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Higher 401(k) and IRA Limits for 2019
I know you’re familiar with 401(k) and IRA plans. Hopefully you’re already contributing to both of them! If you’d like to reread some previous articles on these savings plans, please check out 2018 Financial Resolutions, Financial Planning Resolutions and Plan Now to Minimize Your Taxes. As of January 1, you can sock away even more […]
Donor-Advised Funds
Donor-Advised Funds, or DAFs, are merely a tax-efficient way to make charitable contributions. They work pretty simply. You make a contribution to a DAF and they distribute it to a qualified charity. You can advise them on how much to give to each charity. (Strictly speaking, DAFs do not have to heed your advice, but […]
Reducing 2018 Taxes with Qualified Charitable Distributions
You are probably aware that the tax laws are changing in 2018. However, many of us aren’t crystal clear on all of the details of these changes. For example, deductions are changing. The biggest deduction change is that the standard deduction has increased. The increase applies to all taxpayers. As an example, it’s $24,000 for […]
As 2017 Winds Down…
Can you believe it, we’re only a month away from the end of the year! For many of us, we’re pretty busy with our normal activities (work, school, etc.) and then we have the holidays to prepare for too. It seems like there’s no time for anything else and yet there may be some very […]
Is a Backdoor Roth IRA Right for You?
First of all, what is a Backdoor Roth IRA? It’s merely a way to contribute to a Roth IRA when your income exceeds the contribution limit of $183,000 (for a couple filing jointly). The Backdoor Roth IRA procedure removes this restriction. It involves a simple two-step process. First you contribute up to $5,500 to a […]
Plan Now to Minimize Your Taxes
There are a number of ways that many of us can us to lower our tax bills. These include Traditional IRA and 401(k) contributions, gifting, charitable contributions, income deferral, offsetting investment gains with losses and so on. Many of these techniques can be implemented late in the year when your tax situation is more clearly […]
IRA Rollover Rules Change in 2015
As a refresher, IRA rollovers are simply the transfer of funds from a retirement account such as a 401(k) into an IRA, or an IRA-to-IRA transfer. There are three ways to accomplish this rollover or transfer: Direct rollover – The administrator of your account may issue your distribution in the form of a check made […]
When am I required to start withdrawing from my IRA?
Generally, for the year in which an individual turns age 70 ½ an individual must start taking distributions from their retirement accounts. Whether these amounts are needed for funding your retirement, the IRS requires that you begin taking the distributions.