Taxes. One of the most hated aspects of personal finance, but without them, we don’t have a country. So, unless you want to get in serious trouble and potentially go to jail, you must pay Uncle Sam his due. The US tax code is infamous for its complexity, resulting in over 510,000 tax accountants, over […]
It was in 1993, as a postdoctoral fellow at Texas Tech University, that I had a fateful conversation about saving for retirement. I got chatting with a grad student who was already setting aside money and investing for his retirement, although he was only in his twenties. The penny dropped: “I guess I should be […]
More people than ever are making the transition from working for an employer to working freelance. The 5th Annual “Freelancing in America Study” estimates 56.7 million Americans freelance. That’s an increase of 3.7 million people in five years. People who decide on a freelance career cite various reasons for doing so. They mention everything from the […]
What this article covers With wealth comes unique financial planning challenges. Learn how a financial advisor specializing in tax strategies for wealthy individuals and couples can help. If you’ve accumulated considerable wealth throughout your lifetime, it’s common to have questions about how you can enjoy a comfortable retirement while leaving a legacy for your family […]
You can use Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs) to avoid the wash-sale rule in several ways. Here are three, from the clearly legal to the more questionable. Most wealthy people constantly look for legal ways to minimize their taxes, and the rest of us can learn from their tricks. Some expand that to include tax reduction strategies […]
So, you’ve been diligent and maybe even a little frugal. You’ve squirreled away money in IRAs, a 401k or two, perhaps a 403b… Hopefully, enough to enjoy a well-deserved, comfortable retirement. To reward you, Uncle Sam (and possibly your state taxing agency) gave you tax deductions to make it easier to invest for the future. […]
The Internal Revenue Code (IRC) offers some great opportunities to dramatically reduce your taxes in certain situations. It also has pitfalls you’ll need to avoid if you don’t want to pay more taxes than legally required. The 83(b) election is a great case in point… What Is an 83(b) Election? If you work in the […]
Concerns about inflation, interest rates, and debt levels have dominated the public discourse as the world recovered from the global pandemic. Yet it’s the increased tax burden weighing heavily on the minds of many Americans. Sixty percent of Americans feel they are paying too much federal income tax, according to a Gallup poll conducted during […]
One of the downsides of the Roth IRA (Individual Retirement Account) is that there are income limits that preclude high-income earners from contributing directly to these accounts. But for people on the cusp, or for those who unexpectedly end up earning more than they planned (or who get married during the year and only discover […]