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New Hampshire offers an Education Tax Credit that allows for certain state taxes to be offset by a credit for making donations to approved scholarship organizations. In 2018 the program was updated so that more taxpayers are eligible for the credit.
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Alyssa Hodges, CPA •

Itemized Deductions have changed considerably due to the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017. Since the standard deduction has nearly doubled, less people than ever before are going to be itemizing deductions. However, if you are right on the cuff, you may be able to implement a tax strategy called “bunching” to continue to take advantage of itemized deductions.

As the end of the year approaches, it is a good time to think of planning moves that will help lower your tax bill for this year and possibly the next.

With the new Tax Cuts and Jobs Act there are many changes to the tax rules for individuals. There are new, lower income tax rates, a substantially increased standard deduction, severely limited itemized deductions and no personal exemptions, an increased child tax credit, and a watered-down alternative minimum tax (AMT), among many other changes. And there's a new deduction for non-corporate taxpayers with qualified business income from pass-through entities.

Today is Giving Tuesday, the day that typically kicks off the charitable giving season. The IRS is able to help you verify that you are donating to qualified organizations, see their recent tax tip to learn more. 

For more information on donations, check out some of our additional blog posts, listed below: 
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This week the IRS released inflation adjustments for the 2019 tax year. 

The standard deduction for married filing jointly taxpayers is increasing $400 to $24,400. It will be $12,200 ($200 increase) and $18,350 ($350 increase) for single and head of household taxpayers, respectively.
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Last week the IRS released Notice 2018-83 which provides cost of living adjustments for retirement plans for 2019. 
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Dana Bull, CPA •

Age 62. The magic age at which you become eligible to start receiving social security benefits. But should you? There are many complexities when it comes to Social Security and understanding the rules for collecting Social Security can help you take advantage of the retirement benefits to which you are entitled. I will outline some of the considerations for when to begin receiving Social Security benefits.
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Janet Choquette, EA •

In reading my blog heading, you may be thinking “Why would I bother to even read this? I have no need to know about Trusts.” Or do you? And my answer would be “YES!“ You should have some basic understanding of the uses of Trusts and whether or not there would be any benefit in creating a Trust at this point in your life. While there are many types of Trusts and several reasons for creating a Trust, a basic understanding of Trusts can be helpful to determine if you should speak to your accountant and/or attorney to assist in planning for the future. As Baby Boomers and early year Generation X’s are now in their 50’s and 60’s, a midlife plan should not only include a medical checkup but a financial one as well. This should include reviewing your future financial situation/needs during your retirement years and any estate planning you may want to consider. And this is where Trusts could come into play.
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Pollyanna King, CPA, MST •

The new tax law is all the buzz for tax advisors. And toddler education is on my mind.
 
That’s because one snip-it of the tax law change is the expanded coverage under 529 plans to help families with planned education expenses. Starting on January 1, 2018 you can have a 529 savings plan with qualified distributions for lower education, such at the elementary or middle school levels. It’s true. 

The Social Security Administration recently released their updated fact sheet for 2019.

The updates include: