance in Buy-Sell Agreements

Course: Insurance PlanningLesson 17: Business Uses of Life Insurance Student Question: Do buy sell agreements accounts for projected growth of the company? Do the life insurance benefits increase over time to account for projected growth, or perhaps can they invest and grow conservatively to keep up with inflation (or COLA on the plan)? Instructor Response:…

Opportunities for Financial Advisors

CFP® Certificants in the News What do an aging financial advisor community and an increasing demand for financial planning tell us? According to CFP Board, our profession needs a talent pipeline; CFP Board is supporting this effort in three ways: GUIDE TO CAREERS IN FINANCIAL PLANNING publication, FINANCIAL PLANNING CAREER PATHS Guide, and SCHOLARSHIPS. We’ll…

Deductible Mortgage Interest

Course: Income Tax PlanningLesson 8: Arriving at Taxable Income Student Question: If a client has a $250k mortgage on a home worth $500k and they refinance to take equity out of their home, say $100k. Then they use that $100k to purchase a vacation home worth $300k (so they now have $450k in mortgage debt),…