You're Invited to Call or Email
949.497.5056 | LDaff@EstatePlanInc.com

Laguna Beach, CA   Irvine, CA   Las Vegas, NV

Leslie Daff, JD, MBA - Orange County Estate Planning Lawyer

Friday, December 16, 2011

Tax & Estate Planning Tip #1: 'Tis the Season to Harvest Tax Losses

This month many financial advisers are searching their clients’ stock and bond portfolios for investments to sell for the tax benefits, referred to as “tax loss harvesting.”  Before you agree to sell, make sure you will reap the tax savings.  Here are some harvesting tips.

First, an investment should never be sold just for the tax benefits.  It should be sold when it is no longer the optimal investment for personal, market, and economic reasons.

Second, tax harvesting is not simply selling your loss stocks.  The ideal net loss (gains minus losses) is $3,000.  Losses in excess of $3,000 are not usable in the current year.  They are carried forward to next year and possibly for years to come.

Example:  Assume you sold mutual funds during the year for a gain of $10,000.  In your portfolio, you have $40,000 of losses from stocks you are thinking about selling.  From a tax perspective, you should sell only enough of the stock to generate $13,000 of losses.  Then your net loss would be a currently usable $3,000 ($10,000 - $13,000).  If you sell all the loss securities, you will report a net loss of $30,000 ($10,000 - $40,000).  You can use $3,000 of the loss on your 2011 tax return and will carry forward a loss of $27,000 ($30,000 - $3,000).  If you do not have gains to report in the coming years, it may take you until 2020, nine years $27,000/3,000 per year), to fully reap the benefits of your 2011 loss.

Third, if you have capital loss carryovers from prior years, it may be better to sell only appreciated investments.  However, if your 2011 income is low and you are in the 10% or 15% marginal tax rate bracket, there may be no tax generated by the sale of your long-term investments.  In this case, you may not want to sell anything and save your capital loss carryovers for a year it will actually reduce the taxes you owe.

Fourth, wait more than 30 days to reacquire any investment you sold at a loss.  Selling an investment at a loss and repurchasing it within 30 days, called a “wash sale,” cancels the immediate use of the loss.  There is no waiting period for reinvesting in property you sold at a gain.


Tuesday, October 4, 2011

Your Parents' Estate Plan

Read my article in October 2011 edition of The Journal of Financial Planning entitled  "Your Parents' Estate Plan," which delves into sensitive issues such as how to get elderly parents to create (or update) an estate plan to handle incapacity issues and to pass their estate to beneficiaries most efficiently, cost-effectively, and harmoniously:  http://estateplaninc.com/global_pictures/ypep.pdf


Monday, August 1, 2011

The Region's Top Attorneys 2011

See my inclusion again this year in OC Metro's annual list of the region's top attorneys.


Thursday, June 2, 2011

The Portable Exclusion and the Vanishing Bypass Trust

Read my current article in the June 2011 edition of the Journal of Financial Planning entitled The Portable Exemption and the Vanishing Bypass Trust.


Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Protecting Your Child's Inheritance: The Beneficiary-Controlled Trust

Read my article in the February 2011 edition of the Journal of Financial Planning entitled Protecting Your Child's Inheritance: The Beneficiary-Controlled Trust


Friday, October 15, 2010

Are Your Client Files Clean?

Read my article in the October 2010 edition of the Journal of Financial Planning entitled Are Your Client Files Clean?, which includes end-of-the-year tax tips.


Sunday, August 1, 2010

The Region's Top Attorneys 2010

Read about my inclusion again this year in OC Metro's annual list of the region's top attorneys.


Tuesday, June 15, 2010

Tax Ramifications and Opportunities under the New Healthcare Act

See my article in the June 2010 edition of the Journal of Financial Planning entitled Tax Ramifications and Opportunities under the New Healthcare Act.


Thursday, April 15, 2010

Estate Planning for Middle-Income Clients

Read Betting the Farm:  Estate Planning for Middle-Income Clients, published in the April 2010 edition of the Journal of Financial Planning, for which I was interviewed/quoted.  "Flexibility" is the key to planning these days. 


Saturday, February 6, 2010

Keeping the Vacation Home in the Family

Read my current article in the Journal of Financial Planning for strategies to ensure your cherished family property (beach home, lake cottage, mountain cabin) stays in your family for generations:  http://estateplaninc.com/global_pictures/Vacation%20Home.pdf


Monday, October 12, 2009

Twelve Indicators You Need to Update Your Estate Plan

Read my recent contribution to the Journal of Financial Planning for indications you may need to update your estate plan.





© 2024 Estate Plan, Inc. | Disclaimer
352 3rd Street, Suite 301, Laguna Beach, CA 92651
| Phone: (949) 497-5056
19200 Von Karman Avenue, Suite 400, Irvine, CA 92612
| Phone: (949) 497-5056
10161 W. Park Run Drive, Suite 150, Las Vegas, NV 89145
| Phone: (949) 497-5056

Videos | Resources | Client Forms | Publications | About | Practice Areas | Certified Specialist

-
-