Top
Acknowledgments
Chapter 1: Tax Insanity
Chapter 2: Is It Legal?
Chapter 3: How Our Tax System Works
Chapter 4: Exclusions-Tax-Free Money
A Alternatives to "Earned Income"
1. Hospitalization Premiums
2. Group Life Insurance Premiums
3. Group Legal Services Plans
4. Accident and Health Plans
5. Employee Death Benefits
6. Merchandise Distributed to Employees on Holidays
7. "Expenses of Your Employer"
8. Meals and Lodgings
9. Employee Discounts
10. Workers' Compensation
11. "Cafeteria" Plans and Flexible Spending Accounts
12. Dependent Care Assistance Program
13. Employer Educational Assistance
14. Employee Awards
15. Clergy Housing Allowance
16. Miscellaneous Fringe Benefits
B Donative Items
17. Gifts, Bequests, and Inheritances
18. Scholarships and Fellowships
19. Prizes and Awards
20. Qualified Charitable Distributions (QCDs)
C Investors
21. Interest on State and Municipal Obligations
D Benefits for the Elderly
22. Public Assistance Payments
23. Social Security and Other Retirement Benefits
24. Annuities
25. Sale of Your Home
E Miscellaneous Individual Exclusions
26. Carpool Receipts
27. Damages
28. Divorce and Separation Arrangements
29. Life Insurance
30. Qualified State Tuition (529) Programs
31. Your Home- The Mother of All Tax Shelters!
32. Disabled Veteran Payments
33. Exclusion of Income for Volunteer Firefighters and Emergency Medical Responders
34. Unemployment Benefits
35. Homeowner Security
36. Reimbursed Costs to Parents of Children with Disabilities
37. Wrongful Conviction and Incarceration
38. Restitution Payments
39. Frequent Flier Miles
40. Hurricane Sandy
41. Cancellation of Indebtedness
42. Medicaid Payments for Foster Care of Related Individuals
F Schedule of Excludable Items
Chapter 5: Credits--Dollar-for-Dollar Tax Reductions
A Estimated Tax and Withholding Exemptions
B Credits
43. The earned Income Credit
44. Excess Social Security Tax
45. The Child and Dependent Care Credit
46. Credit for the Elderly or Permanently and Totally Disabled
C Special Credits
47. Work Opportunity Credit (Formerly Targeted Jobs Tax Credit)
48. Welfare to Work Credit
49. Research Tax Credit
50. Orphan Drug Tax Credit
51. Adoption Assistance
52. Hope Scholarship Credit
53. American Opportunity Tax Credit
54. Lifetime Learning Credit
55. Child Tax Credit
56. Disability Credits
57. Health Insurance Credit
58. Saver's Credit
59. Small Employer Credit
60. Electric Vehicle Credit
61. Credit for Residential Energy Efficient Property
62. Energy Saving Home Improvement Credit
63. Hybrid Vehicles Credit
64. Telephone Tax Refund
65. First-Time Home Buyer Credit
66. "Making Work Pay" Tax Credit
67. Plug-in Electric Drive Vehicle Credit
68. Plug-in Electric Vehicle Credit
69. Conversion Kits
70. Treatment of Alternative Motor Vehicle Credit as a Personal Credit Allowed against AMT
71. Small Business Health Insurance Credit
72. Foreign Tax Credit
73. The Premium Tax Credit
Chapter 6: "Above the Line" Deductions
A Deductions for Adjusted Gross Income
74. Trade and Business Deductions
75. Employee Business Expenses of Actors and Other Performing Artists
76. Employee Business Expenses
77. Alimony
78. Interest on Qualified Education Loans
79. Retirement Plan Payments
80. Self-Employment Tax
81. Health Insurance Deduction for Self-Employeds
82. Moving Expenses
83. Clean Fuel Vehicles
84. Deduction for Qualified Higher Education Expenses-Tuition and Fees
85. Legal Fees
86. Classroom Materials
87. Medical Savings Accounts (Archer Medical Savings Accounts)
88. Health Savings Accounts
89. Sales Tax Deduction on Motor Vehicles
Chapter 7: "Below the Line" Deductions
A The Importance of Filing Status
B Tax Planning with Itemized Deductions
90. Medical Expenses
91. Income Taxes
92. Real Property Taxes
93. Personal Property Taxes
94. Interest
95. Mortgage Insurance
96. Charitable Contributions
97. Casualty Losses
98. Theft Losses
99. Miscellaneous Trade and Business Deductions of Employees
100. Job Losses
101. Travel expenses
102. Transportation Expenses
103. Meals and Entertainment Expenses
104. Gifts
105. Reimbursable Employee Business Expenses
106. Educational Expenses
107. Limit on Itemized Deductions
C Schedules of Deductions
108. Medical Deductions
109. Deductible Taxes
110. Charitable Deductions
111. Casualty and Theft Loss Deductions
112. Miscellaneous Deductions
113. Employee Miscellaneous Deductions
114. Investor Deductions
Chapter 8: Traditional Tax Shelters
A Deferral and Leverage
115. Real Estate
116. Fees in Public Real Estate Partnerships
117. Oil and Gas
118. Equipment Leasing
119. Single-Premium Life Insurance
120. Cattle Feeding Programs
121. Cattle Breeding Programs
122. Tax Straddles
123. Art Reproduction
124. Noncash Gift Shelters
125. Municipal Bond Swaps
B How to Analyze a Tax Shelter
126. Getting Out of the Tax Shelter
127. Master Limited Partnerships
128. Abusive Shelters
Chapter 9: Super Tax Shelters
A Family Shifts
129. Unearned Income of Minor Children 409
130. Outright Gifts 413
131. Clifford Trusts 418
132. Interest-Free Loans 418
133. The Schnepper Shelter: Gift Leasebacks 418
134. The Schnepper Deep Shelter 424
135. Family Partnerships 424
136. Family Trusts 425
137. The Schnepper Malagoli Super Shelter 426
138. Employing Members of the Family 428
139. Author’s Delight
B Running Your Own Business
140. Your Home 435
141. Your Car 448
142. Meals and Entertainment 450
143. Travel and Vacation 454
144. Gifts 460
145. Advertising 461
146. Deductible Clothes 461
147. Creative Deductions—Busting the IRS 461
148. Medical Premiums 462
149. Borrowing from Your Company 462
150. Miscellaneous Corporate Advantages
Chapter 10: Investment Planning to Save Taxes
151. Short Sales 475
152. Broad-Based Index Options and Regulated Futures Contracts (RFCs) 476
153. Wash Sales 476
154. Premiums on Taxable and Tax-Exempt Bonds 477
155. Original Issue Discount (OID)—Taxable Bonds 477
156. Original Issue Discount (OID)—Tax-Exempt Bonds 477
157. Market Discount 478
158. Municipal Bond Swaps 478
159. Employee Options—Nonqualified 479
160. Incentive Stock Options 480
161. Year-End Stock Sales 484
162. Fund Strategies 485
163. Dividends 485
164. Tax-Exempt Income 490
165. Old Prices 492
166. Alternative Minimum Tax for Individuals 492
167. U.S. Savings Bond Exclusion 506
168. Madoff Losses 509
169. Collars—Tax Free Lock in Your Gain
Chapter 11: Last-Minute Tax Planning
170. Defer Taxes 512
171. Accelerate Expenses 514
172. Accelerate Special Deductions 515
173. Dependents and Personal Exemptions 515
174. Phase-out of Exemptions 520
175. Timing Strategies 521
176. Retirement Plans 521
177. Individual Retirement Plans (IRAs) 522
178. H.R. 10 or Keogh Plans 522
179. Marital Status 523
180. The Goldinger Deferral
Chapter 12: The Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001
181. Marginal Rate Reductions
A Individual Income Tax Rate Structure
B Phase-out of Restrictions on Personal Exemptions
C Phase-Out of Itemized Deductions
182. Tax Benefits Relating to Children
A Increase and Expand the Child Tax Credit
B Extension and Expansion of Adoption Tax Benefits
C Child Care Credit
183. Marriage Penalty Relief Provisions
A Standard Deduction Marriage Penalty Relief
B Expansion of the 15 Percent Rate Bracket for Married Couples Filing Joint Returns
C Marriage Penalty Relief and Simplification Relating to the Earned Income Credit
184. Education Incentives
A Modifications to the Education IRAs
B Private Prepaid Tuition Programs; Exclusion from Gross Income of Education Distributions from Qualified Tuition Programs
C Exclusion for Employer-Provided Educational Assistance
D Modifications to Student Loan Interest Deduction
E Eliminate Tax on Awards Under the National Health Service Corps Scholarship Program and the F. Edward Herbert Armed Forces Heath Professions Scholarship and Financial Assistance Program
F Deduction for Qualified Higher Education Expenses
185. Pension and Individual Retirement Arrangement Provisions
186. AMT Relief
187. Health Insurance for Self-Employed
188. Income Tax Treatment of Certain Restitution Payments to Holocaust Victims
189. Estate, Gift, and Generation-Skipping Transfer Tax Provisions
A Phase-out and Repeal of Estate and Generation-Skipping Transfer Taxes; Increase in Gift Tax Unified Credit Effective Exemption
B Expand Estate Tax Rule for Conservation Easements
C Modify Generation-Skipping Transfer Tax Rules
D Availability of Installment Payment Relief
190. Sunset
Chapter 13: The Job Creation and Worker Assistance Act of 2002
191. Bonus Depreciation 558
192. Net Operating Losses 558
193. Classroom Materials
194. Electric Vehicle Credit 558
195. Work Opportunity Tax Credit 559
196. Welfare to Work Tax Credit 559
197. Archer Medical Savings Account 559
198. Liberty Zone Benefits
Chapter 14: The Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2003
A Rate Reductions
B The Marriage Penalty
C The Alternative Minimum Tax
D Child Tax Credit
E Dividends/ Capital Gains
F Deduct Your SUV-Election to Expense
Chapter 15: Income Averaging and Hurricane Tax Breaks
Chapter 16: 2006 Tax Reform
A The Tax Increase Prevention and Reconciliation Act of 2005
B The Pension Protection Act of 2006
C Tax Relief and Health Care Act of 2006
Chapter 17: Tax Reform, 2007-2008
A The Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act of 2007
B The New Debt Relief Act
C The Economic Stimulus Act of 2008
D The Heroes Earning assistance and Relief Act of 2008
E The Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008
Chapter 18: 2009 Tax Changes
199. “Making Work Pay” Tax Credit 600
200. Reducing the COBRA Bite 601
201. First-Time Home Buyer Credit Expanded 602
202. American Opportunity Tax Credit 603
203. Energy Credits 604
204. Plug-in Electric
Drive Vehicle Credit205. Plug-in Electric Vehicle Credit 605
206. Conversion Kits 605
207. Treatment of Alternative Motor Vehicle Credit as a Personal
Credit Allowed against AMT 605
208. AMT Patch 606
209. Earned Income Credit 606
210. Child Tax Credit 606
211. Section 529 Plans 606
212. Unemployment Benefits 607
213. Qualified Transportation Benefits 607
214. Estimated Taxes 607
215. Motor Vehicle Sales Tax 607
216. Business Depreciation 608
217. NOL Carrybacks
Chapter 19: More Tax Changes
A The Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment (HIRE) Act of 2010
B The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act
C Small Business Jobs Act of 2010
D The Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010
E American Tax Relief Act of 2012
F Tax Increase Prevention Action of 2014
G The Able Act
H More Changes
Chapter 20: How to Avoid/Survive and IRS Audit
Appendix A: Cost Recovery/Depreciation
Appendix B: Business Use of "Listed Property"
Appendix C: Auto Leases
Index
