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42 | I NSIGH T • J u n e 2 0 19 w w w . i n s i g h t o n b u s i n e s s . c o m You're an entrepreneur at heart, and you'd rather be spending time building your business. We get it. That's why, when you work with Consolidated Construction, we'll introduce you to our planning and delivery process that results in a hassle-free building project. Get a faster construction schedule, better communication, and higher return on investment – so you can spend less time building your building and more time building your business. Consolidate It. Make 1 Call. MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIAL COMMERCIAL WE KNOW WHAT YOU'D RATHER BE BUILDING. ARCHITECTURE I FUNDING I CONSTRUCTION I SERVICE 1.800.642.6774 1call2build.com "Giving a charitable gift so you can claim a deduction on your income — just doing that does nothing. There are steps, however, that people can take to benefit nonprofits and help their taxes." — Ryan Laughlin, partner, Wipfli wealth management c o n t i n u e d when clients received their completed 1040s, says Ryan Laughlin, a partner at Wipfli in Green Bay. "While the standard deduction increased, we still want our clients to itemize for their state returns since real estate taxes and mortgage interest can still be used as deductions on the state tax form," he says. "With the federal changes, it doesn't mean as much when you pay your real estate taxes, but on a state level, it definitely does. People need to remember that." Another surprise: Children over age 17 are not eligible for the standard tax credit. Instead, parents receive a smaller dependent credit and lose a personal exemption. Charitable donations can be itemized on state returns. "I've been doing a lot of education and sitting with my clients looking at their 2017 and 2018 returns side- by-side," Heling says. "I'll have clients say, 'We didn't change a thing, why did our taxes change?' and I respond, 'the IRS is the one that made the changes.'" One piece of tax advice Laughlin is giving clients is to convert their traditional IRAs to Roth IRAs since "taxes are low right now, so it's a good time to make that conversion since you can remove funds from a Roth IRA tax-free." He also points out that any changes in Washington — such as a new president or Congress falling under the control of one party — may lead to higher tax rates, so it makes a lot of sense to do the conversion now that tax rates are so low.