Tax and Financial News

Starting a side hustle today is easier than ever. Between the numerous websites that act as marketplaces and project jobs that can be found on the internet, almost anyone can turn a skill or hobby they have into something they can make money off. Many people who do this are just looking to make a little extra money on the side, but this side hustle can turn into something bigger – and this is where the tax and legal questions come in.

Sole Proprietorship

For someone just starting or looking to make a little extra on the side, there’s nothing special you need to do when it comes to filing your federal taxes. Just complete an extra form that is called Schedule C of your personal tax return. This is referred to as doing business as a sole proprietorship.

But that is where the simplicity stops. While organizing your business, the default way as a sole proprietor takes the least effort and expense; however, there are risks associated with this path, particularly legal liability risks.

Legal Risks

The biggest problem is that the sole proprietorships form leaves personal as well as business assets exposed to the risk of being sued. Lawyers will often recommend that the moment a business has paying clients, it should be converted to an LLC or corporation to provide legal protection by separating the business and personal assets.

While this legal advice is technically true, it doesn’t consider the cost benefit of the situation. The problem is that the costs of forming and running an LLC or corporation can easily exceed the money earned from a side hustle. Combine this with the probability of getting sued at all (in each personal situation) and for most side hustles, it’s simply not worth it to form an LLC or corporation. The key question then is when is it worth it to switch from a sole proprietorship to an LLC or a corporation?

When Side Hustle Grows Up

What about the taxation issue? Generally, tax savings aren’t a good reason to convert a sole proprietorship to an LLC or corporation. Particularly, making the move from a sole proprietorship to a single member LLC will not help for tax purposes and in fact may only increase your chances of an audit. Moreover, operating as an LLC will cost more both for the initial filing as well as ongoing annual expenses. Legal liability remains the main reason to convert the entity structure.

Hidden Tax Issues

All three pass-through entity types (sole proprietor, LLC and S-Corporations) calculate your income in the exact same way under current laws. There is however a hidden tax to consider: the self-employment tax. Self-employment taxes are paid on all sole proprietor earnings, but only on the salary portion of LLC or S-Corp earnings. Any profits over and above your salary are considered dividend payments and are not subject to self-employment taxes.

Unfortunately, the income level needed to change entity structures depends on each individual situation, but you’ll need the savings to at least cover the initial and long-term compliance costs of filings, fees and tax preparation costs. Let’s look at two examples to see how this works.

Imagine a business is earning $100,000 in net profit and from this you pay yourself $40,000 as salary and take the remaining $50,000 as dividends. At the current 15.3 percent self-employment tax rate, this translates into a savings of $7,650. Now imagine a side hustle that only earns $25,000 from which you take $15,000 as salary and the remaining $10,000 as dividends. This only translates into $1,530 in tax savings.

In the first case above, you’ve not only generated enough tax savings to more than cover your tax preparation and filing costs, but you’ll end up with more money in your pocket and have stronger legal protection. In the second case, you’ll barely save enough to cover your costs – and you’ll create more work for yourself.

Conclusion

Your side hustle might be small right now, but tomorrow it could grow into the next big thing, so make sure your organizational structure makes sense now.

Beginning on Jan. 1, 2020, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has new annual inflation adjustments for tax rates, brackets, deductions and retirement contribution limits. Note, the amounts below do not impact the tax filing you make in 2020 for the tax year 2019. These amounts apply to your 2020 taxes that you will file in 2021.

2020 Tax Rates and 2020 Tax Brackets

Below are the new 2020 tables for personal income tax rates. There are separate tables each for individuals, married filing jointly couples and surviving spouses, heads of household and married filing separate; all with seven tax brackets for 2020.

Trusts and Estates have four brackets in 2020, each with different rates.

Standard Deduction Amounts

Amounts for standard deductions see a slight increase from 2019 to 2020 based on indexing for inflation. Note that again as in 2019, there are no personal exemption amounts for 2020.

Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) Exemptions

Like the above, the AMT exemption amounts are increased based on adjustments for inflation, with the 2020 exemption amounts as follows.

Capital Gains Rates

Capital gains rates remain unchanged for 2020; however, the brackets for the rates are changing. Taxpayers will pay a maximum 15 percent rate unless their taxable income exceeds the 37 percent threshold (see the personal tax brackets and rates above for your individual situation). If a taxpayer hits this threshold, then their capital gains rate increases to 20 percent.

Itemized Deductions

Below are the 2020 details on the major itemized deductions many taxpayers take on Schedule A of their returns.

• Medical Expenses – The floor remains unchanged from 2019 to 2020, so you can only deduct these expenses that exceed 10 percent of your AGI.
• State and Local Taxes – The SALT deductions also remain unchanged at the federal level with a total limit of $10,000 ($5,000 if you are married filing separately).
• Mortgage Deduction for Interest Expenses – The limit on mortgage interest also remains the same with the debt bearing the interest capped at $750k ($375k if you are married filing separately).

Retirement Account Contribution Limits

Finally, we look at the various retirement account contribution limits for 2020.

• 401(k) – Annual contribution limits increase $500 to $19,500 for 2020
• 401(k) Catch-Up – Employees age50 or older in these plans can contribute an additional $6,500 (on top of the $19,500 above for a total of $26,000) for 2020. This $500 increase in the catch-up provision is the first increase in the catch-up since 2015.
• SEP IRAs and Solo 401(k)s – Self-employed and small business owners, can save an additional $1,000 in their SEP IRA or a solo 401(k) plan, with limits increasing from $56,000 in 2019 to $57,000 in 2020.
• The SIMPLE – SIMPLE retirement accounts see a $500 increase in contribution limits, rising from $13,000 in 2019 to $13,500 in 2020.
• Individual Retirement Accounts – There are no changes here for IRA contributions in 2020, with the cap at $6,000 for 2020 and the same catch-up contribution limit of $1,000.

Conclusion

There are no dramatic changes in the rates, brackets, deductions or retirement account contribution limits that the vast majority taxpayers tend to encounter for 2020 versus 2019. Most changes are simply adjustments for inflation. Enjoy the stability – as history has shown, it likely won’t last long.

The markets are hitting all-time highs, so if you are thinking of selling stocks now or in the near future, there is a good chance that you will have capital gains on the sale. If you’ve held the stocks for more than a year, then they will qualify for the more favorable long-term capital gains tax (instead of being taxed at ordinary income rates for short-term sales). But the total tax due can still be enough to warrant some tax planning. Luckily, the tax laws provide for several ways to defer or even completely avoid paying taxes on your securities sales.

1. Using Tax Losses

Utilizing losses is the least attractive of all the options in this article since you obviously had to lose money on one security in order to avoid paying taxes on another. The real play here is what is often referred to as tax-loss harvesting. This is where you purposely sell shares that are at a loss position in order to offset the gains on profitable sales and then redeploy this capital somewhere else. You’ll need to carefully weigh where to put the money from the sale of the shares sold at a loss as you can’t just buy the same stocks back. This is considered a “wash sale” and invalidates the strategy.

2. The 10 Percent to 15 Percent Tax Bracket

For taxpayers in either the 10 percent or 12 percent income tax brackets, their long-term capital gains rate is 0 percent. The income caps for qualifying for the 12 percent income tax rate is $39,375 for single filers and $78,750 for joint filers in 2019 ($40,000 and $80,000, respectively in 2020). Also, keep in mind that the stock sales themselves add to this limit – so calculate carefully.

Aside from selling appreciated securities yourself, another way to take advantage of the 0 percent bracket is to gift the stock to someone else instead of selling the securities and then giving the cash. Beware, however, as trying to do this with your kids can disqualify the 0 percent treatment because the kiddie tax is triggered on gifted stock sold to children younger than 19 or under 24 if a full-time student.

3. Donate

Donating appreciated securities is where we start to get into the more beneficial strategies. This technique only makes sense if you were already planning to make charitable contributions. Say for example you are planning to donate $10,000 to an organization and are in the 25 percent tax bracket. In order to write a donation check for $10,000, you would have had to earn $13,333 in income to sell the same amount of stock in order to have $10,000 left after taxes to make a cash donation in that amount.

If you donate appreciated stock instead, you only need to donate securities valued at $10,000 and you get to deduct $10,000 as a charitable deduction. That avoids the capital gains tax completely. Plus, it generates for you a bigger tax deduction for the full market value of donated shares held more than one year – and it results in a larger donation.

4. Qualified Opportunity Zones

This is the newest and most complicated (as well as controversial) way to defer or avoid capital gains taxes. Opportunity Zones were created via the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act to encourage investment in low-income and distressed communities. Qualified Opportunity Zones can defer or eliminate capital gains tax by utilizing three mechanisms through Opportunity Funds – the investment vehicle that invests in Opportunity Zones.

First, they offer a temporary deferral of taxes on previously earned capital gains if investors place existing assets into Opportunity Funds. These capital gains defer taxation until the end of 2026 or whenever the asset is disposed of – whichever is first.

Second, capital gains placed in Opportunity Funds for a minimum of five years receive a step-up in basis of 10 percent – and if held for at least seven years, 15 percent.

Third, they offer an opportunity to permanently avoid taxation on new capital gains. If the opportunity fund is held for at least 10 years, the investor will pay no tax on capital gains earned through the Opportunity Fund.

Again, the caveat here is that the details of Opportunity Zone investments can be extremely complicated, so it’s best not to attempt this one on your own. Consult with your tax advisor.

5. Die with Appreciated Stock

Unfortunately, while probably the least popular method for readers, this is certainly the most effective. When a person passes away, the cost basis of their securities receives a step-up in basis to the fair market value to the date of their death. As an example, if you purchased Amazon stock for $50 per share and when you pass away it is worth $1,700 per share, your heir’s basis in the inherited stock is $1,700. This means if they sell it at $1,700, they pay no tax at all.

Conclusion

None of the above methods are loopholes or tax dodges; they are all completely legitimate. However, your ability to take advantage of these techniques will depend on your income level, personal goals and even your age. As a result, it’s best to consult with your tax advisor to see what makes sense for your personal situation.

With the start of the fourth quarter of 2019 underway, it’s time to see what the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) will expect of filers for their 2019 taxes. The following are a list of major changes that filers need to be aware of:

1. Removal of the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) Individual Mandate Penalty

With the passage of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), filers and households who failed to carry adequate health insurance according to the ACA’s minimum coverage requirements will no longer have to pay the penalty on their 2019 taxes. This is because the TCJA lowered the penalty to zero dollars permanently. In previous years, households not meeting ACA health insurance requirements were mandated to pay either 2.5 percent of household income or $347.50 per child and $695 per adult, up to $2,085.

2. Greater Medical Expense Deduction Requirements

2019 filers are only able to deduct out-of-pocket medical expenses that exceed 10 percent of their adjusted gross income (AGI). The threshold was lowered to 7.5 percent for the 2017 and 2018 tax years by the TCJA, but will revert to the original 10 percent threshold in 2019.  

3. Changes to Treatment of Alimony

The TCJA removed the ability for those paying alimony to their former spouse to deduct these payments for the 2019 tax year. The IRS also removed deductibility for alimony or separate maintenance payments for divorce or separation agreements signed off after Dec. 31, 2018. If a divorce or separation agreement that provides for alimony or separate maintenance payments was agreed to before Dec. 31, 2018, and is then modified after Dec. 31, 2018, such payments lose deductibility. Former spouses receiving alimony or separate maintenance payments from an agreement created or modified after Dec. 31, 2018, are not required to report such payments on their tax return.  

4. Contribution Limits Raised for Retirement Accounts

Those with 401(k), almost all 457 plans, the federal government’s Thrift Savings Plan and 403(b) account plans can contribute $19,000 in 2019, an increase of $500 from 2018’s $18,500 limit. Taxpayers 50 and older can still contribute another $6,000 for 2019, a catch-up contribution. Taxpayers with Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs) can contribute $6,000 in 2019, $500 more than 2018’s $5,500 limit. Those 50 years or older can add another $1,000 to their IRA accounts in 2019. The increase in IRA contribution limits is the first increase since 2013.     

5. Increased HSA Contribution Limits

Health Savings Accounts’ contribution limits for 2019 have increased, according to the IRS. For an individual or a self-only High Deductible Health Plan, 2019’s contribution limit is raised to $3,500, or $50 more than 2018’s contribution limit of $3,450. For a family high deductible health plan, 2019’s contribution limit is raised to $7,000, $100 more than 2018’s contribution limit of $6,900. The catch-up contribution is an extra $1,000 for account holders age 55 or older.

6. Increasing Standard Deduction Allowances

For those choosing not to itemize their deductions in 2019, the IRS has increased standard deduction amounts for filers. For single filers and those filing as married filing separately, the standard deduction increased by $200, to $12,200. For those filing as head of household, the standard deduction increased by $350, to $18,350. For those choosing to file married filing jointly, there’s an increased allowance of $400, to $24,400.

7. 2019 Income Brackets

With the new tax year comes higher income tax brackets. Depending on how much taxpayers made in 2019, the following are the new income level brackets:

• 37 percent: Individual single taxpayers making more than $510,300 or married couples filing jointly making $612,350.
• 35 percent: Individuals making more than $204,100, or $408,200 for married couples filing jointly.
• 32 percent: Individuals making more than $160,725, or $321,450 for married couples filing jointly.
• 24 percent: Individuals making more than $84,200, or $168,400 for married couples filing jointly.
• 22 percent: Individuals making more than $39,475, or $78,950 for married couples filing jointly.
• 12 percent: Individuals making more than $9,700, or $19,400 for married couples filing jointly.
• 10 percent: Individuals making up to $9,700, or $19,400 for married couples filing jointly.

It might seem odd, but it is possible to get the IRS to give you a straight-forward and binding answer to ambiguous tax positions in advance. How does this happen, you ask? The answer is through an IRS private letter ruling.

IRS private letter rulings provide many benefits, but they are not easy to obtain. There are costs, potential delays, and even then, you run the risk of not being granted a ruling. This dynamic might seem odd as the entire point of applying for a private letter ruling is to obtain certainty. If your position is weak from a tax law perspective, the government could refuse to rule on it. Alternatively, if the position you are seeking is obviously correct, the government might refuse to rule as well because they don’t like to issue “comfort rulings.” Essentially, the only way to get the government to rule is to make a request regarding a position that is in the middle.

If you believe the tax position in question lies somewhere in the middle, requesting a private letter ruling may make sense. If you are more likely one of the outliers, then requesting a tax opinion usually makes more sense. The problem is that tax opinion, unlike private letter rulings, doesn’t bind the IRS.

Deciding Which Path to Take

If the relative certainty of the tax position in question doesn’t provide enough guidance, how do you decide to go after a tax opinion versus a private letter ruling? To make the choice, it helps to understand more details.

First, tax opinions can cover a broader range of topics and can be written about pretty much anything; rulings cannot. In fact, the IRS has an explicit list of subjects that it will not produce private letter rulings on (they modify it occasionally, but there’s always a list). As a result, the first step is to assess the list as this might make the choice for you.

Second, don’t request a private letter ruling unless there is a good chance you think it will be granted. For one, rulings are not cheap with fees often costing upward of $25,000 to obtain a ruling. If you get a “No” ruling against your position, you can withdraw the request to take the ruling off the books, but you may or may not get the fee back. Moreover, when you withdraw a request for a ruling, the IRS sends a notice to your local IRS field office, potentially flagging your return for audit.

Third, opinions can be quick and obtained in as little as a few days or weeks. Rulings, on the other hand, often take months. Also consider that a request for a ruling must be specific and there is little room for modification after filing. Opinions have more flexibility.

Private Letter Ruling Process

Given the specificity and consequence of requesting a ruling, there are intermediate steps to help you test the water before you go all in. Nearly all ruling requests start by initiating a discussion with the IRS to get their general view on your proposed ruling. After this, the taxpayer usually submits a brief memo covering the facts and ruling they are looking to obtain. Next, there are more meetings either in person or by phone with IRS attorneys involved. At this point, if everything looks good, you can prepare and submit the actual ruling request. If you back out at this point, you avoid triggering any fees (IRS fees – not your lawyers or accountants) or audit notices.

Benefits of a Ruling Versus an Opinion

The reason taxpayers go through the time, expense and effort to obtain rulings instead of opinions is that they have several advantages. First, rulings are binding on the IRS. Second, you don’t need to consider penalty protection. Most of all, they provide certainty. Given the difficulty in obtaining a ruling, they generally make financial sense only when a taxpayer has a seriously substantial tax position in play, or at least will over time, and he wants to protect against future audits and legal challenges.

There are three big tax issues that can derail an otherwise well-executed estate plan. These include Family Limited Partnerships, Revocable Trust Swap Powers and Trust Situs. Below we explore the pitfalls with each issue.

Fixing FLPs

Family Limited Partnerships (FLP) are often created to hold investments or business assets in order to leverage a valuation discount, exert control and provide asset protection.

First, to understand the valuation discount, take the example in which an FLP owned a family business valued at $10 million. A straight 25 percent interest in this business would therefore be worth $2.5 million. However, due to valuation discounts for a non-controlling interest that would not be readily available for sale or able to control liquidation, the 25 percent might actually be valued at $1.7 million for estate tax purposes.

Second, FLPs also could be set up to allow the founder or parents to control operations even after a majority of their interest is given away.

Lastly, FLPs can protect assets. If an interest owner is sued, the claimant might not be able to exercise their claim, especially if they sued a minority interest holder. Instead, they could be limited to receiving a charging order. A charging order limits the claimant to only the distributions that interest holder would be entitled to and protects the other owners.

FLPs that ignore legal upkeep and technical legal formalities can jeopardize these the protection benefits by causing the FLP entity to be disregarded. Common errors include co-mingling personal and entity assets and ignoring the legal requirements to have current signed governing instruments.

On the valuation front, many FLPs were set up to provide valuation discounts at a time of significantly lower estate tax exemptions. Not only is this unnecessary, but the valuation discount can actually hinder the heirs by passing along a lower asset value when the basis is stepped up at death.

Swap Powers

Traditionally, irrevocable trusts are by definition trusts that cannot be altered (hence the name irrevocable). Uses include carving out assets from an estate to better protect the assets and provide tax savings.

Irrevocable trusts are often structured as “grantor” trusts for income tax benefit purposes. Grantor trusts allow the grantor to report the trust income on their individual 1040, effectively having the grantor pay the tax burden and bypass the trust. This strategy can reduce the grantor’s estate.

There are numerous ways to create grantor trust status. Including swap powers is the most common. Swap powers allow the swapping of personal assets for trust assets of equivalent value. The problem with swap powers is that little attention is paid to them and they aren’t exercised in the right circumstances, leading to adverse income tax consequences.

It’s best to review the value of trust assets annually or even more often if the grantor is in poor health so you know when to exercise the swap powers. It’s also a good idea to involve your estate planning attorney and CPA if you are going to exercise the swap powers. This will ensure the swap is handled according to the rules of the trust document and properly reported on your tax returns.

Trust Situs Selection

Trust situs is the state where your trust is based. It determines which state law administers and rules the trust. Frequently, the trust situs is simply set up in the same state where the trust creator is a resident.

While simple, using a home state as the trust situs is not always best. A person’s home state may not provide the best protections or state taxation. The way around this is to “rent” a different trust jurisdiction. Doing so can allow you to lower or altogether avoid state income taxes. You’ll have to factor in the costs to do so as there will be more legal fees and trustee fees since an institution will need to hold the trust to create the state nexus. Overall, you can often come out ahead.

Conclusion

The best thing you can do is to review your current or potential trust with your estate planning attorney and CPA. This way you can stay on top of both the formalities and mechanisms in place to maximize the protections and benefits of the trust.

Many tax advisors are very cautious when it comes to claiming hobby losses – and some would argue overly so. This conservative view stems from the impression that the taxpayer usually loses when challenged by the IRS. While technically true that the odds aren’t in your favor of winning a challenge, the overall risk often works out in the taxpayer’s favor over the long run. Below we’ll look at why tax advisors should start from the assumption of taking the losses.

Always a Loser

Taxpayers usually lose hobby loss cases. Typically, the odds are around 3-to-1 in favor of the IRS. So, on the surface it seems like the smart bet is to assume you’ll lose, but there are reasons not to plan based on this fact. First, this statistic only represents cases that are decided by the court. Taxpayers are usually pretty stubborn and most cases are settled in much more favorable circumstances to the taxpayer.

Second, the “losers” are often winners in the long run.

Why Losers are Really Winners

When a taxpayer loses a hobby loss case, they usually face a deficiency and an accuracy penalty of 20 percent.  The key issue here is how long before the loss is challenged?

Let’s take a pretend case as an example. Assume we have a taxpayer with tax losses of $60,000 per year, a 35 percent tax rate and they are audited for three years and lose. This results in a $63,000 deficiency ($60,000 x 35 percent x 3 years), plus an accuracy penalty of $12,600 (20 percent of the $63k). Had they not claimed the deduction, they would have paid the $63,000 in taxes anyway, so this isn’t really a loss; only the accuracy penalty is.

This doesn’t sound so great, does it? Why would someone take 3-to-1 odds in a scenario like this? Let’s think for a minute; what if the taxpayer had been taking the losses for 10 years?  Those first seven years that were never audited allowed the taxpayer to take the deduction. In this case we have $21,000 x 7 years = $147,000 in deductions that the taxpayer would have missed if they played it conservatively. Next, our hypothetical taxpayer would still be up more than $134,000 over the long term ($147k, less the accuracy penalty).

This all of course assumes the taxpayer is sincere in his or her efforts to make money and is not playing the “audit lottery,” which is of course unethical.

Honest Motives

Tax courts look to see if a taxpayer is genuinely and honestly engaged in the activity for profit. Objective honesty is the standard, and it doesn’t matter how slight the odds of turning a profit are. The IRS isn’t looking to judge the taxpayer’s business acumen, but their objective instead. You’ll need to truly be trying to make money with the activity or you’re doomed to lose.

Conclusion

In the end, if a taxpayer has an honest objective to make a profit through a hobby, claiming the losses is typically in their interest. While they are likely to lose if challenged, they are guaranteed to lose if they don’t take the losses themselves. Finally, even if they lose certain years under audit, they are likely to come out ahead in the long run. So, if you’re truly trying to make money in a venture that could be seen as a hobby, it might not pay to be conservative.

Most people associate saving for retirement with tax deferred or non-taxable accounts: 401(k)s, 403(b)s, Traditional IRAs, Roth IRAs, etc. The tax benefits of these types of retirement accounts give individuals advantages over simply investing in a regular taxable brokerage account.  

Savings for retirement in a standard taxable account can also have its place – and the option shouldn’t be ignored. In this article, we’ll look at a handful of reasons why doing so might just be the best option.

Your employer doesn’t offer 401(k), 403(b) or similar type plan

Some employers, especially very small ones, don’t offer retirement plan options to their employees due to the cost or administrative burden. Others have restrictions on participation, such as waiting periods (sometimes up to one year) or cut out part-time employees.

In this situation, your options may be limited to opening an IRA, but contributions are limited ($6,000 or $7,000 per year, depending if under or over 50) so an IRA alone may not allow you to save enough to meet your goals. Savings in a taxable account can help bridge the gap between what the IRA allows and your target needs.

You have maxed out and still want to save more

Even if you have access to a tax advantaged savings plan, contributions are limited. For example, 401(k) plans limit contributions to $19,000 ($25,000 if age 50 or older) in 2019. Depending on your income or projected needs, this might not be enough.

Consider for example that many experts say a target savings rate of approximately 15 percent is needed to give a retiree sufficient income. Someone earning $200,000 a year should be putting away $30,000 per year using the 15 percent rule, considerably more than what a 401(k) permits.

Accessibility to your investments

Retirement accounts come with strings attached to those tax benefits. Taking money out of a 401(k), 403(b) or IRA early can trigger steep costs in terms of penalties and taxes.

If you’re someone who values options and access to long-term investment savings, a taxable account provides flexibility. You can add and remove money without limits, penalties or restrictions. You’ll also have more control in retirement as there will be no required minimum distributions later in life.

Benefits for your heirs

Passing on the balance of a 401(k), 403(b) or Traditional IRA to an heir puts him or her in a taxable situation. Typically, someone who inherits an IRA will have to pay taxes on the distributions as if they were ordinary income, just like the retiree during their lifetime. Generally speaking, someone who inherits a taxable account receives a step-up in basis (at the date of death or other depending on elections).

Let’s look at a simple example to understand this better. Assume you bought 1,000 shares of Apple for $20 ($20,000) and when you passed away it was worth $200 per share ($200,000). If you purchased this in your 401(k), then your heir would have to pay tax on the entire $200,000 as ordinary income as it’s distributed. If this investment was held in a taxable account, however, they could receive a step-up in basis. This means that while your basis was the $20,000 you originally paid, your heir’s basis would step up to the $200,000 value. This means he could sell the $200,000 worth of stock and pay zero in taxes.

Conclusion

As you can see, tax deferred and advantaged accounts offer many perks that make them excellent vehicles for saving; however, taxable accounts are often needed as well. The need to save beyond contribution limits or desire to pass on an inheritance in a tax-advantaged manner can behoove looking beyond 401(k)s and IRAs.