Tax Strategy Scan: Help with College Debt

Our weekly roundup of tax-related investment strategies and news your clients may be thinking about.

Let Uncle Sam help you pay for college: Tax breaks and smart strategies for handling student debt can help clients reduce the cost of higher education, according to the Motley Fool. For example, advisors can point out several tax breaks, including the American Opportunity Tax Credit, the Lifetime Learning Credit, and the deduction for student loan interest. Clients also can consolidate their student loans, which can reduce their monthly payment but risks losing some of the other benefits that various types of loans give them. -- Motley Fool 

Can I write off a loss on my Roth IRA? Here's how to offset a client's taxes with an IRA loss, according to MarketWatch. The key to figuring out how much of a loss is usable as a deduction depends on a client's 1040. The loss is reported as a miscellaneous itemized expense, which is limited to 2 percent of adjusted gross income. – Morningstar

Watch out, more workers want company stock: Clients pay no taxes on company stock bought through a qualified employee purchase plan, according to CNBC. However, they will owe taxes when they decide to sell the shares. Capital gains tax rates apply if the client holds on to the company stock for more than a year. That's cheaper than paying income taxes. -- CNBC