For years, life insurance has played a critical role in estate planning, providing a source of liquidity to pay estate taxes and other expenses. Today, the gift and estate tax exemption has climbed to $11.4 million, so estate taxes are no longer a concern for the vast majority of families. But even for nontaxable estates, life insurance continues to offer estate planning benefits.

Did you make large gifts to your children, grandchildren or other heirs last year? If so, it’s important to determine whether you’re required to file a 2018 gift tax return-or whether filing one would be beneficial even if it isn’t required.

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act has made a significant impact-both directly and indirectly-on the destructibility of interest expense. This article explores four categories of non business interest: qualified residence interest, investment interest, qualified student loan interest and personal interest.

If you receive the diagnosis of a terminal illness, likely the last thing on your mind is estate planning. But taking the time now to get your affairs in order can provide you and your family some peace of mind.

Investors willing to make long-term investments in distressed communities now have a powerful tax incentive for doing so: the Qualified Opportunity Zone (QOZ) program, created by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. This article explains the QOZ program and how to make the most of its benefits. A brief sidebar uses a fictional example to explain the potential benefits of investing in a Qualified Opportunity Fund.

A Fannie Mae study found that less than 50% of homeowners age 65 to 69 were mortgage-free in 2015, down 10 percentage points from 2000. This brief article notes that homeowners will probably come out ahead by eliminating their mortgages before they stop working-but not always. The article discusses the pros and cons of paying off mortgages before retirement.

The pass-through entity structure, which includes sole proprietorship, partnerships, S corporations and certain limited liability companies (LLCs), provides owners with some valuable tax benefits, such as avoidance of double taxation and the potential ability to deduct losses from the business on their individual tax returns. But under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), there are some new limitations on deducting business losses. This article looks at the changes in the rules and how they might affect owners of pass-throughs.

Typically, business owners offer raises that recognize employee expertise, accomplishments and loyalty while keeping their pay scales roughly in line with those offered by other firms in their industries and geographic locations. A business might want to regard specific employees who’ve made contributions to the company, but it will also want to maintain a level of equity with other worker’s compensation- while at the same time keeping payroll costs in line. This article explains how businesses can balance these competing goals by taking such steps as standardizing the criteria they use to determine raises and setting up a raise schedule.

Taxpayers filing their 2018 tax returns on the new Form 1040 should expect to see some big differences-not just in the form itself, but also in their bottom lines. This year’s return will reflect changes made by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), and for many families the act will live up to its name. But not everyone will enjoy a tax cut-some households may see their tax bills go up. This article discusses some of the ramifications of the TCJA for families.