Tax Optimization

Get the most out of your money

Do you want to save the most money you can? Are you frustrated that no matter how hard you try, you keep paying taxes and just can’t reach your goals? You have been working on your financial planning, and now it’s time to figure out how to save the most in terms of taxes. With the assistance of Alpen Partners International and tax optimization, you can finally meet the goals you set for yourself.

What is tax optimization?

Tax optimization involves bringing your financial plans to life by staying mindful of tax-efficient investments and decisions. This includes the timing of income and purchases, types of investments, retirement plans, and how the taxes are filed.

Tax optimization is often confused with tax planning, but there are major differences. Tax optimization is just one of the necessary steps of tax planning. This step assures that the tax planner works with a tax professional to find out how they can pay as little tax as possible, by making the most of credits or deductions.

There are so many different ways to optimize your taxes, depending on whether it is an individual or a business, how the income is made, and the tax laws of your country. Like most financial planning, there is no single tax optimization strategy that will work for everyone, but there are services that we can offer that can guide you through the process.

This is very important, because it allows for an individual or business to save money. Tax optimization plays a key role in your retirement planning.

There are so many avenues to take. Below are some of the steps that can be involved in tax optimization for an individual. For a more detailed and specific plan for your business or individual tax needs, we highly recommend contacting us for assistance.

Tax-favored investments

Alpen Partners International’s objective is to protect and grow the assets of our clients, but we also strive to legally reduce the taxes that our clients pay, as this increases the net investment returns. This can involve evaluating specific tax-favored investments.

Municipal bonds

A debt security issued by a state, municipality, or county is called a municipal bond. They are used to finance capital expenditures like constructing highways, bridges, schools, and other work needed in the area.

These bonds are highly regarded because they are exempt from federal and most state and local taxes. They are very popular among individuals in higher income tax brackets.

Treasury bills

Treasury bills, often called T-bills, are short-term debt instruments that are used by the United States treasury that are issued for one year or less and can be bought in denominations from $1000 to $5 million. When one buys a T-bill, they are promised by the government that they will be paid back plus interest.

There are many perks of purchasing treasury bills. For one, they are inexpensive so they can be purchased by a wide range of interested buyers. Another perk, and the reason you may be reading this, is that T-bills are exempt from state and local income taxes.

T-bills are considered the safest debt in the world because they are backed by the US government itself.

Cashing in on options

In order to control risk, many people look to options. Options allow investors to control an asset at a fraction of the purchase price. The less money one puts in, the less of a hit they will take if there is a crash.

Under the correct circumstances, options can be quite profitable. Assets like stocks, currencies, and commodities are never static. When the asset rises about the strike price or falls below before the expiration, there is money to be made.

Here are two tax-favored investments in the form of retirement funds:

401(k)

By contributing to a 401(k), one can save pre-tax money into a retirement account. There, it will grow without tax. Money is set aside before federal and state income taxes are withheld. This lowers your taxable income.

You are, however, taxed when you begin to withdraw from the account. In most cases, taxes are lower after you retire, so the tax rate is lowered. Therefore, you are paying less in the long run.

One of the biggest advantages of this tactic is that those contributing to a 401(k) can choose how the funds will be invested, but the choices can be limited to offerings by the administrator.

There are three kinds of tax-deferred 401(k) options, depending on the size of the business.

It is often advised to contribute as much as possible into the 401(k) that will still allow you to live comfortably.

IRA

Also known as an individual retirement account, an IRA is a tax-favored investment account that helps individuals save for retirement. The money can be invested in any way the IRA holder wishes. There will most likely be a healthy range of stocks and other kinds of equities to choose from.

In the world of taxes, contributing to an IRA can be deductible. Investments in an IRA grow tax-deferred. Just like in a 401(k), when the account holder begins taking distributions or taking money out of the account, they begin to pay taxes on the contributions and earnings.

The reason this is preferred and considered a tax-favored investment is that the income will be taxed less in retirement, meaning you’d be paying less than you would be paying during your years of work.

Money can be taken out of an IRA at any time, but you will be taxed as well as pay a 10% early withdrawal penalty. The current age of retirement is 59 ½. By the age of 70 ½, you must at least be taking minimum distributions. These rules also apply to 401(k) holders.

Expatriation

Expatriation has the possibility of saving you a lot of money when it comes to taxes. By changing which countries you are obligated to pay taxes to, you may be able to take advantage of major tax breaks, especially if your home country taxes on income earned from a different country, like the United States.

If all, or most, of your income is not earned from your home country, or you have skills that allow you to find a job abroad, earning residency or citizenship somewhere else may be an easy move.

Legally moving from one country to another takes a lot of steps, paperwork, and legal assistance, which Alpen Partners International is equipped to provide.

Where Alpen Partners International comes in

Don’t do this alone. If you try to optimize your taxes on your own, you could be missing some of the tax deductions that you may not be aware of. We won’t let you miss out on saving your money.

By working with legal, tax, and accounting advisors, setting up structures, trusts, funds, or life insurance wrappers that benefit from specific tax treaties or other legal tax planning techniques can lead our clients to make significant savings in their tax bill.

Working with these advisors, Alpen Partners International has developed expertise in tax optimization for clients such as:

• Entrepreneurs selling their businesses
• Sports and entertainment people who receive royalties and endorsements
• Individuals relocating to a new country
• Business and finance professionals who get largely paid in stocks, options, and other deferred revenues
• Venture capitalists and private equity specialists who have large investments abroad