To take a 2014 charitable donation deduction, the gift must be made by Dec. 31, 2014. According to the IRS, a donation generally is “made” at the time of its “unconditional delivery.” But what does this mean? Is it the date you, for example, write a check or make an online gift via your credit card? Or is it the date the charity actually receives the funds — or perhaps the date of the charity’s acknowledgment of your gift?

The delivery date depends in part on what you donate and how you donate it. Here are a few examples for common donations:

Check. The date you mail it.

Credit card. The date you make the charge.

Pay-by-phone account. The date the financial institution pays the amount.

Stock certificate. The date you mail the properly endorsed stock certificate to the charity.

Many additional rules apply to the charitable donation deduction, so please contact us if you have questions about the deductibility of a gift you’ve made or are considering making. But act soon — you don’t have much time left to make donations that will reduce your 2014 tax bill.

Appreciating investments that don’t generate current income aren’t taxed until sold, deferring tax and perhaps allowing you to time the sale to your tax advantage. Review your year-to-date gains and losses now to see if selling any additional investments by Dec. 31 can reduce your 2014 tax liability.

For example, if you’ve cashed in some big gains during the year, look for unrealized losses in your portfolio and consider selling them to offset your gains. Or if you have net losses, consider selling some appreciated investments, because the losses can absorb the gain. If net losses exceed net gains, you can deduct only $3,000 ($1,500 for married filing separately) of the net losses against ordinary income, though you can carry forward excess losses indefinitely.

If you bought the same investment at different times and prices and want to sell high-tax-basis shares to reduce gain or increase a loss to offset other gains, be sure to specifically identify which block of shares is being sold.

For more ideas on how to reduce taxes on your investments, contact us. We can provide strategies that are right for your situation. But don’t wait — most strategies must be implemented by Dec. 31 to reduce your 2014 tax liability.

If you’re looking to reduce your 2014 tax bill, you may want to consider purchasing a business vehicle before year end. Business-related purchases of new or used vehicles may be eligible for Section 179 expensing, which allows you to expense, rather than depreciate over a period of years, some or all of the vehicle’s cost.

The normal Sec. 179 expensing limit generally applies to vehicles weighing more than 14,000 pounds. The limit for 2014 is $25,000, and the break begins to phase out dollar-for-dollar when total asset acquisitions for the tax year exceed $200,000. These amounts have dropped significantly from their 2013 levels. But Congress may still revive higher Sec. 179 amounts for 2014.

Even when the normal Sec. 179 expensing limit is higher, a $25,000 limit applies to SUVs weighing more than 6,000 pounds but no more than 14,000 pounds. Vehicles weighing 6,000 pounds or less are subject to the passenger automobile limits. For 2014, the depreciation limit is $3,160.

Many additional rules and limits apply to these breaks. So if you’re considering a business vehicle purchase, contact us to learn what tax benefits you might enjoy if you make the purchase by Dec. 31.

Smart timing of deductible expenses can reduce your tax liability, and poor timing can unnecessarily increase it. When you don’t expect to be subject to the alternative minimum tax (AMT) in the current year, accelerating deductible expenses into the current year typically is a good idea. Why? Because it will defer tax, which usually is beneficial.

One deductible expense you may be able to control is your property tax payment. You can prepay (by Dec. 31) property taxes that relate to this year but that are due next year, and deduct the payment on your return for this year. But you generally can’t prepay property taxes that relate to next year and deduct the payment on this year’s return.

Don’t forget that the income-based itemized deduction reduction returned last year. Its impact should be taken into account when considering timing strategies.

Not sure whether you should prepay your property tax bill or what other deductions you might be able to accelerate into 2014? Contact us. We can help you determine what steps to take before year end to reduce your 2014 tax bill.

With the midterm elections now behind us and control of the U.S. Senate set to shift parties in January, it’s time to revisit the valuable tax breaks that expired at the end of 2013. Will the lame-duck 113th Congress revive any of them for 2014? Or will nothing happen until the 114th Congress goes into session after the new year begins?

Here are some of the breaks in question:

• The deduction for state and local sales taxes in lieu of state and localincome taxes,
• Tax-free IRA distributions to charities,
• 100% bonus depreciation,
• Enhanced Section 179 expensing,
• Accelerated depreciation for qualified leasehold improvement, restaurant and retail improvement property,
• The research tax credit,
• The Work Opportunity tax credit, and
• Various energy-related tax incentives.

For you to benefit on your 2014 tax return from any breaks that are revived, you might need to take additional action by Dec. 31. So it’s a good idea to consider what you’d need to do so you can act quickly if applicable breaks are indeed revived. If you have questions about what you can do to prepare, please contact us.

The long-term capital gains rate is 0% for gain that would be taxed at 10% or 15% based on the taxpayer’s ordinary-income rate. If you have loved ones in the 0% bracket, you may be able to take advantage of it by transferring appreciated assets to them. The recipients can then sell the assets at no federal tax cost.

Before acting, make sure the recipients you’re considering won’t be subject to the “kiddie tax.” This tax applies to children under age 19 as well as to full-time students under age 24 (unless the students provide more than half of their own support from earned income).

For children subject to the kiddie tax, any unearned income beyond $2,000 (for 2014) is taxed at their parents’ marginal rate rather than their own, likely lower, rate. So transferring appreciated assets to them will provide only minimal tax benefits.

It’s also important to consider any gift and generation-skipping transfer (GST) tax consequences. For more information on transfer taxes, the kiddie tax or capital gains planning, please contact us. We can help you find the strategies that will best achieve your goals.

Typically, it’s better to defer tax. Here are two timing strategies that can help businesses do this:

1. Defer income to next year. If your business uses the cash method of accounting, you can defer billing for your products or services. Or, if you use the accrual method, you can delay shipping products or delivering services.
2. Accelerate deductible expenses into the current year. If you’re a cash-basis taxpayer, you may make a state estimated tax payment before Dec. 31, so you can deduct it this year rather than next. Both cash- and accrual-basis taxpayers can charge expenses on a credit card and deduct them in the year charged, regardless of when the credit card bill is paid.

But if you think you’ll be in a higher tax bracket next year, consider taking the opposite approach — accelerating income and deferring deductible expenses. This will increase your tax bill this year but can save you tax over the two-year period.

These are only some of the nuances to consider. Please contact us to discuss what timing strategies will work to your tax advantage, based on your specific situation.

A fundamental tax planning strategy is to accelerate deductible expenses into the current year. This typically will defer — and in some cases permanently reduce — your taxes. But there are exceptions. One is if the additional deductions this year trigger the alternative minimum tax (AMT). This is a separate tax system that limits some deductions and doesn’t permit others. Here are some deductions that can be AMT triggers:

• State and local income tax deductions,
• Property tax deductions, and
• Miscellaneous itemized deductions subject to the 2% of adjusted gross income floor, such as investment expenses and unreimbursed employee business expenses.

But deductions aren’t the only things that can trigger the AMT. So can certain income-related items, such as:

• Incentive stock option exercises,
• Tax-exempt interest on certain private activity bonds, and
• Accelerated depreciation adjustments and related gain or loss differences when assets are sold.

Fortunately, with proper planning, you may be able to avoid the AMT, reduce its impact or even take advantage of its lower maxi­mum rate. If you’re concerned about any of these triggers or would like to know what else might trigger the AMT, please contact us. We can help you determine the best strategies for your situation.

If you’re self-employed, you may be able to set up a retirement plan that allows you to make much larger contributions than you could make as an employee. For example, the maximum 2014 employee contribution to a 401(k) plan is $17,500 — $23,000 if you’re age 50 or older. Look at how the limits for these two options available to the self-employed compare:

1. Profit-sharing plan. The 2014 contribution limit is $52,000 — $57,500 if you’re age 50 or older and the plan includes a 401(k) arrangement.

2. Defined benefit plan. This plan sets a future pension benefit and then actuarially calculates the contributions needed to attain that benefit. The maximum future annual benefit toward which 2014 contributions can be made is generally $210,000. Depending on your age, you may be able to contribute more than you could to a profit-sharing plan.

You don’t even have to make your 2014 contributions this year. As long as you set up one of these plans by Dec. 31, 2014, you can make deductible 2014 contributions to it until the 2015 due date of your 2014 tax return. Additional rules and limits apply, so contact us to learn which plan would work better for you.

Are you planning to make charitable donations before year end? Do you own appreciated stock that you’d like to sell, but you’re concerned about the taxhit? Then consider donating it to charity rather than making a cash gift.

Appreciated publicly traded stock you’ve held more than one year is long-term capital gains property. If you donate it, you can both avoid the capital gains taxyou’d pay if you sold the property and deduct its current fair market value.

Let’s say you donate $10,000 of stock that you paid $4,000 for, your ordinary-income tax rate is 33% and your long-term capital gains rate is 15%. If you sold the stock, you’d pay $900 in tax on the $6,000 gain. If you were also subject to the 3.8% net investment income tax (NIIT), you’d pay another $228 in NIIT. By instead donating the stock to charity, you save $4,428 in federal tax($1,128 in capital gains tax and NIIT plus $3,300 from the $10,000 income taxdeduction). If you donated $10,000 in cash, your federal tax savings would be only $3,300.

If you are charitably inclined or would like to minimize taxes related to your investment portfolio, we can help find the strategies that will best achieve your goals.