{"id":18270,"date":"2015-11-11T15:30:14","date_gmt":"2015-11-11T20:30:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/2015\/11\/business-report-tax-saving-tips-for-2015-returns.html"},"modified":"2017-11-08T11:03:22","modified_gmt":"2017-11-08T16:03:22","slug":"business-report-tax-saving-tips-for-2015-returns","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/2015\/11\/business-report-tax-saving-tips-for-2015-returns\/","title":{"rendered":"Business Report: Tax Saving Tips For 2015 Returns"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n\"Marvin\n<\/div>\n
\n

Debra L. Smith, tax manager with Marvin
\nand Company PC CPAs.\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

BY DEBRA L. SMITH, CPA<\/p>\n

As the end of the year draws near, there is no
\nbetter time than the present to begin strategizing
\nabout how to effectively minimize your taxable
\nincome and maximize allowable deductions. The
\nfollowing seven tips will help you identify ways to
\nkeep more of your own money.<\/p>\n

1. Save for retirement – maximizing your
\n401(k), 403(b) or traditional IRA contributions
\nserve a dual purpose – saves taxes now and provides
\na nest egg for retirement. Contributions to
\n401(k) or 403(b) accounts can reduce your taxable
\nincome by as much as $18,000 (with an additional
\n$6,000 catch-up allowed for those over 50).<\/p>\n

Contributions to traditional IRA accounts are
\ntax deductible up to $5,500 for 2015 (with and
\nadditional $1,000 allowed for those over 50). As
\nan additional note, contributions limits for these
\nplan types are set to remain at the 2015 limits
\nnoted above for 2016 as well.<\/p>\n

2. Donate to charity. Charities often request
\nsupport during the holiday season, so give. Contributions
\nto charities are tax deductible for those
\nindividuals that itemize deductions. Cash and
\nnon-cash contributions qualify, so you can donate
\nusing cash or check or clean out your cupboards
\nand closets and donate goods and clothing to
\ncharities like the Goodwill. Just be sure to get and
\nkeep receipts for documentation of goods or cash
\ndonated.
\nThe final way to take advantage of the tax
\nbenefits of generosity is to sell appreciated stocks
\nor other investments you have held for more than
\none year. This offers a sort of double whammy tax
\nbenefit. You get a charitable donation deduction
\nfor the fair market value of the investment at the
\ndate of donation and you avoid the capital gain tax
\non the appreciation of the asset.<\/p>\n

3. Make tax deductible payments early. Paying
\nJanuary’s mortgage payment in December,
\nprepaying property taxes in December, or paying
\nestimated state taxes that are due Jan. 15 before
\nyear end will move those deductions to the 2015
\nreturn. This is a good strategy if you expect to have
\nless income, be in a lower tax bracket in 2016 and
\nare not subject to alternative minimum tax.<\/p>\n

4. Take advantage of capital losses. If you sold
\ninvestments during 2015 at a gain, think about
\nselling some others in a loss position to offset the
\ntaxable income generated.<\/p>\n

5. Consider maximizing the medical expense
\ndeduction – qualifying medical expense are
\ndeductible as itemized deductions if they exceed
\n10 percent of adjusted gross income (7.5 percent
\nfor those 65 and over). If you have already paid a
\nsubstantial amount of medical bills in 2015 and are
\nnear or over this threshold, consider scheduling
\nand paying for dentist or doctor appointments,
\nbuying prescription medications before year end
\nor buying new glasses or contacts in order to
\nmaximize this deduction.<\/p>\n

6. Take advantage of education related breaks.
\nIf you are paying college tuition for yourself or a
\ndependent, consider paying the spring semester
\nbill early to include it in 2015 deductions. If you
\ndon’t have children of college age consider opening
\nor contributing to a Coverdell Savings Plan or
\n529 College Savings Plan for future college use.
\nAlthough these accounts do not qualify for Federal
\ndeduction, they allow a contribution of $14,000 per
\nchild per year and qualify for a partial deduction
\nor credit on the New York state tax return.<\/p>\n

7. Pass on wealth tax free. If you have substantial
\nwealth that you would like to pass on to future
\ngenerations, consider using the annual gift tax exclusion
\nto maximize the tax benefits to you. Gifts of
\nup to $14,000 per year ($28,000 for couple married
\nfiling jointly) per beneficiary can be made tax free.<\/p>\n

The tax tips are just a few of the more general
\nideas for maximizing deductions and minimizing
\ntaxable income. These strategies are not appropriate
\nfor every taxpayer and there are many other
\nstrategies that can be employed depending on individual
\nsituations. If you need more information
\non these or other tax planning strategies contact
\na tax professional.<\/p>\n

Smith is a tax manager with Marvin and Company
\nPC CPAs.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Debra L. Smith, tax manager with Marvin and Company PC CPAs. BY DEBRA L. SMITH, CPA As the end of the year draws near, there is no better time than the present to begin strategizing about how to effectively…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":86,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[67],"yoast_head":"\r\nBusiness Report: Tax Saving Tips For 2015 Returns - Glens Falls Business Journal<\/title>\r\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\r\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/2015\/11\/business-report-tax-saving-tips-for-2015-returns\/\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Business Report: Tax Saving Tips For 2015 Returns - Glens Falls Business Journal\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Debra L. Smith, tax manager with Marvin and Company PC CPAs. BY DEBRA L. SMITH, CPA As the end of the year draws near, there is no better time than the present to begin strategizing about how to effectively...\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/2015\/11\/business-report-tax-saving-tips-for-2015-returns\/\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Glens Falls Business Journal\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2015-11-11T20:30:14+00:00\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2017-11-08T16:03:22+00:00\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2015\/11\/marvin202620co20column20-20debra20smith20c.jpg\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Harry Weinhagen\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Harry Weinhagen\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\r\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/2015\/11\/business-report-tax-saving-tips-for-2015-returns\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/2015\/11\/business-report-tax-saving-tips-for-2015-returns\/\",\"name\":\"Business Report: Tax Saving Tips For 2015 Returns - Glens Falls Business Journal\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2015-11-11T20:30:14+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2017-11-08T16:03:22+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/#\/schema\/person\/3ebe5fa75888180eb780aad61cb877e8\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/2015\/11\/business-report-tax-saving-tips-for-2015-returns\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/2015\/11\/business-report-tax-saving-tips-for-2015-returns\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/2015\/11\/business-report-tax-saving-tips-for-2015-returns\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Business Report: Tax Saving Tips For 2015 Returns\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/\",\"name\":\"Glens Falls Business Journal\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/#\/schema\/person\/3ebe5fa75888180eb780aad61cb877e8\",\"name\":\"Harry Weinhagen\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/2d428494138ac3660a519319d830a4d3?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/2d428494138ac3660a519319d830a4d3?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Harry Weinhagen\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/author\/harryw\/\"}]}<\/script>\r\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Business Report: Tax Saving Tips For 2015 Returns - Glens Falls Business Journal","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/2015\/11\/business-report-tax-saving-tips-for-2015-returns\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Business Report: Tax Saving Tips For 2015 Returns - Glens Falls Business Journal","og_description":"Debra L. Smith, tax manager with Marvin and Company PC CPAs. BY DEBRA L. SMITH, CPA As the end of the year draws near, there is no better time than the present to begin strategizing about how to effectively...","og_url":"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/2015\/11\/business-report-tax-saving-tips-for-2015-returns\/","og_site_name":"Glens Falls Business Journal","article_published_time":"2015-11-11T20:30:14+00:00","article_modified_time":"2017-11-08T16:03:22+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2015\/11\/marvin202620co20column20-20debra20smith20c.jpg"}],"author":"Harry Weinhagen","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Harry Weinhagen","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/2015\/11\/business-report-tax-saving-tips-for-2015-returns\/","url":"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/2015\/11\/business-report-tax-saving-tips-for-2015-returns\/","name":"Business Report: Tax Saving Tips For 2015 Returns - Glens Falls Business Journal","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/#website"},"datePublished":"2015-11-11T20:30:14+00:00","dateModified":"2017-11-08T16:03:22+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/#\/schema\/person\/3ebe5fa75888180eb780aad61cb877e8"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/2015\/11\/business-report-tax-saving-tips-for-2015-returns\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/2015\/11\/business-report-tax-saving-tips-for-2015-returns\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/2015\/11\/business-report-tax-saving-tips-for-2015-returns\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Business Report: Tax Saving Tips For 2015 Returns"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/","name":"Glens Falls Business Journal","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/#\/schema\/person\/3ebe5fa75888180eb780aad61cb877e8","name":"Harry Weinhagen","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/2d428494138ac3660a519319d830a4d3?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/2d428494138ac3660a519319d830a4d3?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Harry Weinhagen"},"url":"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/author\/harryw\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18270"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/86"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18270"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18270\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":29494,"href":"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18270\/revisions\/29494"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18270"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18270"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18270"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}