Tax Tips: Strategies for Saving Money on your 2008 Return
Lee Rosenberg, CFP | March 20th, 2009
With the down market in 2008, you might have sold off some of your losses. Did you know:
1. You can offset your losses against any capital gains dollar for dollar. In addition, you can write off $3000 against ordinary income, with the balance carried forward until it is used in subsequent years ( the only time you get the additional $3000 is if you have unused losses). And don’t forget, worthless stocks and bad debts can also be claimed as capital losses.
2. With IRAs, you can continue contributing for the 2008 tax year until April 15, 2009
3. Other retirement plan contributions such as business plans can extend to the filing date of the business return, or October 15, 2009.These would include SEPs, simple IRAs, Keogh plans or personal retirement plans. This does not extend to 401ks or 403bs.
4. If you own a business and lost money in 2008, there is a new law which entitles you to offset those losses by reclaiming the income taxes on profits you paid in 2006 and 2007 and get a refund.
And just as a reminder, if you have a long term care policy, these are deductible on a sliding scale based on your age. Also, there is a tax-free payout under these policies that reaches $280/day in 2009.
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Tags: april 15 taxes, lee rosenberg, news laws for 09, personal finance, tax, tax law, tax planning, tax refund, tax strategies, tax tips
About the Author: Lee Rosenberg is the Co-founder of ARS Financial Services, Inc. As a Certified Financial Planner with more than 34 years of solid financial expertise. Lee is a registered representative of Cadaret, Grant & Co., Inc. He was also named one of the top 25 Independent Financial Advisers in the US by Rep magazine.
