Doug Thorburn's Wealth Creation Strategies

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Important note: Information in these articles were deemed accurate by the author when written. The state of the art or law may have changed since the publication date. You must seek your own counsel to determine whether the law or its interpretation has changed, as well as the appropriate application to you and your situation of the information and ideas contained in these articles.

1. When is mortgage interest deductible--and when isn't it? (p. 6-7, Summer 09)
2. Other 2009 tax changes, including a CA stunner for dependents (p. 3, Summer 09)
3. What Tax Bracket Am I In? Part 3: A Focus on Low Income Earners (Fall 07)
4. What Tax Bracket Am I In? Part 2: A Focus on Social Security Recipients (Summer 07)
5. Marriage Tax Penalties for Social Security Recipients (Summer 07)
6. Kiddie Tax Hits 23-Year-Olds (Summer 07)
7. Lose Your Home to Foreclosure, Pay Tax on a Gain. Huh? (Summer 07)
8. What Tax Bracket Am I In? (Spring-Summer 07)
9. Teens Become Subject to the Kiddie Tax (Summer-Fall 06)
10. The Tax Cost of Living in California v. Other States (May-Jun 06)
11. Is it deductible? Yes. How much tax will it save? Zero. (May-Jun 06)
12. Adjusting Tax Thresholds for Inflation (May-Jun 06)
13. Tax and Financial Myths of the Month (Jan-Apr 06)
14. There's Hope: The AMT Hits a Senator (Oct-Sep 05)
15. Income Averaging: Making the best of a low income year (Jul-Aug 05)
16. Turbotax vs. the Tax Professional: When the right tax is the wrong decision (Jul-Aug 05)
17. The Alternative Minimum Tax and You (Jan-Apr 04)
18. Huge Percentage Increase in Tax Hits California (Jan-Apr 04)
19. Bunching Deductions (Nov-Dec 03)
20. Capital Gains and Losses (Nov-Dec 03)
21. Withdraw from Pension, Roll to Roth (Nov-Dec 03)
22. Real Tax Brackets: Not the Advertised Ones (Mar-Jun 03)
23. No Indexing = Higher Hidden Taxes (Mar-Jun 03)
24. Who Pays Income Tax? (Mar-Jun 03)
25. Letters to Doug (shifting and smoothing taxable income) (Nov-Dec 02)
26. The Importance of Informing Us About Substantial Changes in Income or Deductions (May-Jun 02)
27. The Ups and Downs of Tax Deferred Annuities (May-Jun 02)
28. Russia Would Put Doug Out of Business (May-Jun 02)
29. Withholding the Right Amount: More Challenging Than Ever (May-Jun 02)

1. Making Work Pay (pp. 3-4, Winter 10)
2. Auto donations no more: the case of Kars4Kids (pp. 5-6, Winter 10)
3. Avoiding underestimated tax penalties for Californians (pp. 4-5, Fall 09)
4. Energy, education, homebuyer, auto sales tax and bonus depreciation credits and deductions (pp. 1-2, Summer 09)
5. Sell a profitable mutual fund, take a tax loss (p. 2, Spring 09)
6. Mining inherited stocks and real estate for tax losses (p. 4, Spring 09)
7. How to deduct losses in Roth IRAs (but be careful!) (p. 5, Spring 09)
8. Why a Health Savings Account May be Better than an IRA (Winter 07-08)
9. No More Deductions for Undergarments (Summer-Fall 06)
10. Avoiding Underestimated Tax Penalties (Summer-Fall 06)
11. Energy Conservation (Jan-Apr 06)
12. Business Mileage Rates and Year-End Planning Opportunities (Nov-Dec 05)
13. Health Savings Accounts: A Paradigm Shift in Health Care (Feb-Apr 05)
14. Sales Tax Deduction Revived...Sort Of (Dec 04-Jan 05)
15. "SUV Deduction" Gone...Partly (Dec 04-Jan 05)
16. New Tax Laws to Complicate Your Life (Dec 04-Jan 05)
17. Tax Free Gains on Main Home (Dec 04-Jan 05)
18. Charitable Donations of Autos Goes Away (Dec 04-Jan 05)
19. "Use Tax:" Sales Tax for Internet Purchases (Dec 04-Jan 05)
20. Year-End and Upcoming Tax Season Tips (Nov-Dec 03)
21. Kinder, Gentler Monolith (incl. Update on Home Office Rules (Sep-Oct 03)
22. Marriage Penalties: 1-1/2 Down, 24-1/2 to Go (Sep-Oct 03)
23. A Mess for Divorcing Couples: Who Gets the Tax Benefits for Children? (Sep-Oct 03)
24. Withholding Will Change, but Don’t Change Your W-4 (Jul-Aug 03)
25. New Federal Income Tax Rates (Jul-Aug 03)
26. Taxes on Capital Gains and Dividends Plummet (Jul-Aug 03)
27. Tax Cuts for Everyone (how much of a cut is it really?) (Jul-Aug 03)
28. Tax System Run Amok (an array of tax credits) (Jul-Aug 03)
29. The Importance of Reporting All Your Income (Jul-Aug 03)
30. Weight Loss Programs May be Deductible (Mar-Jun 03)
31. New 30% Depreciation Allowance for Business and Rental Property Owners (Mar-Jun 03)
32. “So, What’s Deductible?” Cat Food? (Jan-Feb 03)
33. Office-in-Home Deductions (Sep-Oct 02)
34. Business Gifts: When a Gift is Not a Gift (Sep-Oct 02)
35. Charitable Donations of Automobiles: Fad Goes Mainstream (Sep-Oct 02)
36. Selling, Trading or Giving Away a Vehicle Used for Business (Sep-Oct 02)
37. Letters to Doug (lower tax states and incorporating for the young entrepreneur) (Sep-Oct 02)
    

1. You don't need to pay a mail scammer to have your property taxes reduced (pp. 5-6, Fall 09)
2. How do Alcoholics Get Away with Financially Abusing Others? (Winter 07-08)
3. Elders are Subjected to Financial Abuse via Lunch Seminars (Winter 07-08)
4. Other Recent Scams -- Annuities, LLCs and Nigerians (Winter 07-08)

1. A quartet of books make sense of the financial crisis and show how to protect what you have (pp. 1-3, Winter 10)
2. The Wealth of Individuals Part 6: buy and hold is not forever (pp. 4-5, Winter 10)
3. Amazing quotes on the FHA, crony capitalism and more (pp. 6, Winter 10)
4. How much bigger was this real estate bubble than the last one? (p. 8, Fall 09)
5. My favorite financial blogs and sites (p. 6, Fall 09)
6. The Wealth of Individuals Part 5: Cash can be King (pp. 3-4, Fall 09)
7. If you buy a timeshare, buy a USED timeshare (pp. 1-2, Fall 09)
8. The Wealth of Individuals Part 4: assessing one's tolerance for risk (p. 1, Spring 09)
9. The wealth of individuals Part 3: investments move in "spurts." Above all, avoid losses (Winter 08-09)
10. An Austrian school of economics perspective on the crash (Winter 08-09)
11. The Wealth of Individuals Part 2: Why Low Taxes on the "Rich" is Good for the "Upwardly Mobile" (Fall 08)
12. Crony Capitalism—Not Free Markets—Caused the Economic Catastrophe (Fall 08)
13. Eight Reasons a Bottom in Real Estate Eludes Us (Summer 08, page 5)
14. The Wealth of Individuals: Why Avoiding Debt, Stability and Starting to Save Earlier Rather Than Later are Essential to Long Term Wealth Creation (Summer 08)
15. Reverse Mortgages: An Expensive Last Resort (Winter 07-08)
16. Real Estate Succumbs to a Perfect Storm (Fall 07)
17. Requiem for a Bubble: Unsold Inventory Skyrockets (Summer 07)
18. Lose Your Home to Foreclosure, Pay Tax on a Gain. Huh? (Summer 07)
19. How Should I Take Title to Property? (Winter 06-07)
20. The Real Cost of Dinner (Summer-Fall 06)
21. Real Estate Chills (Summer-Fall 06)
22. Debunking the Myths of Home Prices (Summer-Fall 06)
23. The Power of Compound Growth in a Postage Stamp (Jan-Apr 06)
24. The Real Estate Bubble, Part lV (Nov-Dec 05)
25. More Indication of a Bubble (Nov-Dec 05)
26. The Pros and Cons of Investing in Land (Nov-Dec 05)
27. The Real Estate Bubble, Part III (Oct-Sep 05)
28. Froth in the Real Estate Market (Jul-Aug 05)
29. California Real Estate Prices May Be Peaking (Oct-Nov 04)
30. The Stock Market Bubble Returns (Jul-Aug 03)
31. Letters to Doug (what caused the stock market bubble?) (Mar-Jun 03)
32. Letters to Doug (should you sell despite a huge tax liability?) (Jan-Feb 03)
33. What Caused the Stock Market Collapse? (Nov-Dec 02)
34. Markets, Psychology and Real Estate (Nov-Dec 02)
35. Barely Back Inside the Box: Overvaluation Extremes (Sep-Oct 02)
36. The Blame Game (Jul-Aug 02)

1. Year-End Reminders (Fall 07)
2. Prevent Tax Tragedy: Call Us Before You Act! (Summer 07)
3. The Importance of Getting Your Tax Info to us Early (Spring-Summer 07)
4. Who Are You? (Spring-Summer 07)
5. When am I Obligated to Pay for City Business Licenses? (Winter 06-07)
6. New Rules for Registered Domestic Partnerships (Winter 06-07)
7. Plan for Income Changes in November (Feb-Apr 05)
8. Telecommunications Checklist Addendum for '04 (Dec 04-Jan 05)
9. Notes From Doug (report on Doug’s work in the field of alcoholism) (Sep-Oct 03)
10. Tax Season Potpourri (on informing us of changes, why our fees change and timely information for IRAs) (Jul-Aug 03)
11. Don’t Send the Kitchen Sink! (Jan-Feb 03)
12. Should We Just Put You on Extension? (Jan-Feb 03)
13. Extensions and First Quarterly Estimates (Jan-Feb 03)
14. Last Minute Extensions and IRAs (Jan-Feb 03)
15. Your Local Theater (Sep-Oct 02)
16. Mammoth Beckons (Jul-Aug 02)
17. Electronic Filing (May-Jun 02)
18. Caller ID and Call Blocking: Friends and Foes (May-Jun 02)

1. Simplified Recordkeeping Simplified (Fall 07)
2. When am I Obligated to Pay for City Business Licenses? (Winter 06-07)
3. City of Los Angeles Business Tax (Dec 04-Jan 05)
4. An Update on Record Keeping (Jan-Apr 04)
5. 1099 Filings for Business and Income Property Owners (Jan-Feb 03)
6. Reporting New Subcontractors During the Year (Jan-Feb 03)

1. Letters to Doug (control over investments vs. disbursal) (Jan-Feb 03)
2. Education, Deductions, Credits and Tax Free Growth (Nov-Dec 02)

Political Comments

2. A quartet of books make sense of the financial crisis and show how to protect what you have (pp. 1-3, Winter 10)
3. Amazing quotes on the FHA, crony capitalism and more (pp. 6, Winter 10)
4. Why we are doomed to repeat history: the myths of the Great Depression and the cause of unemployment (p. 8, Fall 09)
5. More thoughts on the economy and why things could get ugly (pp. 7-8, Fall 09)
6. CA once again says "to hell with the job creators" (pp. 4-5, Fall 09)
7. Thoughts on the economic mess and why things could worsen (pp. 7-8, Summer 09)
8. CA increases taxes at a rate FAR greater than inflation and population growth (pp. 4-5, Summer 09)
9. Sophisticated government officials make egregious errors. Are some people more equal than others? (p. 6, Spring 09)
10. Dear Barack (Fall 08)
11. Dear John (Fall 08)
12. Medical Care: Government Regulations are the Problem; a Free Market with Choice and Competition is the Cure (Sum-Fall 08)
13. How Lower Taxes Raise Tax Collections (Winter 06-07)
14. Eliminate--or Severely Curtail--the Estate Tax (Winter 06-07)
15. The "Meathead" Tax: Universal Pre-School at What Price (May-Jun 06)
16. A Flat Tax (Jan-Apr 06)
17. Interstate Telecommuters Face an Appalling Tax (Jan-Apr 06)
18. Oil and the Enabling of Despots (Nov-Dec 05)
19. Death and Taxes (Oct-Sep 05)
20. Health Savings Accounts: A Paradigm Shift in Health Care (Feb-Apr 05)
21. Principled Voting (Oct-Nov 04)
22. 2004 Election, Iraq and Gridlock (Oct-Nov 04)
23. The California Election (Nov-Dec 03)
24. The LA Times and the Election (Nov-Dec 03)
25. Coping with the High Cost of Medical Care (Jan-Apr 04)
26. Tough Love for California Government (Jan-Apr 04)
27. Doug’s Ideal Flat Tax (Sep-Oct 03)
28. Privatize Iraq’s Oil (Sep-Oct 03)
29. North Korea (Sep-Oct 03)
30. California in the Charts (Sep-Oct 03)
31. Total Recall (Sep-Oct 03)
32. The Politics of Envy (expanding the child tax credit) (Jul-Aug 03)
33. The Real Story of Thanksgiving (Nov-Dec 02)

1. Contribution history can be essential when withdrawing from Roth IRAs (p. 5, Spring 09)
2. Traditional-to-Roth conversions can be a great strategy even for Social Security recipients (Winter 08-09)
3. Why an IRA Can be the Best Savings Vehicle (Summer 08, chart top of page 4)
4. Why a Health Savings Account May be Better than an IRA (Winter 07-08)
5. How are Social Security Benefits Taxed? (Summer 07)
6. New Roth IRA Strategy for High-Income Earners (Winter 06-07)
7. New Charitable Giving via IRA for the Elderly Strategy (Winter 06-07)
8. Low-Income Savers Retirement Credit Made Permanent (Winter 06-07)
9. When NOT to Contribute to a 401-(k) (Summer-Fall 06)
10. Avoiding Social Security Tax (Summer-Fall 06)
11. I Can't Contribute to My Roth IRA Because... (May-Jun 06)
12. The Power of Compound Growth in an Inherited IRA (Jan-Apr 06)
13. Real Estate for Your IRA (Jan-Apr 06)
14. Roth 401(k)s and 403(b)s Available in 2006 (Oct-Sep 05)
15. Tax Myth-of-the-Month: "A Roth IRA is Almost Always Better than a Traditional IRA" (Oct-Sep 05)
16. Income Averaging: Making the Best of a Low Income Year (Jul-Aug 05)
17. Health Savings Accounts: A Paradigm Shift in Health Care (Feb-Apr 05)
18. Retirement Plan Annual Limits '04 & '05 (Feb-Apr 05)
19. IRA Arbitrage: Earn 25% on Your “Investment” (Sep-Oct 03)
20. Roths for Everyone—Even the Low Income (Jul-Aug 03)
21. Roth IRA Close-Outs (and deduct the loss) (Jul-Aug 03)
22. Letters to Doug (Roth IRAs and gambling) (Sep-Oct 02)
23. Letters to Doug (unstoppable Medicare taxes) (Sep-Oct 02)
24. Positive Changes in Retirement Plans for the Self-Employed and Small Corporations (Jul-Aug 02)
25. Gambling and Roth IRAs (Jul-Aug 02)
26. Traditional vs. Roth IRAs Revisited: 401-Ks, Roths, or Pay Off Debt? (Jul-Aug 02)
27. New Low Income Pension “Savers Credit” Trickier Than We Thought (Jul-Aug 02)
28. New Mandatory Minimum Withdrawals: Less Than Ever (Jul-Aug 02)
29. The Greatest Ponzi Scheme Ever (Jul-Aug 02)
30. Social Security Maximum Wage Base Increases at a Rate Far Greater Than Inflation (Jul-Aug 02)

1. Should you refinance? Sometimes you should, even if you think you shouldn't (pp. 6-7, Summer 09)
2. The New Bankruptcy Law: An End to Spending as We Know It (Oct-Sep 05)
3. Misleading Financial Advertisements: "Cash Call" and the "HMS Capital Loan" (Oct-Sep 05)
4. Equity Enhancement Programs (Nov-Dec 03)
5. Should You Pay Your Mortgage Off or Just Pay it Down? (Jul-Aug 02)
6. Traditional vs. Roth IRAs Revisited: 401-Ks, Roths, or Pay Off Debt? (Jul-Aug 02)

1. Recent Success Stories from Tax Season and Audit Representation (Jul-Aug 05)
2. New TCMP-Like Audits (May-Jun 02)
3. Tax Evasion With Offshore Bank Accounts (May-Jun 02)