Megan Hughes's blog

One of the topics we discussed briefly at the past weekend’s seminar was the fact that you can start or invest in businesses using your self-directed pension plan. There was quite a bit of interest in the subject, so I thought I’d go through some of the details to give you an idea of how it’s done.

In all cases, the big issues are steering clear of disqualified persons and prohibited transactions. Get to know your self-directed pension custodian well - you’re going to need their information, referrals and assistance to make sure you stay within the rules.

You might have seen the “no money down” real estate deals. But, what if your issue is “no time”? Learn how investing in a Real Estate Investment Trust can be a simple way to real estate wealth.

We discovered yesterday that internet access at the venue was a bit spotty, and my machine was spottier than most. Here’s what happened after I left off yesterday morning:

Business Alchemy: The Game

We spent the afternoon playing the Business Alchemy game. The game helps people explore themselves and the members in their group, with a goal of finding the intersection of talent, passion and product.

You can always tell when there’s a seminar going on at TaxLoopholes - things get really quiet on the boards and the blog.

With Diane on stage all weekend, I figured I’d play “Johnny-on-the-spot” reporter and give you updates of what’s happening today.

Got kids? Don’t have kids, but need to do some shopping? Depending on where you live, there’s a tax “holiday” just around the corner!

If you’ve ever had someone prepare an asset protection plan for you, then you know one of the inevitable steps will be the creation of one or more business structures (typically LLCs) to hold title to various assets. The more you have, the more structures will be recommended. But at what point do you say “enough?” Where is the balance between adequate asset protection, and economics and practical record-keeping?

If you’ve ever been in a situation where you’re asked for a “second opinion” on someone else’s business or tax strategy, you know how uncomfortable it can be - especially if you think the advice they’ve been given was incorrect. Finding a way to present an alternative with courtesy can be a delicate task!

We recently did a strategy involving someone who worked in more than one state. Typically most states have some kind of rule that allows you to make isolated work forays into that state without incurring a personal income tax obligation. But the rules are muddy, and constantly in flux, as states try to find income wherever they can.

There’s a bill floating around Washington that may hopefully clarify and standardize the procedure, assuming it can get enough support to move forward.

Do you have an account with UBS? The IRS might be taking a closer look at it, if you do.

Just one day after the Justice Department asked a federal court to allow the IRS to serve “John Doe” summonses on UBS AG (based in Switzerland), one of the world’s largest banks, the court approved the request. UBS is under investigation for allegedly helping Americans to hide as much as $20 billion in assets using fraudulent tax schemes, over a 7-year period from 2000 to 2007.

One of my cats caught a bird this week. Not exactly earth shattering news, except that until this April she’d never been outside or even seen a bird.

Her technique was fairly simple; she sat underneath the birdbath and waited. And waited. And waited. As birds would come in, she’d leap up and try to grab them. Mostly she got wet, but her patience was endless, and eventually it paid off.