Miami Shoot Magazine

Ken Mahoney

Business, Financial, MSM Online

Top 5 Items People Totally Forget To Tax Deduct

                  By Nadja Atwal Who is surprised that most people get on their tax returns during the last 3 weeks of the deadline. But if you are the last minute type, it’s okay – as long as you the smart type. Now when it comes to being smart with money, who better to ask than one of TV’s favorite money experts, asset manager Ken Mahoney. Between his market analysis on all the top TV and radio business shows and his signings of his latest bestselling book “ Life on your terms”, we caught Ken just in time to give us his  top 5 list of items people totally forget to tax deduct. 1. State sales taxes This write-off makes sense primarily for those who live in states that do not impose an income tax. You must choose between deducting state and local income taxes, or state and local sales taxes. For most citizens of income-tax states, the income tax deduction usually is a better deal. The IRS has tables for residents of states with sales taxes showing how much they can deduct. But the tables aren’t the last word. If you purchased a vehicle, boat or airplane, you get to add the state sales tax you paid to the amount shown in IRS tables for your state, to the extent the sales tax rate you paid doesn’t exceed the state’s general sales tax rate. The same goes for home building materials you purchased. These items are easy to overlook. The IRS even has a calculator to help you figure out the deduction, which varies by your state and income level. 2. Out-of-pocket charitable contributions It’s hard to overlook the big charitable gifts you made during the year by check or payroll deduction. But the little things add up, too, and you can write off out-of-pocket costs you incur while doing good deeds. Ingredients for casseroles you regularly prepare for a nonprofit organization’s soup kitchen, for example, or the cost of stamps you buy for your school’s fundraiser count as a charitable contribution. If you drove your car for charity in 2016, remember to deduct 14 cents per mile. 3. Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit A tax credit is so much better than a tax deduction—it reduces your tax bill dollar for dollar. So missing one is even more painful than missing a deduction that simply reduces the amount of income that’s subject to tax. But it’s easy to overlook the child and dependent care credit if you pay your child care bills through a reimbursement account at work. Until a few years ago, the child care credit applied to no more than $4,800 of qualifying expenses. The law allows you to run up to $5,000 of such expenses through a tax-favored reimbursement account at work. Now, however, up to $6,000 can qualify for the credit, but the old $5,000 limit still applies to reimbursement accounts. So if you run the maximum $5,000 through a plan at work but spend more for work-related child care, you can claim the credit on up to an extra $1,000. That would cut your tax bill by at least $200. 4. Medical and Dental Expenses If your medical and/or dental expenses are over 10% of your Adjusted Gross Income, or if you are over 65, they are 7.5%, over you AGI, it’s deductible. 5. Job search Expense Transportation, parking, tolls, preparing your resume, printing, agency fees are also all tax deductible. Plus, the annoying items we wish we could 1. Donations to Non-Qualifying Charities, like friends and family Giving to a good cause can help you out at tax time, but only if you’re making a donation to a qualified charity. Handing out cash to a friend or relative who’s struggling to find a job, for example, is certainly charitable. But it won’t help you score a tax break. 2. Pet Care Expenses Fluffy may seem like a member of the family. But that doesn’t mean you can claim him as a dependent or get a deduction for his day-to-day care. 3. Commuting Expenses While business-related travel expenses (including the cost of flights and hotel stays) may be deductible, ordinary commuting expenses are not. If you take a bus, taxi or subway to get to work each day, you can’t deduct those costs on your tax return as business expenses. You may be eligible for a deduction, however, if you’re paying to travel to a training session or conference held outside of your office. 4. The Loss on the Sale of your home A capital loss on the sale of your home, used by you as your personal residence at the time of sale is considered a nondeductible personal expense. You can only deduct losses on the sale of property used for business or investment purposes. The only way you can obtain a deduction if you sell your home at a loss is to convert it to a rental property before you sell it. However, your deductible loss will be limited 5. Home Improvement Expenses Home improvement expenses generally aren’t deductible. One exception involves the renovations you make to a home office. Not everyone can take the home office deduction. But if you have a legitimate reason for claiming it, you may be able to deduct the cost of any upgrades you’ve made to your home office. While you can’t qualify for a deduction for giving your kitchen a makeover or adding a new sunroom, these projects may raise your property value. If that happens, you can write off the additional property taxes that you have to pay. www.kenmahoney.com  

Business, Financial, The Issue

My Miami: Ken Mahoney

Ken Mahoney is the current star and face of financial advising. The Founder and CEO of Mahoney Asset Management in New York is known for his “outside of the box” ideas and creative approach to the financial market. That’s why he’s not only a highly sought-after guest expert on typical business shows and channels where he frequently gives us more insight into the swinging moods of the Dow Jones Industrial Average and NASDAQ. We also see him on programs, such as the TODAY show, where he educates viewers on various topics like turning your own junk into cash, for example. Since diversity is increasingly becoming a key ingredient in successful careers, Ken himself followed his own advice and branched out into his passion of Broadway. Today, he is not just a Broadway-lover but also a Tony Award winning producer! The happily married father of two boys is a true embodiment of the term “business meets pleasure” and views Miami as the perfect place for both family and business trips. When in Miami you can catch me… Taking a walk in the early morning on South Beach and Ocean Drive. I’ll spontaneously pop into a restaurant, like The Front Porch Cafe, for great breakfast and be entertained by people watching. The biggest misconception about Miami is… That it’s just the “hustle and bustle” of a big city. It can be at times, but the nearby ocean and the picturesque Art Deco District in the area can encourage people to stop and smell the roses. The last restaurant I enjoyed in Miami was… KLIMA Restaurant and Bar. It is simply outstanding spanish cuisine; plus, my wife and I enjoy the low-key atmosphere. We order a number of tapas to try a little of everything and I get to practice speaking Spanish, which is “un poco” [laughs]. What surprised me most about Miami was… That Miamians are really into their sports, especially the Miami Heat! But also the Miami Dolphins and Miami Marlins. When you speak to Miami natives, they usually jump right into their sport teams. Also, the architecture and Art Deco District being so close to the ocean is very beautiful. And the colors… my God, the colors! Aside from the weather, the best reason to return to Miami is… The vibe. I truly believe Miami invented the idea of “work hard, play hard.” People are so happy, warm and friendly. They accept you even though you’re there for a short stay. You feel so welcomed to come back. The first time I became really curious about Miami was… Do I need to share my age? [Laughs]. The Miami Sound Machine and the great opening theme of Miami Vice–including Jan Hammer’s amazing musical theme, of course. What happens in Miami stays in Miami…and in MSM. Any secret or funny moment you‘d like to share about you and this city? I was in traffic and noticed all the cars getting off an exit, so I figured “when in Rome…” I got off the exit earlier than I expected, and in hopes of skipping the accident ahead, I followed the car in front of me, figuring he would navigate us through local roads. The next thing you know, he pulled into his driveway! I pulled over and said I was not stalking him, but was expecting to follow him back to the highway. With that, he jumped back into his car and brought me back to the highway, with plenty of laughs. That is the kindness of Miami people! Click here to view this post in the September/October 2015 digital issue Click here to view the online issue

Business, Financial, MSM Online

Tips for Retirement Planning by Ken Mahoney Author of ‘Can I Retire?’

From Ken Mahoney “Age is an issue of mind over matter. If you don’t mind, it doesn’t matter.” – Mark Twain There really is a new way to look at retirement.  When our parents’ generation retired, they retired for good. They may have retired at 62 and passed away at 66.  Today, we are living longer, healthier lives. Our parents and grandparents were also part of the manufacturing generation.  They had to work very hard and the body could only last for so many years.  Today, we have transitioned into a service economy where people can work much longer. It’s not uncommon to see people work in their 80’s and 90’s. Now enter ‘serial retirement’ — a name I came up with for those who have several retirements in their lifetime. The fact is, most retirees do not have a plan to go back to work, but after a year or so, some get itchy to do something. I have seen retirees call it quits at 60, then at 62 go back to help a son’s/daughter’s business for a few years, retire again, a year later get involved in a small business and repeat. I have had clients retire 3 or 4 times with this ‘serial retirement’. I am not suggesting you have to do this, just be aware that many people are doing this now.  However, their 2nd ‘act’ is something they love doing and happen to get paid for it. In my last book, Can I Retire?, I talked about how a lot of people are still really unsure about when they can retire and what they need to make it happen.  Most people spend a long time just being upset and worrying about the mere thought of retirement.  Some people even told me they’d wake up in a sweat wondering whether they’ll ever have enough money to support them through their retirement years. The only real answer to that question is a projection – working out your income in the future; looking at your assets and how you could draw income from those assets.   Saving for retirement is one of the most important tasks you will undertake in your adult life. This book aims to help you achieve this goal by showing you how you can effectively work with your assets and make the most of your years before and after retirement. While retirement used to be considered by many as the final stage of their lives, it’s actually just the beginning of a new stage of your life. This new stage in life should bring fulfillment. Maybe it’s time for you to travel to places that you’ve never before had the time or means to visit, or indulge in hobbies that were impossible to enjoy because of time restraints. (Please ask about our companion workbook that covers this topic in great detail). Maybe you’ll even think of it as an opportunity to spend longer hours with your family and friends. Most likely, though, it’s a combination of all of these things. What retirement should NOT be is a time for worrying about whether or not you can afford travelling to all those places you’ve always wanted to visit, enjoying that hobby you never had time for before, or worst of all, being unsure of whether or not you can afford to retire and live comfortably.  Whether we like to admit it or not, money is just as important during retirement as it is during your working life—maybe even more so actually, since you will no longer have a regular stream of income coming in from your job. I’m not saying that your income is supposed to stop. On the contrary, by the time you finish reading this book you should have a clear-cut plan as to what you want to do with your life after retirement, including a plan to have various sources of income so that you can enjoy this stage of your life. By planning ahead, you can ensure that you are financially able to have the lifestyle you want. By considering your goals and your potential financial resources, you’ll be giving yourself the best possible chance of succeeding. If you are one of the 76 million baby boomers that have recently retired, or soon will, the odds are good that your prime earning years are already behind you, or will be soon. So now it’s time to focus your financial planning on the distribution years.   The best thing about having a well-thought out plan for your future is that it gives you the luxury of enjoying today and feeling secure that your retirement years are being provided for. It’s about being able to strike a balance between living for today and preparing for tomorrow. “The willingness and ability to live fully in the now eludes many people. While eating your appetizer, don’t be concerned with dessert.” – Dr. Wayne Dyer A recent study shows that people spend more time planning their own one-week vacation than they do planning for their retirement. Isn’t that crazy? It’s true!  People spend more time planning vacations, getting on the Internet, browsing sites like Tripadvisor.com, speaking to/Facebooking their friends, really planning out a nice itinerary, places they want to see, restaurants they want to go to, sites they want to visit.  Yet, they don’t have the same enthusiasm when it comes to planning for retirement. Why? After all, what is retirement if not a very long vacation?  I think planning for your vacation is definitely a smart thing to do, having your days planned out and leaving some time out for spontaneity when it comes to a vacation. I haven’t met anyone who doesn’t enjoy planning his or her vacations; it’s a fun activity.   Yet when it comes to retirement planning, people get the heebie jeebies.  They don’t want to sit down and plan it, or even think about it, because they are scared.  Why not focus that same enthusiasm, that same excitement of planning a vacation on their retirement planning? I always tell people to start off with your destination.

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