YOUR IRAs: Is this a good time to convert?
This may be an ideal time to convert your Traditional IRA to a Roth IRA. Because the stock market has dropped significantly over the past few weeks there is the potential for large tax savings upon the conversion. With a Roth IRA you invest in after-tax dollars and get tax free withdrawals and you do not have to take them on mandatory schedule, as with the Traditional IRA. The catch is that you owe income tax on the amount that you convert for the year in which you do the conversion. However, by converting these investments at a lower value you pay tax on a smaller amount and have the potential for more tax-free growth in the future.
Take advantage of low tax rates
The tax legislation signed into law by President Obama on December 17, 2010 extended the Bush tax cuts for at least two years. For 2011 and 2012 the tax rates will be the same as they have been for the past eight years. In my opinion, tax rates will increase beginning in 2013. That being said, now would be a terrific time to take advantage of these low rates. With some tax planning this can be accomplished. One thing that you can do this year or next year is to sell long term capital assets at a gain thus taking advantage of the low 15% long term capital gains rate. Another tax tip for small businesses is to defer income from one year to the next. The objective with any tax planning this year and next year is to report more income in the next two years at lower tax rates versus reporting income at higher tax rates that are probably starting in 2013.
Gifting strategies
There are many ways to transfer wealth. One way is to gift assets to another individual. Currently each individual taxpayer is allowed to gift up to $13,000 per year per donee without ever paying a gift tax. By gifting the asset the taxpayer is removing an asset from his or her estate that could potentially be subject to the estate tax. A common gifting strategy for taxpayers with large estates is to take advantage of this gift tax exclusion. Taxpayers can generate significant estate tax savings by gifting their assets before they die. Another gifting strategy is to gift high appreciating assets.These types of assets would include real estate and securities where there is a chance that the assets may appreciate in value. By gifting these assets before they appreciate ensures that the appreciated value will never be subjected to the estate tax.