Insights on tax, equity, and building wealth
Guides and analysis from the Harness team and the advisors on the platform.
How to Keep Ahead of Changing Inherited IRS Rules in 2025
In less than two years, estate planning regulations will undergo a seismic shift. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, which temporarily doubled estate and gift tax exemptions, is hurtling toward its expiration date of December 31, 2025.
How Dual-Income Married Couples Can Strategically Lower Their Tax Bill
Dual-income married couples often face a more complex tax landscape than they anticipate. Without intentional planning, they may miss opportunities to lower their tax liability, optimize benefits, and align their strategy with long-term financial goals.
How to Grow a Tax Firm: Proven Strategies for Building a Referral-Driven Tax Practice
For tax firms looking to grow sustainably, referrals consistently outperform paid marketing and cold outreach. Referred clients are more likely to engage, stay longer, and generate greater lifetime value—without the rising costs and uncertainty of traditional lead generation.
How to Claim the Child Tax Credit in 2025
Annual tax planning is approaching—and parents everywhere are wondering how the Child Tax Credit will impact their 2025 finances. The uncertainty stems from the looming expiration of current tax provisions.
How to Maximize Deductions If You Work Remotely Across States
Remote work has fundamentally altered the American tax landscape. In basements, spare bedrooms, and coffee shops across multiple states, millions of workers now face a complex web of tax obligations that would not make even seasoned accountants pause.
Everything You Need to Know About W-4 Forms: How to Fill Out a W4
Every time you start a new job, there’s one form that can quietly shape your entire financial year: the W-4. It tells your employer how much federal income tax to withhold from your paycheck—affecting everything from your monthly cash flow to whether you’ll owe money or get a refund come tax time.
The Benefits of Tax Deferral: Using Deferred Compensation Plans as a Founder
It's not uncommon for founders to face unique challenges in managing compensation while optimizing tax efficiency. Standard compensation structures often fail to align with founders' long-term financial strategies, creating potential tax inefficiencies and limiting wealth accumulation opportunities.
What Tax Firms Need to Know About the IRS Voluntary Disclosure Program
When a taxpayer has knowingly failed to report income or foreign assets, the risks go far beyond penalties—they can include criminal prosecution. The (VDP) IRS Voluntary Disclosure Program offers a critical opportunity for these individuals to come forward before the IRS initiates an investigation.
What is Unrelated Business Taxable Income?
When it comes to tax-advantaged retirement accounts, many investors assume they won’t owe taxes until they start making withdrawals. But that’s not always true, especially when alternative investments are involved. A little-known tax called Unrelated Business Taxable Income (UBTI) can trigger unexpected tax bills inside accounts that are supposed to be tax-deferred, like IRAs and 401(k)s.
What are the Tax Benefits of Qualified Opportunity Zone Investments?
Investors looking to reduce or defer capital gains taxes have few truly effective options. One powerful solution was introduced with the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act Qualified Opportunity Zones (QOZs). These designated areas offer a rare combination of strong tax incentives and positive social impact by encouraging long-term investment in economically distressed communities.
How to Avoid the Net Investment Income Tax (NIIT) on Passive Income
When navigating complex investment taxation, the Net Investment Income Tax poses a significant challenge for high-income investors. This 3.8% surtax on certain investment earnings applies when your modified adjusted gross income exceeds $200,000 for single filers or $250,000 for married couples filing jointly.
Asset Location vs Asset Allocation: Which Has More Tax Impact for Your Client?
When it comes to investment management, tax advisors generally have 2 main considerations: asset allocation and asset location. While allocation decisions tend to dominate tax advisor attention, strategic placement of assets across different account types often yields greater tax benefits, especially for high-net-worth clients.
The Complete Guide to Filing IRS Form 1120 for Startups and Corporations
Filing your corporate taxes is a yearlong headache and a seasonal scramble. While the “One, Big, Beautiful Bill” provides some tax relief for startups and corporations, taxes have not disappeared. The rules have changed, making 2025 a great time to brush up (or begin) your understanding of the IRS Form 1120.
How Property Tax Planning Can Maximize Real Estate Returns
Real estate can be a powerful engine for long-term wealth—but only when the tax strategy keeps pace with the investment. For property owners, taxes represent one of the largest and most controllable expenses. Yet too often, real estate investors overlook the nuances of tax planning until filing season, missing opportunities to improve cash flow, reduce taxable income, and preserve gains.
Understanding Federal Quarterly Tax Payments and Who Needs to Make Them
If you’re used to paying taxes just once a year in April, the idea of making four separate tax payments annually might sound like a mistake—or a punishment. But for millions of Americans, especially freelancers, self-employed professionals, and investors, federal quarterly tax payments are a regular part of financial life.
How to Use the Installment Sale Tax Treatment to Defer Taxes on Business Exits
Business owners who sell their companies can often be landed with substantial one-time tax bills that drastically reduce their net proceeds. As financially painful as this can be, installment sales under Section 453 of the IRS Code offer a way to manage this tax burden by deferring payments spread across multiple years.
Private Equity Explained in Everyday Terms
For most people, investing tends to revolve around familiar assets such as stocks and bonds. Beyond these traditional assets, however, lies a more esoteric realm of investment that has historically been the domain of institutional giants and ultra-high-net-worth individuals: private equity (PE).
Investment Trends in 2025: Tax Loss Harvesting for Crypto
Crypto markets in 2025 are doing what they do best: swinging wildly. While some investors are chasing the next altcoin breakout, others are looking at something less flashy—but arguably more powerful when it comes to net returns: tax loss harvesting crypto.
Mortgage Tax Credit and Deductions: What Homeowners Can Still Claim in 2025
If you own a home—or are thinking about buying one—you’ve probably heard about the tax perks that can help offset some of the costs of homeownership. But with so many headlines around tax reform and mortgage caps, it’s easy to wonder: what deductions are still actually available in 2025?
How Expats Can Avoid Double Taxation in 2025
Living abroad doesn’t exempt you from U.S. taxes—and without the right strategy, you could end up paying twice. For millions of Americans working internationally, navigating expat taxes has become more complex than ever in 2025. New thresholds, increasing IRS scrutiny, and more aggressive foreign account reporting requirements mean that doing nothing is no longer an option.
How to Optimize Your Book of Business Post-Tax Season
The post-tax-season lull offers tax firms the opportunity to look inward and assess the efficiency of any number of factors. Beyond operational processes, however, one of the main areas where tax firms can improve performance is by optimizing their book of business.
How to Use FIRE to Retire Early
The allure of early retirement has given rise to a powerful financial strategy known as FIRE (Financial Independence, Retire Early). The strategy focuses on building a life where your expenses can be comfortably covered by passive income, granting you the freedom to pursue retirement long before the traditional retirement age.
The 2025 Alternative Investment Tax Guide for High-Income Filers
Alternative investments such as private equity, cryptocurrencies, and collectibles now represent a significant part of the investment arena, in particular to high-income individuals. These alternative investments can offer distinct advantages in the shape of portfolio diversification and the potential for higher returns, but they can come with equally distinct tax complications that need to be carefully planned for.
Pros and Cons of Using Tax Preparation Software
Tax season is approaching, which means many people will be exploring the use of tax software to prepare and submit their tax returns themselves. While tax software certainly offers benefits, particularly when it comes to cost, the decision to use it isn't nearly as straightforward as it may seem.
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