Important Times to Seek Assistance

Article Highlights

• When to seek professional assistance 
• Examples of times where tax saving moves can be made 

Waiting for your regular appointment to discuss current tax-related issues can create problems or cause you to miss out on beneficial options that need to be timely exercised before year-end. Generally, you should call this office any time you have a substantial change in taxable income or deductions. By doing so, we can advise you about how to optimize your tax liability, avoid or minimize penalties, estimate and pre-pay required taxes, document deductions, and examine and explore tax options. You should call this office if you or your spouse:

• Receive a large employee bonus or award 
• Become unemployed 
• Change employment 
• Take an unplanned withdrawal from an IRA or other pension plan 
• Retire or are contemplating retirement 
• Move or otherwise change your address 
• Exercise an employee stock option 
• Have significant stock gains or losses 
• Get married 
• Separate from or divorce your spouse 
• Sell or exchange a property or business 
• Experience the death of a spouse during the year 
• Turn 70½ during the year 
• Increase your family size through birth or adoption of a child 
• Start a business or acquire a rental property 
• Receive a substantial lawsuit settlement or award 
• Get lucky at a casino, lotto, or game show and receive a W-2G 
• Plan to donate property worth $5,000 ($500 if a vehicle) or more to a charity 
• Plan to gift more than $14,000 to any one individual during the year 

In addition, you should call whenever you receive a notice from the government related to your tax return. You should never respond to a notice without first checking with this office.

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