Providing Tax ‘Alpha’ to Your Clients: 21 Days of Tax Planning Advice

Even if you aren't a CPA or prepare tax filings for your clients, it's important that you know enough about the federal tax code and what the tax court has ruled and how each state is treating, say, same-sex couples, to help guide your clients and make sure their tax preparer is up to speed. Beyond just maximizing deductions and exemptions and minimizing clients' annual tax bills, many smart advisors also ask to see clients' 1040s and accompanying schedules to get a more holistic view of those clients' total financial picture (surprise; many clients have other advisors!).

There are always moves in Washington to reform the tax code. For example, Sen. Ron Wyden, chair of the Senate Finance Committee, has proposed a series of reforms, as has House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Dave Camp, but it's unclear whether those plans will bear fruit this year, and past reforms have often made the IRC more unwieldy, not less. Will the current Congress cap the charitable tax deduction (unlikely)? Will 'carried interest' feel the wrath of the reformers? That's one of Camp's suggestions. We'll monitor the proposals, but for the moment, you've got enough on your tax planning plate.