Retirement Watch Weekly
How the IRS Taxes Your Wealth & Estate
If you’ve ever wanted to know how to reduce or even eliminate your estate tax… It’s best to first understand how the IRS taxes your wealth. Here’s the computation, in a nutshell: Your Gross Estate… Minus Deductions allowed (administrative expenses, funeral expenses, losses, debts, charitable contributions, marital deduction) Equals Your Taxable Estate Adding Lifetime Taxable […]
Some Notable Events That Grabbed My Attention This Week
Market and economic news in the last week were dominated by a factor from outside the markets and economy: the coronavirus that’s spreading around the globe. Also known as COVID-19, the virus has infected more than 82,400 people and killed 2,804 worldwide, as of Feb. 27, according to the New York Times. The most important […]
How to Navigate the Gap in This Market Cycle
Did we skip a phase or two in this investment and economic cycle? It looks like we did, and investors should notice what happened. Indeed, a typical investment and economic cycle has four main phases. There’s peak growth, which is followed by a decline. The decline ends in a trough, which is followed by a […]
How the Kiddie Tax, 529 Plans Were Changed by SECURE Act
Some significant changes in family income tax planning were included in the Setting Up Every Community for Retirement Enhancement (SECURE) Act enacted late in 2019.The biggest change is the reversal of the Kiddie Tax rules. The Kiddie Tax was overhauled in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) enacted late in 2017. The Kiddie Tax […]
How to Maximize the Triple Advantages of Health Savings Accounts
The most powerful savings and Retirement vehicle probably is the health savings account (HSA). Unfortunately, not enough people know about it or how to maximize its value. HSAs were created only in 2003. They got off to a slow start but have been growing rapidly the last few years. Most people learn only about how […]
Your Questions About the SECURE Act Answered
The SECURE Act continues to raise questions. This month, we dive into those I’ve been receiving from readers and try to reduce the confusion about the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement (SECURE) Act. We start with the interplay between the SECURE Act and qualified charitable distributions (QCDs). Here’s a refresher on QCDs. A […]
Two Strategies That Beat the SECURE Act
There’s a tax bill attached to each traditional individual Retirement arrangement (IRA) and 401(k), and Congress recently tried to accelerate and increase that tax bill. That’s why, following enactment of the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement (SECURE) Act, many IRA and 401(k) owners need to revamp their estate planning strategies. As I’ve reported, […]
Two Reasons to Reconsider Estate Planning Gifts
Two factors make this an especially important year to carefully reconsider the role of gifts in your estate plan. Many of you will find you should make more gifts than initially planned. One factor is the calendar. The cur-rent estate and gift tax benefits might not be with us for long. This is a presidential […]
