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Considering Converting Your Traditional IRA to a Roth IRA?
December 22, 2011
Julie Armstrong, CPA
Traditional IRAs allow most taxpayers to deduct contributions from taxable income in the year that they are funded. Over time, all income and capital appreciation generated compounds tax free. However, when future distributions are taken from a traditional IRA, they are generally fully taxable as ordinary income to the taxpayer. Assuming the taxpayer and/or spouse of the taxpayer is not an active participant in a retirement plan maintained by an employer, a taxpayer may contribute up to $5,000 ($6,000 if age 50 or above) to a traditional IRA for 2011 with no income limits on the taxpayer.
Branch Profits Tax
December 08, 2011
Nicole Lasseter
The branch profits tax is a branch-level tax on the repatriation of earnings, in the form of dividends, from a foreign corporation's branch in the United States to the home office in the foreign country.
Estate Return Rules for Individuals Who Died in 2010 – New Form 8939 and the affect on U.S. and Foreign Individuals
December 08, 2011
Wade Wilson, CPA
To file or not to file? Executors of 2010 estates have some decisions to make. For individuals who died in 2010, the 2010 Tax Relief Act reinstated the U.S. estate tax. Therefore, 2010 estates are subject to tax the same way estates of individuals who died prior to 2010 were taxed. An election to opt out of the estate tax is available, but you must act before January 17, 2012. Executors must carefully consider the tax consequences of each choice before making a decision.
Don’t Put All Your Foreign Tax Credits into One Basket: A Brief Overview of Foreign Tax Credit Rules
November 14, 2011
Ashley Erwin, CPA
Whether you’ve received earned income from foreign sources, or have investment portfolios with international assets, the foreign tax credit exists in order to prevent the burden of double taxation. Many resident aliens of the U.S. could potentially benefit from the foreign tax credit, depending on their situation. Additionally, because more funds are investing in global assets, many U.S. citizens have foreign tax paid or accrued included on their Forms 1099.
Sailing Permit: What Aliens Need to Know about their Departure from the United States
November 04, 2011
Ashley Erwin, CPA
As you prepare to go back to your home country, your current year income tax return may cross your mind, but probably is not perceived as a priority for getting out of town. If returning permanently, you may be thinking that, at year-end or the beginning of the next year, you'll inform your CPA that you're no longer in the U.S. and you can move forward with your last U.S. income tax return.
Is It Time to Refinance?
November 04, 2011
Julie Armstrong, CPA
You may have heard that home mortgage rates are currently at a thirty-year low, which makes it an excellent time to consider refinancing an existing mortgage.
Form-8938: Do You own Financial Accounts in a Foreign Country?
November 04, 2011
Mary Ann Rosenberg, CPA
In a continuing effort to ensure reporting of worldwide income by U.S. taxpayers, the IRS has new reporting requirements for U.S. citizens and resident aliens with specified foreign financial assets.
Form-W8
November 04, 2011
Wade Wilson, CPA
A colleague recently posed the following situation: a client in the United States was hiring foreign contractors to perform services for the company from their home countries. He was paying them in U.S. dollars but sending the payments to the contractors in the foreign country. He was wondering what the tax reporting implications of such a transaction would be.