Nebraska 4797N – Special Capital Gains Election for Tax-Free Stock Sales

The Nebraska Special Capital Gains/Extraordinary Dividend Election, elected and claimed on Form 4797N, can provide a substantial tax break for employees who acquire company stock over their years of employment. This election allows employees who own stock in their employer, or former employer, to exclude that stock’s capital gains income from their Nebraska taxable income under certain circumstances.

Nebraska Special Capital Gains Election 4797N can save taxes on capital gains from employee stock

More and more employers are offering stock purchase plans and stock-based compensation to their employees, which can make for an excellent opportunity to avoid state income tax on capital gains from the sale of a stock in Nebraska. Some questions to consider if you (or your company) might benefit from this rare opportunity in Nebraska tax law:

  • Does your employer offer an employee stock purchase program?
  • Do you receive employee stock grants from your employer?
  • Do you own stock in and work for your own company?
  • Did you know that Nebraska offers tax breaks for these situations?

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How to Find the Best Financial Advisor Recommended for Your Situation

The financial advice field is a bit convoluted, but this guide can help.

Financial Advisor Fees/Costs

First, there’s how you pay for advice. All financial advice has a cost, but sometimes it’s explicit (e.g., you can see it), and sometimes it’s only implicit (e.g., it’s embedded inside a financial product, and what you’re paying is not easily visible).

Most financial advisors today describe themselves as fee-based advisors. Legally, this means they can (and generally do) perform their activities in two ways: they earn a commission on certain product sales, and a fee on certain investments. The title is a bit misleading in this way, but the moniker persists.

We think this creates a conflict of interest: it often causes (even if only subconsciously) the financial advisor to recommend things that pay them the best compensation over what is in the client’s best interest.

Because of this inherent conflict, a special sub-set of financial advisor was born: the fee-only financial advisor. We recommend anyone seeking financial advice only work with a fee-only advisor.

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A national organization lists and ensures fee-only compliance for all of its members; it’s called the National Association of Personal Financial Advisors (NAPFA), and it has an online directory of all of its members. So, for example, you can search for a list of all the fee-only financial advisors in Omaha, NE or the San Francisco, CA Bay Area (cities where we have offices).

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Assistance After Your Farm Or Ranch Floods

Recent natural disasters have caused significant damage to property, and there may be resources available to those affected.

For those who have been impacted, programs and resources are available through the Farm Service Agency (FSA) to assist farmers and ranchers as they work to recover from the impact of these events.

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Storing Important Documents – What You Should Be Doing Now

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Where do you store your important papers and documents? Are they easily accessible in case of an emergency? Do your loved ones know how to get to them if something should happen to you? Here are some tips on what documents you should keep (and where). Read the rest of this entry »

Tax Rates & Retirement Contribution Limits For Individuals & Married Filers in 2019

As we begin gathering up tax documents in anticipation of filing 2018 tax returns, it is also a good time to look ahead to our expected tax liability for 2019. Now is the perfect time to make any adjustments to withholding rates or retirement contributions for this year.blank

Each year, the IRS adjusts tax brackets to account for inflation. The following brackets took effect on January 1, 2019.

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How to Make Better Decisions

blankBy understanding, identifying, and mitigating the common problems inherent in the decision-making process, we can make better choices and gain greater confidence.

When making important decisions, such as whether to make an investment, how to deal with certain income taxes properly, whether to move, what do to about a new or current job, or how to respond to sharp declines in financial markets (or sharp appreciation), a common process goes as follows:

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Railroad Employees Save Taxes After Supreme Court Ruling

blankA recent Supreme Court ruling provides potential tax savings for railroad employees. Wisconsin Central Ltd. v. United States holds that stock-based compensation provided to railroad employees is exempt from federal employment taxes. According to the 5-4 ruling, for employees of railroad companies such as Union Pacific and BNSF, stock option income is not considered money remuneration under the Railroad Retirement Act (RRTA) and, therefore, not subject to payroll taxes.

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