There’s two things in life that you can’t avoid: death and taxes. There’s nothing you can do about either one of those, but as financial specialists, we can ease the pain of paying taxes through proper Tax Management.

As April 15th approaches, everyone is scrambling to find ways to reduce taxes for the fiscal year. Tax accountants and CPA’s are very useful people who can give you advice on how to maximize your deductions and tax credits. In addition to the strategies offered by CPA’s, you should also consider the information available from financial specialists who can help you with long-term tax-saving strategies.

Tax Management 101

One of the goals of tax management is to set up your finances and investments so you can minimize taxes not just for this year, but for your lifetime. It’s a long term strategy which you will be grateful for later in life. For example, did you know that:

• Not all investments are the same, some are “tax-efficient” investments where you can tuck away money with no or reduced tax consequences.
• Although you may be far from retirement age, contributing to a retirement plan is a smart way to save money and reduce taxes.
• In general, you will save more taxes if you avoid buying and selling stocks frequently. Stocks bought and sold within a year are taxed as short-term capital gains which is higher than taxes levied on stocks held for over a year.
• In some cases, charitable giving may allow you to decrease taxes owed and, benefit your favorite charity too. It’s strange to think that giving away money might actually save you money.
• Similarly, you may be able to utilize “tax loss harvesting” as a way to minimize taxes. Here, a stock is sold at a loss and the loss is used to offset taxes on gains and on income. It’s counter-intuitive to sell at a loss, but it can save you money in the long run.

There are more tax management opportunities for you to take advantage of, contact us by Email or call us at (858) 866-4948 to learn more.