The word “Audit” is a terrifying word that can strike fear into the hearts of taxpayers. However, the chances of an Internal Revenue Service audit aren’t that high. According to the I.R.S. 2018 Data Book, the I.R.S. only audited 0.59% of individual tax returns. You can visit IRS.gov and check out statistics or download the… Read More
By Sunwook Jin, CFP®, CRPC®, CMFC® The new tax reform bill is now law, and taxpayers can expect a lot of changes to take place in 2018. Reduced tax rates, higher standard deductions, and higher child tax credits for families are just a few of the perks that individual taxpayers will see next year. To pay… Read More
By Billy Hope, MBA By Sunwook Jin, CFP®, CRPC®, CMFC® When you leave, you will typically be given information on your options for your 401k plan. Generally, you have a few options: 1) Leave it in the plan (not all companies allow this option) 2) Cash out (pay tax and potential penalty if under a… Read More
What will the near-term impact be? On December 20, Congress passed the Tax Cuts & Jobs Act, sending the final version of the GOP tax reform bill to President Trump’s desk. The legislation alters the Internal Revenue Code to a degree unseen since the 1980s, altering income tax brackets, marginal tax rates, key deductions and… Read More
Information for those giving, receiving and organizing. Have you donated money to a crowdfunding campaign this year? You probably have. You may be wondering how the Internal Revenue Service treats these donations. Do the common tax rules apply? The I.R.S. may or may not define such donations as charitable contributions. It depends not only on… Read More
Slight increases have been made due to mild inflation. You will able to put a little more into your workplace retirement account in 2018. The federal government has boosted the annual contribution limit on some of the popular qualified retirement plans thanks to inflation and made other adjustments worth noting. Contribution limits for 401(k)s are… Read More
Breaking down the basics & what each part covers. Whether your 65th birthday is on the horizon or decades away, you should understand the parts of Medicare – what they cover, and where they come from. Parts A & B: Original Medicare. America created a national health insurance program for seniors in 1965 with two… Read More
As Director of Retirement Plan Services, this is a question I hear frequently. A Simplified Employee Pension plan (SEP) is an easy, low-cost option for small business owners to provide retirement benefits for employees (including themselves). This retirement plan option allows for an employer to contribute directly to an individual retirement account for all employees.… Read More
Why do so many people choose it rather than a traditional IRA? The Roth IRA changed the whole retirement savings perspective. Since its introduction, it has become a fixture in many retirement planning strategies. The key argument for going Roth can be summed up in a sentence: Paying taxes on retirement contributions today is better… Read More
The answer depends on your income. Your Social Security income could be taxed. That may seem unfair, or unfathomable. Regardless of how you feel about it, it is a possibility. Seniors have had to contend with this possibility since 1984. Social Security benefits became taxable above certain yearly income thresholds in that year. Frustratingly for… Read More