Books

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TAX TIPS FOR SMALL BUSINESSES: Savvy Ways For Writers, Photographers, Artists And Other Freelancers To Trim Taxes To The Legal Minimum

YEAR ROUND TAX SAVINGS

Are you one of those millions of Americans who thinks that only the rich can save real money on taxes? Then you haven’t read the 2007 edition of Year Round Tax Savings. This unique, plain-language book covers key changes introduced by recent tax acts. It shows you how people of even modest means can save truly big money on taxes – legally. The brand new edition of this annual tax guide is not a publication that you’ll use only between April 1st and 15th. It teaches you angles to save on taxes throughout the year – so tax saving opportunities are not lost forever in the frantic last minute rush. Learn how to make the continually changing tax laws work for you with this authoritative analysis of scores of major and minor changes. And learn the steps you should take to reduce taxes for this year and even gain a start on future years. In The Advisor, a publication of the National Association of Personal Financial Advisors, book reviewer Penny Marlin wrote: "Year Round Tax Savings is easy to read and well-organized. While it appears that it was written for the end investor, the summary and examples of the nuances of the new tax law can be helpful to planners in advising clients... Block covers the tax waterfront with clear explanations." Law professor James Edward Maule of Villanova University wrote the following in February 2007 on his blog, mauledagain.blogspot.com: In "YEAR ROUND TAX SAVINGS," Julian reminds us that it's time to do tax planning for 2007... This is a useful book. As are his earlier volumes, Julian's newest book is appropriate for people not expertised in tax law, but it also is a handy reference for tax practitioners who service individual clients.

MARRIAGE AND DIVORCE: Savvy Ways For Persons Marrying, Married Or Divorcing To Trim Their Taxes To The Legal Minimum

The 2007 edition of Marriage And Divorce shows everyone, whether single, married, divorced or living together, how to save taxes. This book offers helpful advice for all stages of the relationship and throughout the year, not just when Form 1040 time rolls around. The expanded edition’s lead-off section is “Your Questions/Julian Block’s Answers.” Using the question and answer format, Mr. Block makes many difficult problems simpler by presenting the questions in much the same order in which his clients would ask them. He also answers questions people never think to ask or ask after it’s too late. Persons planning to get hitched need answers to questions like these: “What are we supposed to do about withholding from our paychecks?” “Does the IRS require a woman to pay taxes on engagement gifts if she breaks the engagement?” Married couples want to know: “Should we file joint returns or separate returns?” “Marriage Or Divorce As A Tax Shelter” explains why advancing or postponing the date of a marriage or divorce -- by merely a single day at year's end -- can cost, or save, many tax dollars. There is a section just for couples who plan to divorce. It provides splitting spouses with answers to their questions about the surprisingly complex rules for who gets to claim dependency exemptions for the children (recently revised), home sales and other property transfers, and deductibility of divorce-related legal fees. Law professor James Edward Maule of Villanova University wrote the following in 2006 on his blog, mauledagain.blogspot.com: "Every once in a while something crosses my path through the tax thicket that not only gets my attention but motivates me to share it. This time, it's a book by Julian Block. Julian Block is someone whose name should be recognized by those who read items about taxes in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, Business Week, Money, and the U.S. News and World Report, or who notice his nationally syndicated column, The Tax Advisor. And for those more interested in the visual, he shows up on a variety of television news programs. The reviews in Money and the New York Times suggest it would be make sense to do so as quickly as possible. The book is of interest, of course, to just about everyone over the age of 18. I suggest picking it up as a gift for that newly-engaged couple who probably forgot to add it to their registry of desired gifts."

THE HOME SELLER’S GUIDE TO TAX SAVINGS: Simple Ways For Any Seller To Lower Taxes To The Legal Minimum

The Home Seller’s Guide To Tax Savings shows sellers how to make complex tax rules work for them, not against them. The 2007 edition of the book offers detailed explanations, in language that everyone can understand, of significant changes in how taxes are figured on profits realized from sales of principal residences. The old rules generally allowed sellers to defer taxes on their profits. Previously, there was no ceiling on the amount of gains eligible for deferral. To qualify for the deferral, sellers had to purchase a replacement residence that cost as least as much as the amount received for the one sold. Those rules were scrapped and replaced in 1997. The current rules trim taxes for most sellers, but drastically raise them for many sellers in expensive housing areas. This book aims to provide advice on how to choose and implement tactics that shrink taxes to the legal minimum for sellers with profits above specified amounts. The law permits sellers to “exclude” – meaning they pay no taxes – from income profits of as much as $250,000 for single persons and $500,000 for married couples. But sellers with profits that exceed the exclusion ceilings are liable for taxes. Those $250,000 and $500,000 numbers that seemed so lofty in 1997 have become considerably less impressive. How come? Because properties subsequently have appreciated so spectacularly in lots of places that profits significantly above the exclusion caps have become commonplace, particularly for individuals who have owned their dwellings for lengthy periods. Astronomical prices underscore how important it is for sellers to familiarize themselves with often-overlooked, perfectly legal strategies that enable them to decrease their federal and state tax tabs by many thousands of dollars. No other book for consumers is as detailed and helpful as The Home Seller’s Guide. In fact, books written for attorneys, accountants and other tax professionals are not as detailed, especially in the coverage of co-op apartments. In the November 2006 issue of The Advisor, a publication of The National Association of Personal Financial Advisors, reviewer Leisa Aiken wrote: "If you are seeking information about federal income tax issues for home owners and sellers, The Home Seller's Guide to Tax Savings is a terrific reference. Its detailed yet straight-forward approach is ideal for quickly finding the correct answer to a client's complicated real estate question." Read more... Realtytimes.com, a website for realtors, said the following: "It might be the perfect closing gift for realtors to give to their clients. Julian Block has written an accomplished guide for sellers on how to lower their taxes. No matter what a seller's circumstances, this book is bound to be a helpful guide. While reading about taxes can be nearly as unpleasant as paying them, it's better to take the preventative and curative approaches Block prescribes." Law professor James Edward Maule of Villanova University wrote the following in 2006 on his blog, mauledagain.blogspot.com: "The book is far from a taxpayer's guide to cutting corners and ending up cornered by the IRS. It's a solid, well-organized explanation of the tax rules that apply when someone sells a home. Its numerous examples illustrate almost every possible variation on the home sale theme." Read more...

TRAVEL AND MOVING EXPENSES: How To Take Maximum Advantage Of Every Tax Break The Law Allows

Do you travel for business reasons – say, to see clients or customers or to attend conferences? Moving because of a job change? Travel to obtain medical care from doctors and hospitals or perform volunteer services on behalf of charitable organizations like religious institutions and schools? When Form 1040 time rolls around, lots of perfectly legal travel write-offs are available -- but only for those who are aware of them and how to cash in on them. Use the 2006 edition of Travel And Moving Expenses to get the biggest deductions possible, without running afoul of the Internal Revenue Service.