Tax Tips for High-Income Clients

In our new economy, the number of U.S. millionaires has risen dramatically to 7.1 million households compared to less than half that number just five years ago. While this is good news for the individuals, many of them don't realize the tax bite that they are about to face. What can the tax advisor provide to these individuals to reduce their tax liabilities?

J.P. Morgan [1], Deloitte & Touche [2] and KPMG [3] have several methods to lower the tax bill:

• transfer stock options into a trust when they have a relatively low value;
  
• maximize tax-deferred contributions to retirement plans;
  
• maximize any stock losses;
  
• purchase municipal bonds;
  
• increase charitable contributions, including stock; and
  
• think carefully before cashing in stock to pay for remodeling, education or vacations because the stock could increase to such a level that it would have made more sense to borrow the money instead.