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Article

6 tax tips to save you big money

Depending on your circumstances you could save tens of thousands of dollars on your 2015 income tax bill. Lear how

 

 

 

November being in the middle of the 4th quarter of the year, many physicians have a fairly good idea of what their taxable income will be for 2015. If you are like these doctors, you may be wondering, “is there anything I can do now to save taxes on April 15th?” The answer is very likely “yes.” In fact, the 4th quarter of the year ending and the 1st quarter of the New Year are the best times for focusing on tax reduction.

READ: Imagine paying less to the IRS and loving every minute

1. Maximize the tax benefits of your qualified retirement plan

Nearly 95% of dermatologists have some type of QRP in place. These include 401(k)s, profit-sharing plans, money purchase plans, defined benefit plans, or even SEP or SIMPLE IRAs. However, most of these plans are not maximized for deductions for the business/practice owner. The Pension Protection Act improved the QRP options for practice owners, but many owners may be using an outdated plan and so forgoing further contributions and deductions permitted under the most recent rule changes. By maximizing your QRP under the new rules, you could increase your deductions significantly for 2015 and reduce your taxes on April 15th 2016.

 

 

2. Implement a non-qualified plan

Unfortunately, the vast majority of physicians begin and end their retirement planning with QRPs. Most have not analyzed, let alone implemented, any other type of benefit plan. Have you explored non-qualified plans in the last two years? Many dermatologists are unaware of plans that enjoy favorable short-term and long-term tax treatment. A number of these plans can help you reduce your taxable income for years as part of a tax diversification plan.

READ: Are you assets exposed?

 

 

3. Consider a captive insurance company (CIC)

CICs are used by many of the Fortune 1000 for a host of strategic reasons. For a medical practice, a CIC can be equally beneficial, especially for the practice owners. With a CIC, you create your own properly licensed insurance company to insure all types of risks of the practice-often those that have little coverage today. These can be economic risks (if revenues drop), business risks (if electronic records are destroyed), litigation risks (coverage for defense of harassment claims or wrongful termination), and even coverage for surgery centers and real estate. If created and maintained properly, the CIC can enjoy tremendous income tax benefits that can translate into hundreds of thousands of dollars of tax savings annually.

 

 

4. Pre-pay 2016 expenses in 2015

As the year winds down, you can work with your financial advisor to prepay some of the following year’s expenses in the present year, as long as the economic benefit from the prepayment lasts 12 months or less. Since 2016 highest marginal tax rates will likely be the same those in 2015, this might be a good strategy because of the benefit of the early deduction.

READ: Common tax mistake costs doctors thousands annually

 

 

5.    Plan for the 3.8% Medicare surtax

Beginning in 2013, the tax law imposed 3.8% surtax on certain passive investment income of individuals, trusts and estates. For individuals, the amount subject to the tax is the lesser of (1) net investment income (NII) or (2) the excess of a taxpayer's modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) over an applicable threshold amount.

READ: Evaluating your finance team

Net investment income includes dividends, rents, interest, passive activity income, capital gains, annuities and royalties. Specifically excluded from the definition of net investment income are self-employment income, income from an active trade or business, gain on the sale of an active interest in a partnership or S corporation, IRA or qualified plan distributions and income from charitable remainder trusts. MAGI is generally the amount you report on the last line of page 1, Form 1040 adjusted by the above non-includible items.

The applicable threshold amounts are shown below.

Married taxpayers filing jointly                        $250,000

Married taxpayers filing separately                 $125,000

All other individual taxpayers                          $200,000

Example: Al and Barb, married taxpayers filing separately, have $300,000 of salary income and $100,000 of NII. The amount subject to the surtax is the lesser of (1) NII ($100,000) or (2) the excess of their MAGI ($400,000) over the threshold amount ($400,000 -$250,000 = $150,000). Because NII is the smaller amount, it is the base on which the tax is calculated. Thus, the amount subject to the tax is $100,000 and the surtax payable is $3,800 (.038 x $100,000).

Fortunately, there are a number of effective strategies that can be used to reduce MAGI and or NII and reduce the base on which the surtax is paid. These include (1) Roth IRA conversions, (2) tax exempt bonds, (3) tax-deferred annuities, (4) life insurance, (5) oil and gas investments, (6) timing estate and trust distributions, (7) charitable remainder trusts, (8) installment sales and maximizing above-the-line deductions. Consult with your financial advisor to learn how these strategies might save you large amounts of surtax.

 

 

6. Use charitable giving for capital gains tax planning

There are many ways you can make tax beneficial charitable gifts while benefiting your family as well. Charitable Remainder Trusts (CRTs), Charitable Lead Trusts (CLTs), Private Foundations-these can all be used, within the IRS rules, to benefit charitable causes, reduce taxes and retain some benefits for families. If you have considered any of these tools in the past, implementing them in a year of high income might be a good idea.  

Disclosure:

This article contains general information that is not suitable for everyone.  The information contained herein should not be construed as personalized legal or tax advice.   There is no guarantee that the views and opinions expressed in this article will be appropriate for your particular circumstances.  Tax law changes frequently, accordingly information presented herein is subject to change without notice.  You should seek professional tax and legal advice before implementing any strategy discussed herein.

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