Skylar Dubrow CPA’s 4 Tips To Start Planning For Your Financial Goals In 2016
January 4, 2016
Skylar Dubrow, CPA
Blog
January 4, 2016Skylar Dubrow, CPABlog
I woke up Monday morning, after the wonderful holiday weekend … and I had a realization: there are only THREE days left in 2015.
Obvious, yes … but it carries implications for your wallet, if you are wise with these days.
The VERY good news is that we’ve been able to clear out four appointment slots this week for fast-acting clients and friends who want to be pro-active, and ensure that their tax bill for 2015 is the lowest it can possibly be.
Simply click the button at the top of this page right away to email me to snag one, or call: (818) 889-7285 — and may I suggest you do it quickly? These slots are sure to go quickly. After that point, you’ll be put on a short waiting list.
But for those of my clients and friends who prefer to “do it yourself” (though with THIS tax code, I’m not sure that’s always wise), here are some quick ideas:
* Donate to your favorite charity (I’m sure you’re being flooded with EOY appeals)
* Pay your mortgage early so that you can take that deduction for this year
* Pay tuition now for 2016 classes that will start in the first quarter of next year. That way you’ll be able to use those costs to claim the (recently extended) American Opportunity Tax Credit. It could save you up to $2,500 on your tax bill, part of it refundable.
* Defer some income (if you’re able)
* Harvest investment losses, especially if you’re looking at a modified AGI higher than 200K
And, well, if we’re already into 2016 when you’re reading this, you can still open an IRA or contribute to an existing one by April 18th, 2016.
Regardless, the best thing you could do is to make sure that you have a competent, caring professional by your side for your 2015 taxes. And yes, I may be a little biased with that statement.
And further, let’s set some effective financial goals for you … perhaps even ones that we can review during our tax appointment?
Send me a snapshot now of where you’d like to be (simply click the button at the top of this page to email me), and then when we meet for our tax appointment, let’s see if you are where you want to be.
And here a few more thoughts about setting financial goals (since many will be telling you to do so next week, I thought I’d get a little ahead of the game)…
Skylar Dubrow CPA’s 4 Tips To Start Planning For Your Financial Goals In 2016
“Whenever an individual or a business decides that success has been attained, progress stops.” – Thomas J Watson
Before you launch into the yearly exercise so many of us do during the first two weeks of January, here are some ideas…
1) Set realistic goals.
First, ask the right questions, and stay the course until you’ve found the answers. Goals that are shared are ten times more likely to be acted on. Don’t wait until you have everything set up, to seek out accountability.
2) Make those goals concrete, and then document them.
Set your savings goals as a specific annual percentage of your adjusted gross income (AGI). It’s a great idea to save at least 10% of your AGI in tax-free retirement accounts and another 5% toward retirement in taxable investments. If you are behind on your savings, you may want to save even more in order to catch up.
3) Craft the best strategy to implement your goals, including prioritizing the appropriate retirement vehicles. Start by investing just enough to get the entire match from a company’s 401(k) plan (if you have one), and then fund your Roth IRA accounts next. After these two, make certain you have enough non-retirement savings.
4) And this is a BIG deal — automate your plan. Automating putting money in an employer-defined contribution plan is easy. Automating a taxable savings plan is just as painless. Most banks or brokers offer an automatic money link between an investment account and a checking account. They should also offer a monthly automatic transfer between the two accounts.
Going into further detail would actually entail sitting down and creating a true, full financial plan — which is impossible to do for you in a blogpost like this (but very do-able, in person).
I do hope all this helps. To your family’s financial and emotional peace…
Warmly,
Skylar Dubrow CPA
(818) 889-7285
The Dubrow Group, CPAs
Preparing a correct and accurate tax return is our priority. We proudly stand behind our work and if a mistake does happen that is our fault, we will immediate correct the mistake and gladly refund your money if requested.
If any penalties or interest are incurred due to our mistake, we will do everything we can to fix the problem and cover any penalties should they arise.
We feel so confident in our processes to account for all deductions and uncover hidden deductions that we guarantee that you will pay the lowest amount of taxes legally possible. We spend a good amount of time correcting and fixing other so called tax pros mistakes and oversights.
We are so committed to giving out clients the best service. We do this by taking thte time to understand our clients situation and asking the right questions to make sure every deduction is accounted for. And remember we work for you, NOT the IRS.
Not only do we prepare an accurate tax return, we will inform you of tax saving strategies and best record keeping practices should we see fit.
Starting January 1, 2017, all our returns come with our “Silver” Stress Free Audit Insurance, FREE with paid tax preparation. Our Silver package includes our full support when handling IRS and State Notices for the 2016 tax year. If you receive a notice, send it to us and we will work with you to organize the required documentation and we will respond to the IRS on your behalf.
“Many tax experts are predicting an increase in IRS audits (because of the system automation), as well as an increase in audits by the state”
Our Gold Package adds our representation for an actual IRS audit for the current year. Whether it be an “audit by mail”, or an actual audit at one of the IRS locations, we will work with you to compile all the necessary documentation and represent you in front of the IRS for no additional charge. Our fees to represent our clients in an audit scenario can range from $1000- $2500 & up depending on time and complexities.
Our Gold option is an optional add on service & not included with regular tax preparation. Gold protection covers the current tax year only regardless of when you get audited.
The IRS and state authorities are behind in auditing tax returns and matching reporting documents to tax returns.They are currently working on 2012 & 2013 years.
Our Platinum level package covers you for a period of 7 years. It Is just like our Gold package, but it includes the currtent year and 6 prior years. We will provide audit coverage for prior years tax returns, even if we did not prepare them.
How is that for taking care of our clients! Once the Platinum level package is purchased, only the gold level will be required in future years as the previous years have been protected by the one time Platinum purchase.
