Smart Tax Planning Now: 20 Days of Tax Planning Advice for 2013

Nothing is certain except death and taxes. Or to apply these words— written by Benjamin Franklin in a 1789 letter—to advisors and their clients, nothing’s certain except there will be changes to the Internal Revenue Code, including changes to estate planning.

For the third year in a row, the editors at AdvisorOne will present a month’s worth of tax planning tips—there are 20 business days (when the markets are open) in March 2013—to keep you up to date on changes to the IRC. In addition, our intent is to report and write not only on the IRC, Treasury Dept. tax regs and Tax Court rulings, with a big helping hand from our colleagues at Tax Facts Online, but also to present the practices and tax planning strategies followed by your peers: a select group of bloggers and other advisors whom we’ve interviewed and asked to blog on the topic.

We invite you to return to this article as we update the calendar below for 20 Days of Tax Planning Advice for 2013, and to our Tax Planning Advice landing page. For your edification, the full quote from Ben Franklin was “Our Constitution is in actual operation. Everything appears to promise that it will last; but in this world nothing is certain but death and taxes.” Or in the original French—Franklin was writing to a scientist friend in Paris, Jean-Baptiste Leroy—“Notre constitution nouvelle est actuellement établie, tout paraît nous promettre qu’elle sera durable; mais, dans ce monde, il n’y a rien d’assure que la mort et les impôts.”

20 Days of Tax Planning Advice for 2013

Friday, March 1
Are Your Investments Tax Efficient?
Despite Washington’s antics, many of the issues with tax-efficient investing have remained surprisingly constant, David Peterson of United Capital says.
By JOHN SULLIVAN, ADVISORONE 

Monday, March 4
The U.S. Tax System: How Did We Get Here? Pt. 1, the Early Years
In tax season 2013, a look back at the very beginnings of taxation in the U.S., and Americans’ attitudes toward taxes.
By MIKE PATTON

Tuesday, March 5
Top 10 Tax Cheats: the Big, the Bad & the Weird
From the infamous Al Capone to our top choice (you won’t believe what job he held before his conviction), these 10 learned the lesson the hard way—and some learned it repeatedly.
By DAN BERMAN, ADVISORONE

Annuities and Taxes, Pt. 1: Contract Payments
By TAX FACTS ONLINE
What general rules govern the income taxation of payments received under annuity contracts?

Wednesday, March 6
Annuities and Taxes, Pt. 2: Variable Immediate Payments
The Tax Facts Online experts explain the tax implications of receiving a payment through a variable immediate annuity.
By TAX FACTS ONLINE
How are payments under a variable immediate annuity taxed?

Thursday, March 7
IRS Tips to Prevent Identity Theft
According to the National Taxpayer Advocate’s 2012 annual report to Congress, ID theft is mushrooming into a far bigger problem in the tax arena than many taxpayers may suspect.
By MARLENE Y. SATTER, ADVISORONE

Friday, March 8 
New Tax Law, Said to Squelch Giving, Could Actually Boost It
An analysis of the new law as part of the fiscal cliff deal finds that it “has negligible effects on the tax incentive for charitable giving.” In fact, it increases the incentive to give.
By MICHAEL S. FISCHER

Annuities and Taxes, Pt. 3: The Estate Tax
By TAX FACTS ONLINE
What are the estate tax results when a decedent has been receiving payments under an annuity contract?

Monday, March 11
Women and Taxes: Tax Season Gender Gap?
Now that the fiscal cliff deal is a reality, women—whether young, in mid-career or retirement age—can expect to see a few tax rules that will affect them especially.
By JOYCE HANSON

Tuesday, March 12
The U.S. Tax System: How Did We Get Here? Pt. 2, the Middle Years
By MIKE PATTON
From the first U.S. default during the Revolutionary War to the first income tax during the Civil War to the 16th Amendment, taxes have been a source of contention. 

Wednesday, March 13
Health Care and Taxes, Pt. 2: Long-Term Care Insurance
By TAX FACTS ONLINE
The experts at Tax Facts Online discuss whether long-term care insurance premiums are tax deductible.