The Roth Calculator below helps you determine whether you end up with more retirement income using a Roth IRA or 401(k). Or using a traditional IRA or 401(k). By the way? Most people probably end up with a better outcome using a traditional IRA or 401(k). But you want to “run the numbers” Click the […] The post Roth Calculator appeared first on Evergreen Small Business ..read more

You can use the Home Investment Calculator below to estimate the pre-tax rate of return you earn by buying and living in a home. Just enter the your inputs into the boxes below and then click the Calculate button. If you have questions? No problem. Detailed instructions and additional information appear below the calculations. Collect […] The post Home Investment Calculator appeared first on Evergreen Small Business ..read more

A disclosure to start this discussion about using ChatGPT for determining S corporation reasonable compensation. I do not think the large language models like ChatGPT do a great job with tax accounting or tax law. They  don’t. Or at least not yet. And maybe never. But if you’re an S corporation owner? And you’re struggling […] The post Using ChatGPT to Determine S Corporation Reasonable Compensation appeared first on Evergreen Small Business ..read more

Last month we blogged about potential issues with short-term rentals and Section 183.  Section 183 is part of the tax law that says you cannot deduct expenses of activities you’re not engaging in for profit. But that blog post got me thinking about the Section 183 Schedule C problem.  Which is similar. But before we […] The post The Section 183 Schedule C Problem appeared first on Evergreen Small Business ..read more

A handful of times recently, prospective real estate investors have asked me about the depreciation deductions they can expect if they successfully setup a short-term rental. The phrasing often goes like this: Okay, Steve, so assume my rental income covers my expenses including the mortgage interest. A breakeven situation, in other words. I’m also going […] The post Short-term-rental Depreciation Deductions Calculator appeared first on Evergreen Small Business ..read more

Washington state levies an estate tax on people who die with more than a threshold amount of net worth. In 2024, as I write this, that threshold equals $2,193,000. To estimate the Washington state estate tax someone might owe, use the Washington State estate tax calculator shown below. Instructions and additional information appear below the […] The post Washington State Estate Tax Calculator appeared first on Evergreen Small Business ..read more

So, let’s talk briefly about Section 183 and your short-term rental property. It’s summer obviously. You’ve probably been renting the place. Maybe even visited the property. Thus, now’s a good time to point out the risky connection between your short-term rental and Section 183. What is Section 183? First, some background. Section 183 is a […] The post The Section 183 Short-term Rental Problem appeared first on Evergreen Small Business ..read more

Five million small businesses operate as S corporations. And surely most of those folks know the simple trick for saving money with an S corporation. You pay a low salary and avoid payroll taxes. Too many S corporation owners, unfortunately, do not know about all the other more advanced S corporation tax planning tricks and tactics. Thus, this month’s blog post. Basic S Corporation Trick: Avoid Payroll Taxes To start, however, I want to review the standard, simple S corporation trick for saving taxes. Just to make sure we’re all on the same page. And to do this, let me give a quick example wh ..read more

Okay. So, yeah, Section 174 software development accounting.  A bit of mess, right? I hear you. We had more than a few client questions last tax season about how to handle this complexity. Thus a quick overview. But one clarification: This discussion of Section 174 and software development cost capitalization rests on the new § 174 statute, which appeared in late 2017. And then on IRS Notice 2023-63, which was published in September 2023. However, taxpayers and tax accountants really all need updated Treasury Regulations to plan ahead. And to get the bookkeeping right for 2024. That quali ..read more

Over the last few months, I’ve encountered investors, advisors and even some financial writers struggling to make or suggest good estimates of future investment portfolio returns. No easy answer exists. But these inputs matter for planning. And so maybe predictably, people fall into the habit of just extrapolating the past. Maybe assuming they, their clients or readers will enjoy the historical average return on stocks or on a balanced portfolio. Starting with the historical average? That’s probably an okay place to begin. But I’m going to argue you and I want to make several adjustments to av ..read more