Category: Kelly Brown

Recently engaged? 5 reasons why you should consider a prenup

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gold engagement rings, wedding bands, time for a prenup

As most of my friends are getting married or are recently married (myself included), I frequently get asked why anyone would want a prenuptial agreement. Prenups can get a bad reputation because many people assume signing a prenup means you are preparing for divorce in the future. However, this is NOT necessarily the case! There are many reasons (other than divorce) that future spouses may want to sign a prenup before getting married.

Here are my top 5 reasons for signing a prenup.

  • A prenup promotes communication between future spouses so they are fully aware of the other’s financial situation and other issues prior to marriage. In North Carolina and South Carolina, each party must voluntarily provide a full and fair financial disclosure about his or her property and financial obligations (unless waived in writing).
  • A prenup can establish how property matters will be handled in the future. If you are a person who has substantial individual or family assets, a prenuptial agreement may be a great way to specify how debt and other financial issues will be handled during the marriage.
  • A prenup can determine the rights and obligations of each party with regard to the right to buy, sell, use, transfer, exchange, abandon, lease, or otherwise dispose of, control, or manage certain property. In North Carolina and South Carolina, property obtained during the marriage is generally treated as marital or joint property, but a prenup can change the general rule for property acquired during the marriage.
  • A prenup can protect a person that has a professional practice or other service business. For all the entrepreneurs out there, this is a great way to protect your hard work, while still being able to provide for your new family.
  • A prenup can be viewed as a proactive dispute resolution system, as it can simplify the divorce process. A prenup may reduce the chance of litigation upon divorce and, in addition, reduce those litigation costs. This may be beneficial for a party that is entering into a second marriage or those who have children from previous relationships.
Contact us today to get started on your prenuptial agreement.

 

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North Carolina – A tax friendly place to live and work

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If you live in North Carolina (or you’re looking to move here), then a bill recently passed into law by the N.C. Legislature might give you some relief from taxes. The bill was vetoed by Governor Roy Cooper, but the Legislature overrode his veto to pass the bill on June 28, 2017. The new law makes three beneficial changes to the State’s current tax code that you will want to be aware of as a resident (or soon to be resident) of North Carolina. These three changes will become effective as of January 1, 2019, except for the corporate income tax rate as stated below. The bill also set forth a budget plan and created an incentive program to bring new jobs to North Carolina.

(1)    Personal Income Tax Rate

The personal income tax rate will drop to 5.25% for a taxpayer’s North Carolina taxable income. The 2017 personal income tax rate is 5.499%.

(2) Corporate Income Tax Rate

The corporate income tax rate will drop to 3% for every C corporation doing business in the State, effective as of January 1, 2017. The corporate income tax rate will drop even further to 2.5% for taxable years beginning January 1, 2019. The current corporate income tax rate is 4%.

Opening Soon NC Taxes
New corporate tax rates may bring about a spring of new business in North Carolina.

(3)    Standard Deduction Increased

Additionally, each filing status will see an increase in the standard deduction.

  • Married, filing jointly/surviving spouse    $20,000 (currently $17,500)
  • Head of Household                                    $15,000 (currently $14,000)
  • Single                                                         $10,000 (currently $8,750)
  • Married, filing separately                          $10,000 (currently $8,750)
Kelly J. Brown is licensed to practice law in North Carolina, South Carolina, and U.S. Tax Court. Her areas of practice include business law, tax, real estate, and mortgage disputes. She also uses her Master’s in Tax Law and Master’s in Business Administration to assist her clients.

For more information on Attorney Kelly J. Brown, or the other business & contract lawyers at McGrath and Spielberger, PLLC, please visit McGrathSpielberger.com.

Kelly Brown Earns LL.M. in Tax Law

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McGrath & Spielberger, PLLC is happy
to announce that Attorney Kelly J. Brown has
earned her LL.M in Tax Law.

Attorney Kelly J. Brown has earned her LL.M. (Master of Laws) in Taxation from Boston University School of Law. Kelly is licensed in both North Carolina and South Carolina. Her practice focuses on real estate matters, including closings; business law matters; and of course, tax matters.

Mortgage Loan Debt Forgiveness

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Is Canceled Mortgage Loan Debt Income that you are Taxed on?

As an attorney with specific tax law knowledge who also works with borrowers to avoid foreclosure and/or to otherwise resolve mortgage loan problems, I deal with short sales, deeds in lieu of foreclosure, loan modifications, and mortgage loan settlements on a regular basis. Borrowers are usually thrilled to be able to get rid of unwanted mortgage debt either through disposing of the property, as part of a discounted pay off which allows them to keep the property, or in the form of a principal reduction as part of a modification. However, the mortgage loan debt canceled as a result of these types of transactions can have negative future tax consequences for the borrower.

Generally, canceled or reduced mortgage principal is treated as income by the IRS, which means the amount of forgiven/reduced debt would normally be taxable income to the borrower. However, the Federal Government enacted the Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act of 2007 (the “Act”) to exclude up to $2 million of forgiven debt on a taxpayer’s primary residence from taxable income. This type of forgiven debt is specifically referred to as “Qualified Principal Residence Indebtedness”. The Act has been extended several times, with the most recent extension occurring in January 2015 to retroactively cover 2014, meaning that certain mortgage debt which was canceled or forgiven in 2014 need not be included as income to the borrower. 

North Carolina and South Carolina have different approaches on these matters as far as state income taxes. In most recent years, North Carolina followed the Federal Government’s lead and enacted legislation to exclude Qualified Principal Residence Indebtedness from a taxpayer’s income for state tax purposes. The North Carolina state exclusion expired in 2013 (just like the Federal exclusion), but unlike the Federal Government, North Carolina has not yet extended the exclusion to cover 2014. Thus, as of the date of this writing, the exclusion currently applies to 2014 for purposes of South Carolina state income taxes but not for North Carolina state income taxes (but changes may be taking place within weeks).

The debate surrounding the debt forgiveness exclusion is a hot topic for North Carolina lawmakers. In February 2015, the North Carolina State Senate passed a bill that requires forgiven debt to be included as income. North Carolina’s initial failure to extend the exclusion and the effect on homeowners was recently discussed by McGrath & Spielberger attorney Jason McGrath when he was interviewed by the Charlotte Observer.

The bill was subsequently rewritten by the NC House of Representatives to exclude forgiven debt from income and then passed by the NC House in early March 2015. As it currently stands, a Conference Committee with members from both the Senate and the House was appointed late last week to hash out whether North Carolina will follow the lead of the IRS and allow certain forgiven mortgage loan debt to be excluded from state taxation from the borrower side for certain debt canceled in 2014. Governor McCrory, of course, can sign or refuse to sign whichever version of the bill is presented to him.

At this point, homeowners with Qualified Principal Residence Indebtedness from 2014 will be able to exclude the forgiven debt amount from Federal income tax but would have to include that amount for North Carolina state income tax purposes. Homeowners facing foreclosure and other difficult mortgage loan situations could be forced into deciding whether to keep the home or pay at least state income tax later as to any canceled mortgage loan debt.

In contrast, South Carolina closely resembles the Federal income tax laws with only a few modifications. South Carolina has simplified its tax scheme by deciding to follow the Federal government’s lead on tax laws with any differences expressly stated in the South Carolina statutes. In fact, § 12-6-40(c) of the South Carolina Code of Laws specifically states, “If Internal Revenue Code sections adopted by this State which expired or portions thereof expired on December 31, 2013, are extended, but otherwise not amended, by congressional enactment during 2014, these sections or portions thereof also are extended for South Carolina income tax purposes in the same manner that they are extended for Federal income tax purposes.” Qualified Principal Residence Indebtedness is not mentioned or excluded in the South Carolina Income Tax Act and thus, one can conclude that the retroactive extension of the Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act of 2007 by the Federal Government allows a borrower in South Carolina to exclude certain forgiven debt for South Carolina state income tax purposes.

In addition to the Qualified Principal Residence Indebtedness exclusion, borrowers, including those in both North Carolina and South Carolina may be able to exclude some or all of forgiven debt from Federal taxation under the IRS’ insolvency exemption. The insolvency exemption allows a taxpayer to exclude canceled or forgiven debt from income if the taxpayer is insolvent. A borrower is insolvent when the total of all the liabilities exceed the fair market value of all the assets immediately before the cancellation of the debt. However, a borrower can only exclude forgiven debt up to the amount he or she was insolvent. 

Whatever you do, just make sure you are fully aware of the potential consequences of your mortgage loan resolution; there’s nothing worse than a nasty tax surprise hitting you out of the blue. If you need advice regarding a tax situation, a distressed mortgage loan, or something similar, please don’t hesitate to contact us to speak to an attorney Charlotte NC and Mt Pleasant SC.