Could your tax bill explode in retirement?
Remember when you first started earning a decent salary, and it seemed as if everybody — your parents, your boss, the nice lady in Human Resources and, of course, your tax preparer — all told you to put as much money as you could into your employer’s 401(k) plan? Grab the employer match, they said. Get the growth that the market has to offer. And take advantage of the tax break,... READ MORE
To itemize or not is the question for 2018
As the new year begins and taxpayers contemplate another round of 1040s, many are pondering The Big Question: Do I take the standard deduction or spend time hunting for receipts and filling out extra forms to itemize? The decision largely boils down to whether itemizing will reduce your taxable income more than the flat, no-questions-asked standard deduction will, thus saving you... READ MORE
How tax law changes affect you this year
One of the significant changes to the federal tax law for 2018 is the increase in the standard deduction to $24,000 for couples filing jointly, and $12,000 for individuals. This change, and others, will likely encourage many more people to use the standard deduction instead of itemizing. Other changes to the tax code will also impact taxpayer decisions. For example, starting in 2018,... READ MORE
An overlooked tax break for part-time workers
Q.: I retired a few years ago, but I still get paid to do some consulting work, so I contribute to a Roth IRA. Can I qualify for the retirement savers’ tax credit, too? A.: If your annual income is less than the cutoff, you can qualify for the retirement savers’ tax credit. This frequently overlooked tax break is worth up to $1,000 per person ($2,000 for joint filers) if you... READ MORE
Update estate plan in light of new tax law
The new tax law has led some people to assume they can delete estate planning from their to-do lists. But that is a dangerous assumption. Yes, the new tax law roughly doubles the federal estate-tax exemption, to about $11.2 million per person — meaning the vast majority of people will not be subject to federal estate tax. But before you take your estate planner off speed dial,... READ MORE
Top tips for filing your 2017 tax return
All the hoopla about the tax law signed by President Trump can obscure a sneaky little secret: The rules pertaining to the 2017 tax return you’re working on now are almost exactly the same as they were before Congress gave us the biggest tax overhaul in more than 30 years. Although 41 percent of respondents to a recent poll thought otherwise, almost all of the changes, including... READ MORE
Reporting a tax-free transfer from your IRA to charity
Question: I have to take a $20,000 required minimum distribution from my Vanguard IRA this year. I’d like to give $5,000 tax-free to a charity and withdraw the remaining $15,000 for myself. A Vanguard rep said it would send me a check for $15,000 payable to me as well as a $5,000 check made payable to the charity that I could forward. The rep said that at the end of the year it would... READ MORE
