Bradley Carroll, CPA, PC

04/22/2026

03/06/2026

🇺🇸 U.S. Estate Planning
Estate Planning is the process of arranging how a person’s assets, wealth, and responsibilities will be managed and distributed after death or if they become incapacitated.

It helps protect assets, reduce taxes, and ensure that property goes to the intended beneficiaries.

1️⃣ Key Components of Estate Planning
📜 Will
A legal document that states how your assets will be distributed after death.
Includes:
Beneficiaries
Guardians for minor children
Executor (person managing the estate)
Example:
A parent may state that their house and savings go to their children.

🏦 Trust
A legal arrangement where assets are managed by a trustee for beneficiaries.

Common types:
Revocable Living Trust – can be changed anytime
Irrevocable Trust – cannot easily be changed
Charitable Trust – supports charities
Benefit: Helps avoid probate and may reduce estate taxes.

👤 Power of Attorney (POA)
A legal document that allows someone to make financial or legal decisions on your behalf if you become incapacitated.

Example:
Paying bills
Managing investments
Signing financial documents
🏥 Healthcare Directive
Also called Living Will or Medical Directive.
It specifies medical decisions if you cannot communicate.

Example:
Life support decisions
Medical treatment preferences
2️⃣ Key Estate Taxes in the U.S.
💰 Federal Estate Tax
Tax on the transfer of wealth after death.

2025 example:
Estate tax exemption: about $13+ million per person
If the estate value exceeds this amount, tax may apply.

🎁 Gift Tax
Tax on large gifts given during a person's lifetime.

Example:
Annual gift exclusion: about $18,000 per person (approx.)
🏠 State Estate or Inheritance Tax
Some states impose additional taxes.

Examples:
New York – Estate tax
Maryland – Estate & inheritance tax
Texas / Florida – No estate tax

3️⃣ Example of Estate Planning
Person's estate value:
House: $800,000
Investments: $600,000
Savings: $100,000
Total estate = $1.5 million
Possible plan:
Use a living trust
Assign executor in a will
Give annual tax-free gifts to children

4️⃣ Why Estate Planning Is Important
✔ Protects family wealth
✔ Reduces estate taxes
✔ Avoids probate delays
✔ Ensures assets go to intended heirs
✔ Provides clear medical and financial decisions

✅ Simple Definition:
Estate Planning = Organizing your assets, taxes, and legal documents so your wealth is transferred smoothly to your beneficiaries.

Financial Accounting

03/06/2026

How Tax Brackets Work (U.S. System)
1️⃣ The Core Idea: Progressive Tax System
The U.S. uses a progressive tax system.

That means:
Higher income → higher tax rate
But only the income inside each bracket is taxed at that rate
You are not taxed one single rate on your entire income.

2️⃣ Marginal vs Effective Tax Rate
Marginal tax rate
→ The rate applied to your last dollar earned.
Effective tax rate
→ The average rate you actually pay on your total income.
People confuse these constantly. It’s why many think a raise pushes them into a worse financial position. It doesn’t.
3️⃣ Simple Numerical Example
Let’s assume simplified brackets:
10% on first $10,000
12% on next $30,000
22% on income above $40,000
Now assume you earn $50,000.

Step-by-step breakdown:
Portion of Income
Tax Rate
Tax Owed
First $10,000
10%
$1,000
Next $30,000
12%
$3,600
Last $10,000
22%
$2,200
Total Tax = $6,800
Effective Tax Rate:
$6,800 ÷ $50,000 = 13.6%
Even though you’re in the 22% bracket, you are not paying 22% on everything.
4️⃣ What Happens If You Get a Raise?
If you earn $41,000 instead of $39,000:
Only the extra $2,000 is taxed at 22%.

The rest stays taxed at lower rates.
A raise never makes you “lose money” because of brackets. That’s a myth.
5️⃣ Important Details Most People Miss
Brackets apply to taxable income, not gross income.
Deductions and credits lower your taxable income first.

Tax brackets change slightly every year due to inflation.
State income taxes may use different brackets.
6️⃣ Bottom Line
Tax brackets are layered.
They stack like stairs — not a cliff.
If you understand that, you eliminate 90% of tax confusion.



Financial Accounting

03/06/2026

Save this for the day you actually sit down to file your taxes - it will come in handy.

Most people don’t get stuck because taxes are “hard.”

They get stuck because they’re missing one dumb thing: a form they forgot, a login that’s locked, or a deduction they didn’t track.

This checklist is your “grab this first” list for your 2025 return: income forms, deduction paperwork, health/retirement stuff, plus the new Schedule 1-A items tied to the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.

Don’t skip the Schedule 1-A section. If you had tip income, worked overtime, financed a car, or hit 65 in 2025, there may be deductions that weren’t on the menu before.

Heads up: each one has income phaseouts, so it’s not automatic.

And here’s a timing trap: a lot of 1099s from banks/brokerages don’t show up until mid-February, and “corrected” versions can land later.

Filing early before everything is final is how people end up with an amended return…and a long wait.

Log into every financial portal now (when you’re calm) so you’re not resetting passwords in April.

One more easy win: pull up last year’s 1040. It’s basically a preview of the forms you’ll probably need again this year.

03/06/2026

Issue Number: IR-2026-31
Inside This Issue

Treasury, IRS issue proposed regulations for Trump Accounts pilot program, Treasury Department to deposit $1,000 into the account of each eligible child

IR-2026-31, Mar. 6, 2026

WASHINGTON – The Department of the Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service today issued proposed regulations providing guidance regarding the pilot program for Trump Accounts, which are a new type of individual retirement account for eligible children. Trump Accounts and the Trump Account Pilot Program were established under the One, Big, Beautiful Bill enacted on July 4, 2025.

Pilot program, $1,000 from the Secretary of the Treasury

The proposed regulations issued today provide rules on how the Secretary of the Treasury will make one-time $1,000 pilot program contributions to the Trump Accounts of eligible children for whom elections have been made. The proposed regulations provide guidance regarding the effects of making an election for an eligible child to receive a $1,000 contribution and define other qualifications.

The proposed regulations will assist individuals who will make elections for eligible children to receive $1,000 pilot program contributions. In order for an eligible child to receive a $1,000 pilot program contribution, an election for a pilot program contribution must be filed by an individual who anticipates the child will be his or her qualifying child for the year during which the election is made, typically a parent or guardian. Therefore, expecting parents who want to participate need to make an election and may be in a situation to do so prior to the tax year in which the child is born.

Eligible Children

To qualify for the pilot program, the parent or other individual who qualifies to make the election, must elect to establish a Trump Account for the child.

The child must:

Be born in calendar year 2025, 2026, 2027, or 2028,
Be a United States citizen,
Have been issued a Social Security Number and
Be someone for whom no prior pilot program election has been made by any individual and processed by the Secretary of the Treasury.
Pilot program-electing individual:

Generally, an individual who anticipates the child will be his or her qualifying child for the year during which the election is made, typically a parent or guardian, is the pilot program-electing individual.

Form 4547, Trump Account Election(s) is a new form for establishing a Trump Account and for enrolling in the pilot program; those interested should also see the related instructions. Spanish Language versions of the form and instructions are also available.

The IRS continues to provide updates and additional information related to the tax benefits from the One, Big, Beautiful Bill at IRS.gov.

Visit http://trumpaccounts.gov for more information on Trump Accounts.

Trump Accounts provide eligible American children with tax-advantaged investment accounts courtesy of President Donald J. Trump.

02/09/2026

The IRS has no business snooping on Americans just for splitting rent or selling an old couch.

President Trump just wiped out Biden’s 1099-K disaster with the Working Families Tax Cut Act.

No more surprise tax forms for Americans using Venmo, Cash App, or Facebook Marketplace—finally, some sanity.

This is real tax relief for working families—protecting YOUR money from Biden’s IRS.

01/27/2026

🚨 BREAKING: U.S. Treasury Cancels Millions in Contracts with Booz Allen Hamilton 🚨

The federal government is taking decisive action following a massive failure to protect the private information of American citizens. The U.S. Treasury has officially canceled 31 contracts worth $21 million with the consulting giant Booz Allen Hamilton after the firm failed to secure sensitive data, including critical records at the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). 🏛️💻🚫

Reports indicate that Booz Allen Hamilton leaked tax data specifically targeting President Trump and 400,000 other Americans. This wasn't a minor glitch; it was a systemic failure to protect the most private financial information of nearly half a million citizens.

Critics are pointing to the firm's history of security lapses, noting that Edward Snowden famously worked as a contractor for Booz Allen Hamilton before leaking classified NSA documents. This latest breach raises serious questions about the firm’s internal vetting and data protection protocols.

The Treasury’s cancellation of $21 million in contracts sends a clear message: the federal government will not tolerate "security theater" from private contractors who handle sensitive public data.

The most egregious part of the breach occurred at the IRS, where the firm was entrusted with the tax data of the American people. By allowing this data to be leaked, the firm has compromised the financial privacy and security of 400,000 families.

The specific targeting of the President’s tax data suggests a political motivation behind the leak, further complicating the legal and ethical crisis facing Booz Allen Hamilton.

This move by the Treasury Department marks a significant shift toward holding massive consulting firms accountable for their data failures. When firms fail to protect the people, they lose the privilege of working for the people.

Booz Allen Hamilton has proven once again that its data protection measures are dangerously inadequate. From Snowden to the current IRS leak, the pattern of failure is undeniable.