Business Mileage Rate Stays The Same

The IRS has announced that the optional mileage allowance for owned or leased autos – including vans, pickups and panel trucks – will remain at 55.5 cents per mile for business travel after 2011. The rate is unchanged from the July 1, 2011, midyear adjustment....

‘Tis The Season: Gifts As A Tax Strategy

Are you planning to make year-end gifts? Every person can give any other person up to $13,000 for 2011 without incurring any gift tax. The annual exclusion amount increases to $26,000 per donee, or recipient, if your spouse consents to gift splitting. Annual exclusion...

Withdrawing College Savings Has Consequences

Anyone who has set up a Section 529 plan to help pay for the education of a family member should be aware of the plight of Timothy Karlen, as described in a recent Tax Court case. Timothy Karlen was experiencing financial difficulties. On Sept. 4, 2008, he took...