...Ultimately, the key point is that salary deferral limits for individuals apply once across all plans, while employer contributions are limited on a per-plan basis…unless the plans themselves are related employers under the controlled group or affiliated service companies that aggregate that limit back into one as well...
...Achieving your long-term financial goals depends on two separate, yet complementary skills: fiscal discipline and investment discipline. Fiscal discipline means saving or otherwise gathering capital to invest, whereas investment discipline involves building a portfolio and managing risk in order to reach your investment goals...
...focusing on spending rates at least puts the focus back on what households can control – what they spend, and what they earn – rather than focusing on or criticizing a savings rate that ultimately is more a result of other decisions than a decision unto itself...
...the rise of the digital world has created a new wrinkle for estate planning: how to transition “digital” assets...
...Here are 5 steps that can help when you manage a financial shock...
...If you're among the people who are still on the fence about what to do, the best way to make smart decisions is to go into the process armed with the facts...
...Notably, many of the tax preferences do come with trade-offs (such as penalties for early distribution, and rules about how the funds can be spent), but for high-income earners, those limitations simply mean it will be necessary to coordinate amongst the various tax-preferenced savings accounts at the time of liquidation...
...The institute’s Financial Literacy Commission put together a list of financial conversations people should have with their partner before they tie the knot. Following are the institute’s suggestions and an explanation by AICPA of why each is important...
...Prohibited transactions themselves can include everything from buying or selling property between the IRA and a disqualified person, making the IRA assets available for a disqualified person’s use, or using IRA funds to compensate a disqualified person...
...But this one (free) form can determine a student's eligibility for myriad grants and aid for all income levels...
...Which is better, the American Opportunity Tax Credit or the Lifetime Learning Credit? They are both on the same IRS form, and I'm not sure which one I should take...
...As a result, it’s crucial to consider the coordination of long-term capital gains with ordinary income, and the phase-in of Social Security taxation...
...When your child comes of age, you no longer have the right to discuss their medical conditions with their healthcare providers or help make decisions for them if they become incapacitated...
...But if you rang in the new year without paying any attention to your IRA, you may have missed an important deadline...
...Ultimately, the key point is to acknowledge that IRC Section 199A creates a tremendous number of planning opportunities after the TCJA...
...Love is wonderful, but there may be a few practical questions to consider...
...The focus of this paper is on describing and measuring marriage penalties faced by widow(er)s caring for children...
...The significance of the potential for Social Security taxes generating a positive ROI is that, at a minimum, paying FICA taxes for many is less of a “tax” and more of a forced-savings investment with a bond-like return (albeit not available as a liquid account balance and only as a lifetime Social Security annuity payment)...
...Our goal shouldn’t be to pursue perfection in our decision making, but to get really good at knowing when we need to make a change...
...Tax strategy is far from simple - yet if done right, planners can create large amounts of tax alpha for clients in any phase of life...
