A Christmas Greeting from Mark Kemp

Merry Christmas Eve!

Let me take this opportunity to express my warmest wishes—from all of us here at Kemp Harvest Financial Group—for a joy-filled Christmas season.  The holidays are a great time to get together with extended family and friends, but it can get busy, and quickly. Our family has a few traditions we make certain we celebrate that hold meaning to us and the holiday season. At Thanksgiving, when we have our family and friends (who are more like family) around the table, we share what we are thankful to God for—usually things from the past year.  Christmastime brings about the story of the First Christmas, the simple truth of Jesus’ miraculous birth, which our family always reads together. Merrymead’s Live Nativity is something we visit every year, and our family is always rolling on the floor with laughter after the annual reading of The Best Christmas Pageant Ever by Barb Robinson. You can bet my family knows my Christmas theme song is “I’m Getting Nuttin’ For Christmas” and if you ask them, they’ll tell you why.

One more tradition that serves for both our home and office: we participate in Operation Christmas Child. This is a once-a-year gift-giving effort to provide a shoebox full of toys, school supplies and hygiene items to children around the world who could never expect to receive a Christmas present otherwise.

Finally, let me leave you with my prayer that your holidays (no matter which ones you cherish and celebrate) will be blessed.

With Gratitude,

Mark Kemp & Family

Gift Taxes: What to Expect

With only two weeks until Christmas, gifts seem to be high on everyone’s radar. While this article is about gift-giving, it’s not necessarily about those presents wrapped under the tree. Gifts, in the IRS’ mind, qualify as any transfer made without receiving full (or any) value in return. The gift tax is applied on these transfers, whether or not the giver intends for it to be a gift. This might sound like a damper on the holiday season, but the gift tax may not be exactly what you expect.

The Basics

The federal government imposes a substantial tax on gifts of money or property above certain levels. Without such a tax, someone with a sizable estate could give away a large portion of their property before death and escape estate taxes altogether. For this reason, the gift tax acts more or less as a backstop to the estate tax. Yet few people actually pay a gift tax during their lifetime. A gift program can substantially reduce overall transfer taxes; however, it requires good planning and a commitment to proceed with the gifts.

Deck the Halls (and Save Your Money)

Christmas is a time of togetherness and tradition – but it can too easily turn into a financial nightmare. If you’re buying gifts, planning parties, decorating the house, baking cookies, singing carols, and trying to make sure everyone’s happy, Christmas gets a little overwhelming. We’ve gathered a few tips to help you de-stress, save money, and enjoy the season.