Peter Gough: Hi, I’m Peter Gough and welcome to QuatriniRafferty’s Legal Tip Tuesday. I’m joined here today by my associate and friend Jim Horchak.

Jim Horchak: Hello!

Peter: Jim, it’s now tax time again. It seems like it happens every year.

Jim: Yes, it does!

Peter: I’d like to talk a little bit about taxes and in the legal field. Specifically, what benefits may be taxable, so our clients and our viewers know what they should expect. So, in general, I perform Workers Compensation law. Are workers compensation benefits generally taxable, Jim?

Jim: Workers Compensation Benefits are not taxable.

Peter: We also do Social Security. Tereasa Rerko & Brian Bronson does social security work. Are Social Security benefits taxable?

Jim: Social Security benefits are taxable, but depending on how much other sources of income you or your spouse has, it may not be taxable.

Peter: Another big area of law that QuatriniRafferty practices is personal injury. Joyce Novotny-Prettiman, she does a lot of personal injury and so does Jeff Monzo. Is that, Personal Injury Awards: are those taxable?

Jim: Personal Injury Awards are generally not taxable, but sometimes they can be.

Peter: Give me an example of how it might be taxable.

Jim: So, sometimes in Personal Injury you have a wage loss, so wage loss benefits would be taxable.

Peter: There’s something called LTD benefits, Short-Term or Long-Term Disability Benefits, which Brian Bronson engages in. Are those benefits taxable?

Jim: LTD and STD benefits are taxable if the employer pays for the policies.

Peter: I see, and then last but not least are Estates. Jim, you do Estates right?

Jim: Yes I do.

Peter: So does David DeRose and Jessica Rafferty. Are those [estate] benefits taxable?

Jim: Sure, distributions from an Estate are generally not taxable, but if you inherit a pension, a 401k, an annuity, and certain other assets, those could be taxable.

Peter: Jim, it seems like sometimes the answers might vary so, what would you recommend for our viewers around tax time if they’re receiving any of the benefits that we mentioned?

Jim: Well, to look out for 1099s. If you have any questions, you can always call your lawyer here at the firm, QuatriniRaferty, and ask them. If they don’t know, they’d probably ask me so we’ll get an answer to you.

Peter: Alright, well Jim thank you for joining me for the QuatriniRafferty Legal Tip Tuesday.

Jim: Thank you! Goodbye folks!