- Are You Paying Outstanding Medical or Dental Bills at Year-end?
- Do you have outstanding medical or dental bills that are adding up? Use these tax planning strategies to maximize your tax savings.
- Thinking of Tapping Your Retirement Funds Early? What You Need To Know
- If you are suddenly in need of a substantial amount of cash, probably the last thing you should do is tap your retirement funds. They are the key to a financially comfortable retirement. The younger you are, the less likely you are to think about saving for retirement, but you certainly don’t want to end up living off of only Social Security. However, there are times when there might not be any other alternative than dipping into your 401(k), IRA or other retirement plan. In that case, you have to be concerned not only with any tax liability, but also early withdrawal penalties if the funds are withdrawn before reaching age 59 1/2. Plus, some distributions may only be partially taxable and some not taxable at all, while others are fully taxable.
- Legitimate Tax-Deductible Charity or Scam?
- With the holiday season approaching, and with the great need for aid in the wake of the recent hurricanes and wildfires, you no doubt are being solicited for donations. However, do not be fooled by the scammers who come out from hiding whenever there is a disaster and during the holiday season. The last thing you want to do is get ripped off; not only will your charitable dollars go to waste, but you will also lose your tax deduction, as contributions are only tax-deductible if they are to qualified charities.
- Year-end Tax Planning Is Not Business as Usual; Things You Need to Know
- This has been a tumultuous year for taxes, with the tax reform that passed in late 2017 generally becoming effective in 2018, often with significant changes for both individuals and businesses. This is the first major tax reform legislation in more than 30 years, and to implement it, the IRS will have to create or revise approximately 450 forms, publications and instructions and modify around 140 information technology systems to ensure it can accommodate the newly revised or created tax forms, not to mention writing tax regulations for all of these changes – a daunting task for sure. The following are issues that could affect you and that you may need to plan for.
- Prioritizing and Maximizing Retirement Savings - Social Security Alone Won't Be Enough
- The Social Security Administration (SSA) recently announced the inflation-adjusted increase in benefits for 2019. SSA’s announcement states that Social Security beneficiaries should expect a cost-of-living increase of 2.8%. However, the same announcement says that for those who are retired at full retirement age, the maximum monthly benefit will go from $2,788 to $2,861, a 2.62% increase of $73 a month. Either 2.62% or 2.8% isn’t much in the overall scope of things, considering part of that increase goes to pay for Medicare premiums and copays for medication. Those retired with only Social Security income struggle just to survive month to month.
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