This is a challenge, as something as big as your taxes should not be left for last minute for planning. My take on the end of the year is that you should be planning now for how you can do better next year and putting the actions into place to achieve better results. However, there are some things to be aware of as the year comes to a close that will impact the current year’s taxes. The key concept to each of these ideas is timing. Timing really is everything! Capital Gains can be a big issue...

Business One: “Fred” is a skilled electrician. He worked 20 years for the same company, and one day realized that he was getting paid $20 per hour but was billing $80 an hour for his time. “This is unfair!” he thought, so he decided to sit for the contractor’s license exam and open his own business. He had $10,000 saved up, and he knew that he would be able to get clients the same way his boss did very easily. The first year, “Fred” focused all his time and energy on getting clients and doing t...